Project W awards $60K in grants to 4 Delco non-profits
SPRINGFIELD » Project W, a women’s giving circle, awarded $60,000 in grants to four local non-profits at their annual meeting on June 15. Project W members are committed to improving the quality of life for women and their families in Delaware County. In the four years since its inception, Project W’s 136 plus members, distributed over $260,000 in grants and donations.
Thirty-one organizations applied for the 2022 grant cycle. Grants are awarded in four focus areas: Health, Education, Family and Small Grants. After evaluating and discussing the applications, Project W members completed site visits with select applicants to further understand their work and chose an applicant in each focus area to receive one of four grants.
“I appreciate the investment that our thirty-one grant applicants have made to better our community,” commented Cheryl Haze, a Project W Founding Member. “I certainly appreciate the investment by the Project W members, each of whom have contributed funds and time to provide worthy social services that benefit women.”
At the annual meeting, members heard presentations from each organization, and then voted for the organization to receive the top grant of $30,000.
“Seeing the amazing things that great women working together can accomplish has been one of the most impactful things from my experience with Project W,” stated Ariadne Petrucelli, Project W Communications Chair.
Project W member Donna Maple said that “joining Project W was a great opportunity to give back. It has been an opportunity to work along-side women that were as passionate as I am about using my resources to help those who are less fortunate.”
Maple said she was moved by actually spending time volunteering at one of the organizations that Project W funds.
“There is nothing like witnessing the impact of what we can accomplish as a group,” she said.
A multi-generational member team at Project W, Laurie and Clare Collins, noted that they
value “working with women from Delaware County from diverse backgrounds and experiences, who, through thoughtful collaboration, arrive at a common final decision to support organizations that are phenomenal in the work that they do.”
The 2022 Project W grant recipients are: Making a Change Group (MACG), Africana Family Health Organization, Pennsylvania Institute of Technology’s Practical Nursing Program, and Centro de Apoyo Comunitario.
Making a Change Group (MACG) was awarded a $30,000 grant for their Connected Visions
Program which helps low and moderate-income families, the
majority of which are female led, residing in Chester and surrounding communities as they address trauma, break cycles of poverty and achieve healthier lives.
Africana Family Health Organization was awarded a $12,000 grant which will be utilized to support transitional housing for women, specifically African or Caribbean immigrant and refugees, who have been victims of domestic violence.
Pennsylvania Institute of Technology’s Practical Nursing Program was awarded a $12,000 grant which will be directed to support underserved women in the Practical Nursing Program by closing a gap in funding to complete their education.
Centro de Apoyo Comunitario was awarded a $6,000 grant to create a website to increase awareness of available services and information about the community with challenges in reading and writing in Spanish.
Project W is a Giving Circle that operates under The Community’s Foundation’s (TCF) charitable umbrella. TCF offers administrative and fiduciary services to a variety of community-minded groups across Delaware County, as a means to empower every-day citizens to take philanthropy into their own hands.
To learn more about becoming a part of Project W, visit http:// ProjW.org or email Project W@ TCFhelps.org/. To donate to TCF and make a difference in the local community, visit https://tcfhelps. org/donation-page/.
Anyone interested in getting support to launch a charitable
endeavor is welcome to call The Community’s Foundation at 610461-6571.