We are proud to announce 25 new grants to grassroots organizations made through the first round of the Neighborhood Equitable Recovery Fund, a partnership between the City of Philadelphia Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity (CEO) and Bread & Roses Community Fund to support community-based nonprofit organizations that serve communities of color and those with low incomes, which have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Neighborhood Equitable Recovery Fund Round One Grantees

Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture is an Arab arts organization that uses the arts to empower and enrich youth and families in their community, including refugees and immigrants. This grant will support a 45-week program that offers weekly art therapy and counseling.

Ardella’s House is a service and advocacy organization whose mission is helping women with criminal justice histories realize new possibilities for themselves and their families. This grant will support AH’s work with recently released and/or formerly incarcerated women and their families, help sustain daily operations, and provide additional housing assistance.

The Brothers of Strawberry Mansion collaborates with community organizations to provide parenting and leadership programs, youth workshops, educational trips, and community service opportunities. This grant will support their current services and aid in the development of additional programs aimed towards curbing violence.

Coalition of African Communities’ mission is to advocate and organize for immigrant and refugee empowerment. Africom serves families and individuals who are low-income, moderate-income, or who have limited-English proficiency. This grant will support Africom in responding to a new surge in requests for housing and utility assistance for families.

Endeavor provides low-cost after school and summer programs that serve North Philadelphia children and families. Programs focus on science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) skills building. This grant will support Endeavor in creating a new community space in North Philadelphia to support youth, families, and small businesses that focus on partnership rather than competition.

Food Not Bombs serves marginalized people of West Philly at the 46th Street El stop.. They spread love, respect, free food, and personal items to marginalized communities, regardless of race, gender, or other status. This grant will support purchase of supplies to continue and expand distribution when in-kind donations slow down.

Frontline Dads works to empower marginalized communities address social justice issues, achieve criminal justice reform, and enable community members to become transformative leaders. This grant will assist Frontline Dads in feeding people and providing resources and mutual aid to families in need. Funds will purchase supplies including PPE, emergency food, emergency transportation , and other essentials.

The Hope Empowerment Education and Train (HEET) works to revitalize the Tioga-Nicetown community by renovating its deteriorating housing stock and creating employment and training opportunities for disenfranchised adults and at-risk youth. This grant will support making HEET’s four-story, twenty thousand square foot building COVID-19 safe to enable and encourage increased participation in their training and housing programs.

The Iglesias Gardens is a community garden and offers education about gardening and vegetables and tending the land. This grant will support Spanish interpreters, childcare, and food at garden events and community meetings, and transportation to and from community meetings and protests.

The Mantua Civic Association (MCA) works to keep the residents of the Mantua community informed and engaged in decision-making regarding development projects in the community. This grant will support hiring a Communication Manager to bolster MCA’s ability to effectively communicate with stakeholders, share resources with residents, and coordinate outreach efforts.

Men Who Care of Germantown takes a tripartite approach to reduce gun violence in Philadelphia: prevention, intervention, and outreach. This grant will support Men Who Care in transforming their learning pods , which last year offered students the equipment needed to attend virtual schooling.

Mill Creek Urban Farm runs an educational urban farm located in West Philadelphia dedicated to improving local access to fresh produce, building a healthy community, and promoting a just and sustainable food system. This grant will support salaries to extend the farm season, allowing the farm team to work and prepare the land when the farm is not actively growing.

Neighborhood Bike Works uses bikes to deliver various education lessons while providing outlets for improving physical and mental health. This grant will support their youth programming and Bikes for Neighbors program by adding staff hours, paid jobs for youth, and supplies for refurbishing bikes.

ParaPower is a BIPOC-led organization fighting for School District of Philadelphia paraprofessionals to receive a living wage, real professional development, and pathways to certification. This grant will support the ParaPower Relief Fund, which is their mutual aid arm, and will help launch their first annual ParaPower Professional Development Seminar.

Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) unites poor peo ple across color lines in building a movement to abolish poverty. This grant will support PPEHRC to expand their weekly food distributions, keep families out of shelters and off the streets, and provide more security for families in Kensington and across Philadelphia.

Power of Paint Art Academy & Management uses art and therapeutic approaches to improve the quality of life for LGBTQI+ and Black and Brown communities who have experienced trauma as a result of violence, discrimination, and limited access to resources. This grant will allow them to expand their programming by offering childcare, parenting classes, and workforce development.

Senior to Senior Community Outreach‘s mission is to improve the quality of life for elderly people throughout Philadelphia communities by providing supportive and preventive services to promote a healthier lifestyle. This grant will support seniors experiencing food insecurity with emergency financial assistance for basic needs and support families caring for a senior family member.

Sisters Returning Home provides services to the growing population of women who have recently been released from Philadelphia County Jails or Pennsylvania State Correctional Facilities. This grant will support Sisters Returning Home in providing rent assistance, connections to employment opportunities, training, and other waysto increase their clients’ household income.

The Equity Project offers holistic support for young people that addresses the personal, financial, legal, familial, and behavioral health consequences that flow from trauma to promote social justice, equity, and healing. This grant will sustain their space by providing eight months of rent.

Urban Tree Connection’s purpose is to cultivate and uplift Black working-class leadership by fostering land stewardship and equitable food practices. This grant will support their community leadership development, apprenticeship stipends, and staff labor.

We Care Learning and Development Center provides individualized education to address the unique learning styles of children while promoting character, supporting independence, and enabling them to contribute to their peer community in a meaningful and positive manner. This grant will support implementing and sustaining high-quality preschool programs that serve 3 to 5-year-old children in high-need communities.

We Love Philly provides students with positive community experiences and essential professional skills through mindfulness, volunteerism, entrepreneurship, and storytelling . This grant will provide stipends to ten youthto join the building trades pre-apprenticeship program.

weREIGN‘s (Rooting, Empowering, Inspiring a Girls’ Nation) long-term goal of is to advance issues of gender justice, specifically those issues that disproportionately negatively impact the lives of Black girls. This grant will support them in providing menstrual and reproductive health products as well as providing political education about period poverty, menstrual hygiene inequity, and other reproductive health inequities.

Women’s Institute for Family Health (WIFH) strives to increase awareness of racial and ethnic health disparities while developing strategies and services to reduce the rates of chronic and life-threatening illness among the most vulnerable poputlations of women . This grant will be used to pay for rent, utilities, and staff salaries, allowing WIFH to continue serving their community during the public health crisis.

Yoga 4 Philly exists to make peace, love, and healing accessible to everyone through yoga and meditation. This grant will be used to hire certified yoga instructors to teach children’s classes to more than 600 students, hire support staff to assist with class management, establish a student-led yoga club, and purchase cleaning materials to maintain sanitary requirements.

We are proud to announce 30 new grants to grassroots organizations made through the first round of the Neighborhood Equitable Recovery Fund, a partnership between the City of Philadelphia Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity (CEO) and Bread & Roses Community Fund to support community-based nonprofit organizations that serve communities of color and those with low incomes, which have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

We are accepting applications for the second round of funding through October 1.

Neighborhood Equitable Recovery Fund Round One Grantees

African Cultural Alliance of North America supports newly-arrived Caribbean and African immigrants in their resettlement process by connecting families with social, health, and economic services. This grant will support the expansion of ACANA’s food assistance nutritional education program to provide their communities with culturally sensitive nutrition information and greater food security. 

Agape African Senior Center helps at-risk elderly African and Caribbean refugees and immigrants linguistically, socially, culturally, and economically. This grant will support the opening of their new in-person Office of Health Advocate that was created to address the impact of COVID-19 and its aftermath by helping victims’ families who lost breadwinners and sponsors. 

ArtWell supports young people and their communities through multidisciplinary arts expression, education, and creative reflection to celebrate their strengths and help them thrive while facing complex challenges. This grant will help pay their staff and provide students with art supplies. 

Big Picture Alliance’s mission is to engage, educate, and empower Philadelphia’s youth whose stories have traditionally been under-represented through filmmaking & digital media arts. This grant will support their digital media programs that provide youth with access to digital media tools, 21st-century skill development, professional mentorship, creative community, paid work experience, and career pathways. 

The Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia strives to improve the quality of life of Cambodian-Americans in the Philadelphia area through direct service, advocacy, and cultural education. This grant will expand their capacity to provide social services, including health education and elder engagement, to address needs as their community makes steps into the post-pandemic phase. 

Center in the Park is a nationally accredited nonprofit senior community center located in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia. This grant will support their operating expenses including social services and housing programs serving low-income older adults. 

Cradles to Crayons collects gently used and new, donated children’s items and re-distributes them to families unable to afford them. This grant will help them purchase school supplies, diapers, and hygiene products in bulk quantities for distribution to families.  

Esteem Girls empowers girls underrepresented in STEM by building their self-esteem and confidence to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math fields. This grant will go towards rent, stipends for their Esteem Leaders, four summer camp interns, and will also help offset the costs of their programming. 

Free Migration Project works at the intersection of law and community organizing to promote freedom of movement as a basic human right. They call for the abolition of detention and deportation as well as unjust immigration restrictions. This grant will support payroll and overhead to meet the increased need for reliable and affordable legal representation of low-income immigrant residents of Philadelphia. 

Georgia E. Gregory Interdenominational School of Music is a safe, creative space for youth to experience cognitive, social, and cultural development through music and the performing arts. This grant will help them provide tuition-free music, dance, and drama classes for youth K-12 to address the mental challenges of COVID-19, expand after-school meals, and to continue to support “art-risk” families with education and artistic programming.  

Grands As Parents supports grandparent caregivers and their grandchildren through workshops on financial literacy, legal training related to custody and DHS, and education about nutrition, mental health, and voting. This grant will provide food, clothing, and housing incentives for additional families and individuals within their community. 

The Hunting Park Community Revitalization Corporation promotes the development, welfare, and well-being of all people in the Hunting Park community. Informed by input from residents, HPCRC is prioritizing programs that support energy affordability, housing, and hot-weather resiliency. This grant will support a heat-relief resource giveaway, energy efficiency education at community events, and workshops on weatherization and utility assistance programs, heat health, and heat resiliency. 

The Islamic Cultural Preservation and Information Council – New Africa Center CDC is a nonprofit coalition of university scholars, educators, multi-disciplinary artists, parents, and individuals striving to preserve and elevate the cultural heritage of Islam in America. This grant will go to the costs of their New Freedom District Community Day program, a weekly truck rental to pick up supplies from food distribution centers, and part-time staff to distribute food to the community. 

Kensington Soccer Club is dedicated to providing the Kensington community with high-quality soccer and youth development programs for everybody, regardless of their ability to pay. This grant will help them establish continuity of programming and care and keep both participants and residents drug-free, violence-free, and healthy. 

KITHS is a community-based organization that provides serve Cambodian refugees and other Southeast Asian immigrants with social services using a social justice framework. This grant will support KITHS’ Kitchen, a culturally-affirming food pantry that provides education on nutrition and information about food access.  

Mighty Writers positively impacts the educational crisis in the US by offering free literacy and resource distribution programs to youth. This grant will be used for personnel costs, program expenses, contracted educator fees, facilities and equipment, administrative expenses, and travel. 

Mt. Vernon Manor CDC works to create accessible and safe communities by advancing affordable housing, building green spaces, and encouraging economic mobility and public health. This grant will be allocated toward the salary costs of MVM’s Director of Community Development, which is a position that will allow their staff to dedicate more time to managing long-term recovery projects. 

The Monkey & The Elephant is a nonprofit café on West Girard Avenue that supports young people in the transition from foster care to independence through a holistic employment and life skills program. This grant will provide the funds needed to continue to employ and support the most vulnerable youth during this fragile time and help expand their impact through 2022. 

Native American House Alliance promotes racial, economic, and political justice for Native Americans through media representation, organizing, and advocacy campaigns. They are working to establish the state’s first Native American Commissions. This grant will help build their capacity as Philadelphia’s only Native American community-based organization to take a lead role in the proposed Native American Commission campaign. 

One Art Community Center promotes racial and economic liberation by working towards sustainability, land sovereignty, and against food apartheid in their communities. This grant will go towards the establishment of a Black-owned farm food distribution and recycling program operated through One Art’s Sustainability Training & Education Program (STEP).  

PAR-Recycle Works hopes to support their transitional employees who were formerly incarcerated through payroll and other benefits, encouraging their economic self-sufficiency. Funds will support payroll for these transitional employees. 

Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC) supports equitable recovery for Philadelphia’s low-income, limited-English-proficient immigrant community members in the areas of financial, housing, educational, and mental/emotional issues. PCDC will use this grant to help sustain their expanded Housing and Family Services Program to meet the increased needs in the low-income Chinese immigrant community. 

Purple House Project PA works with women who have experienced intimate partner violence and builds a community of women who uplift and support other women. This grant will be used to purchase program supplies, provide incentives for women, pay contractors and staff, and purchase personal care items for women. 

Safe Haven Family Life Center provides a safe environment for the Strawberry Manson Community to obtain healthy meals, youth programs, senior aid, family counseling, and other services as needed. This grant will help to pay staff—which sometimes they are unable to do due to lack of funding—provide outdoor community youth activities, and repair their air conditioner. 

​​The Reawakening Agency assists incarcerated people with a successful transition back into their communities after they are released from prison. This grant will go towards payroll, rent, and other operating expenses incurred from developing their remote/virtual services. 

Tree House Books is a community-based organization that seeks to be part of the North Central Philadelphia neighborhood’s continued renewal and uplift. This grant will help them implement new pre-teen and teen leadership programs, expand their new bookmobile, and assist in the reopening of their Giving Library. 

Unemployment Information Center/Philadelphia Unemployment Project organizes and serves the unemployed and low-income communities of Philadelphia. The grant will go to organizing staff working with unemployed Philadelphians, mostly people of color. 

Unique Dreams empowers and strengthens youth and families in the Frankford community, which consists of 70,000 residents. The grant will allow them to purchase a van and hire staff to facilitate food distribution, transport seniors in the area to fulfill their medical needs, and provide safe travel for summer camp and aftercare students. 

Why Not Prosper is a grassroots organization located in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia that provides women in the reentry process a continuum of programs and services that include pre-release mentoring, residential services, employment help, family reunification, etc. Funds will be used to help support the community’s food security through their Share the Bounty program. 

Women’s Community Revitalization Project (WCRP) is a women-led, multi-racial community development organization committed to social and economic equity for low-income women and their families. This grant will be used to support the organization and their constituents in recovering from the pandemic.