Grants To Help Lawrenceville Nonprofits With Critical Needs

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — Four Lawrenceville based nonprofit groups will share in more than $600,000 in grants being awarded by the Princeton Area Community Foundation and The Burke Foundation to address critical needs in the community, the group announced this week.

A total of 16 local nonprofits received grants ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 through the Princeton Area Community Foundation Community Impact Grants and The Burke Foundation Legacy Grants program.

The grants include support for specific programs, as well as those for operating support, which allows nonprofits to strengthen their capacity to serve their clients. The following Lawrenceville nonprofits received grants:

Career Development and Literacy Programs

• Lawrenceville Job-Training Partnership, $10,000, for its CookWell program, which seeks to increase employment prospects and reduce recidivism rates by providing culinary job training to people who have recently been released from prison. Its partners are Arm In Arm, the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, Mercer County Community College, First Presbyterian Church of Trenton, and local restaurants.

Social, Health and Homelessness Services

Womanspace in Lawrenceville, $50,000; it works to prevent abuse, protect families and change lives through empowerment and by providing a safety net of supportive services.

Youth Development

• Boys & Girls Club of Mercer County in Lawrenceville and Trenton, $50,000, for its Read for Success program, which will provide 550 students, ages 3-11, with a highly structured, computer-based reading and tutoring program. The Trenton school district has agreed to provide access to the program for city students.
• Prevention Education Inc. (PEI Kids) in Lawrenceville, $36,500; it works with children, families, and caregivers to provide prevention, intervention, and advocacy programs relating to personal safety, sexual abuse, and the overall well-being of the child.

“Through our collaboration with The Burke Foundation, we increased the pool of funds available to award to nonprofits serving our communities,” Community Foundation President and CEO Jeffrey M. Vega said. “We know the needs in our community are significant — we received 64 requests for funding. We hope to foster more of these partnerships in the future, so we can help support even more programs.”

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Princeton Area Community Foundation to deepen our support of the nonprofit agencies that serve to address the needs of low-income individuals, families and communities in our local area,” Burke Foundation President James Burke said.