The Princeton Area Community Foundation teamed up with two other New Jersey-based foundations to provide $155,000 in Critical Needs Grants to local nonprofits facing funding cuts and increased demand for services.

The program was created by the Community Foundation, which then partnered with the Bonner Foundation and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation to fund the grants awarded last month to nonprofits that are helping feed families, prevent evictions, keep kids in nursery school and support survivors of domestic violence.

“We created the fund because we understood the tremendous need facing nonprofits in the wake of state and federal funding cuts, the pause of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, and an increased demand for services,” said Mathieu Nelessen, President & CEO of the Community Foundation. “It created a unique situation, which called for immediate action. We want to express our deep gratitude to the Bonner and Dodge Foundations. Both quickly agreed to partner with us to support this important work in our communities.”

Critical Needs Grantee-Partners:

  • HomeFront, Lawrence, $25,000: the agency is experiencing delayed and reduced public support; grants that cover emergency housing expenses, including back rent and security, were paused for five months, with only a portion reinstated. The funding will help keep families housed and connected to services.
  • Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County, Princeton, $25,000: When SNAP benefits were paused during the government shutdown, JFCS served 241 households, with 40 percent being new clients.
  • Princeton Nursery School, Princeton, $25,000: cuts to New Jersey’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) created a more than $64,000 budget gap that PNS absorbed to prevent families from facing further hardship. The nonprofit also needs rental and mortgage assistance funds for families because of a pause to the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP).
  • Share My Meals, Princeton, $5,000: to hire and pay drivers to support new meal delivery routes; as home-delivery requests grow and new donors and nonprofits seek to join its program, funding for drivers is needed to activate new routes.
  • The Salvation Army, Trenton, $25,000: the nonprofit is seeing an increase in requests for food, rental, and utility assistance as families struggle with SNAP disruptions, higher living costs, and reduced EFSP funding. The grant will help stabilize its pantry and emergency assistance programs as demand for services grows.
  • Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, Trenton, $25,000: as the area’s largest hot meal provider, TASK is anticipating a capacity-straining surge in demand as food insecurity rises. Funding will also help TASK provide stabilizing resources to SNAP-displaced patrons.
  • Younity (formerly Womanspace), Lawrence, $25,000: the organization is facing a sudden $550,000 loss in government funding ($350,000 for its Safe House and $200,000 for its counseling services for domestic violence survivors.)