GEMS Youth Development Program is one of the seven organizations to receive a grant. They will receive $2,500 to support the Diamonds and Pearls Step Teams, seen here performing at the Capital City Book Fair.
Trenton, November 21, 2015
The Trenton Historic Development Collaborative (THDC), in partnership with I Am Trenton Community Foundation and Isles, Inc., is pleased to announce the recipients of its Fall 2015 round of funding under the THDC Small Grants Program. THDC small grants support grassroots community development projects in the neighborhood bordered by West State Street, Willow Street, Hermitage Avenue, and Bellevue and Rutherford Avenues.
Seven projects selected through a competitive application process will receive a total of $13,500. Awards in this round range from $500 to $2,500. Projects range from an achievement program for high school students run by NAACP-Trenton, to senior citizen outreach organized by Energetic Citizens Helping Others, to two initiatives focused on criminal record expungement. A complete list of funded projects is included below.
The small grants program was established in 2014 by the THDC, a coalition of stakeholders convened by Shiloh Community Development Corporation in 2006 to revitalize their neighborhood through a resident-driven plan. Recognizing that small, grassroots groups do significant work, but lack access to traditional funding sources, the THDC Small Grants Program was established with support from Isles, Inc. through New Jersey’s Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit Program as part of implementing the neighborhood plan while building grantees’ capacity in the process.
To set up the program, Isles, on behalf of the THDC, partnered with I Am Trenton Community Foundation. I Am Trenton was established in 2007 to make Trenton even better through community engagement, building pride in our city and community-focused giving. I Am Trenton brought its expertise with grant-making to the program and with this funding round, a total of more than $48,000 has now been distributed to more than 20 projects in the THDC neighborhood since the partnership initiative launched in November, 2014.
Grantees will receive their checks at an awards ceremony on Saturday, November 21st, at 10 a.m. in the Carver Center. The Carver Center, located at 40 Fowler Street, has served as a social center for the community since its construction in the early 1900’s.
Please direct inquiries to:
Dan Fatton, Past President, I Am Trenton Community Foundation
(908) 303-4546 or [email protected]
John J. Korp, Director of Planning and Development at Isles, Inc.
(609) 341-4729 or [email protected]
THDC Small Grants Program — Fall 2015 Awards
- A Better Way: Trenton Clean Slate Initiative
To support criminal record expungements and subsequent related services to fifteen ex-offenders in the THDC neighborhood. - I Am Real Talk: West Trenton Community Clean-up
To engage youth in cleaning sections of the THDC neighborhood in effort to rid the community of waste. - GEMS Youth Development Program: Youth Programs
To continue an arts and academic program that uplifts and builds cognitive, socio-emotional and physical development through stepping, dancing, and mentoring for both boys and girls. - Energetic Citizens Helping Others (ECHO): Senior Outreach
To support outreach to seniors who reside in the THDC Neighborhood with ECHO’s Monthly Newsletter and opportunities to become engaged, informed, independent, alerted to potential fraudulent consumer practices and scams. - My Eternal Family: Expungement Relief
To support a community event for THDC residents to learn the status of expungement eligibility immediately. Eligible stakeholders will be paired up with a free attorney who will assist with their paperwork. - NAACP Trenton Branch: ACT-SO
To support an achievement program designed to recruit, stimulate, and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students, culminating in local and national competitions. - Vocational and Service Training (VAST): Learning & Integrated Vocational Experience (L.I.V.E.)
To support VAST’s GED training, which combines training and computer work with relevant out of classroom activities for 25 THDC students.
Foster self-reliant families and healthy sustainable communities