The Bolger Foundation Announces Fall 2022 Grant Recipients
The Bolger Foundation is pleased to announce the results of its June 1-September 1, 2022, funding cycle. From the 19 applications submitted for consideration, 10 (501)(c)(3) organizations were approved to receive a total of $757,500, including $525,500 given in the form of challenge grants.
Each of these nonprofits is engaged in a mission that aligns with The Bolger Foundation’s focus on conservation and preservation; health, including mental health; and community programs for those underprivileged and underserved.
Maine 4-H Foundation (Bridgton, ME) received $130,000. Part of this money will go towards the acquisition of additional land adjacent to the organization’s Bryant Pond Facility. The rest will fund a new projector plus classroom renovations to help transform Bridgton’s Magic Lantern Theater into the Magic Lantern Innovation Lab & Learning Center.
The recently donated facility will still function as a three-screen movie theater and pub while also providing rural youth in the Lakes Regions of Western Maine with hands-on instruction in the visual and performing arts, engineering, digital media, culinary skills, and possibly local farming.
Eva’s Village (Paterson, NJ) serves individuals throughout the Passaic County area who struggle with homelessness, hunger, poverty, addiction, and mental health issues. They were awarded $50,000 in funding to upgrade their security gates and facility access in order to better protect their employees, volunteers, and clients.
In the four decades since Eva’s Kitchen (named after the missionary sister who served as its first director) was founded thanks to tithes from the Paterson Council of Priests, it has grown into a village that dishes out 350 meals a day and serves as a portal to a wide array of social services and clinical programs that help thousands of men, women, and children each year.
The Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (Ridgewood, NJ) was given $25,000. Initially structured as a challenge grant, the congregation’s urgent need for emergency repairs to their 1907 building led to $22,000 being given outright to cover a new roof.
The remaining $3,000 will pay for a consultant who can assess the overall condition of the historic edifice — which a January 8, 1908, article in the Ridgewood Herald described as “a real addition to the architectural attractions of Ridgewood” — and formulate a plan for its rehabilitation.
Metropolitan AME Zion’s house of worship is Bergen County’s first Black church. It was established at the turn of the 20th century by Lucinda L. Jackson, a former slave. The Bolger Foundation looks forward to the restoration of this hometown landmark.
In addition, challenge grants from The Bolger Foundation were accepted by half a dozen additional nonprofit organizations:
Inspire Sports Camps (Maywood, NJ) must raise $30,000 in order to receive $15,000. In 2021, Inspire Sports Camps were named as a Regional Winner of Chick-Fil-A’s True Inspiration Award. Their vision is to transform cities, one camper at a time, by providing unforgettable experiences to underserved youth.
Selah Freedom (Sarasota, FL) also received a 2:1 challenge grant, pledging to raise $25,000 in order to receive $12,500. This faith-based nonprofit seeks to end sex trafficking and bring freedom to those exploited by it. Their own fundraising plus their grant from The Bolger Foundation will enable them to buy a van for transporting victims of trafficking.
God’s Kitchen (Palatka, FL) will raise $25,000 to be matched by a challenge grant for that amount from The Bolger Foundation. Serving Florida’s Putnam County, God’s Kitchen delivers approximately 1200 nutritious meals each month to more than 110 homebound and/or less fortunate county residents. The faith-based organization will use their $50,000 in funding to purchase the building that houses their kitchen facilities.
Greater Bergen Community Action (Hackensack, NJ) will raise $125,000, to be matched dollar for dollar by The Bolger Foundation. The total amount of $250,000 will be put to use in the 501(c)(3) organization’s $7.1 million transformation of an existing building into a free community health center featuring a medical clinic, mental health services, pharmacy, and food bank.
GBCA’s goal is to reduce poverty in the Greater Bergen County community by addressing the causes and conditions of persistent economic insecurity.
The Valley Hospital (Ridgewood, NJ) also accepted a 1:1 challenge grant of $125,000, with that amount to be raised by The Valley Hospital Foundation and matched by The Bolger Foundation. The fully accredited 451-bed not-for-profit acute care hospital offers emergency, inpatient, and outpatient services for adults and children.
Valley’s Basic Life Support ambulances not only transport their own patients, but also serve as backup units for nearby towns. Once matched, this grant will fund the purchase of an additional ambulance.
Servant’s Heart Ministry (Paterson, NJ) is challenged with raising $2.25 million in order to receive $250,000 from The Bolger Foundation. Servant’s Heart offers training and mentorship in trades such as construction, plumbing and electrical, masonry, and landscaping. They partner with local organizations to impact under-resourced communities through renovation projects.
Furthermore, Servant’s Heart emphasizes core values of honesty, trust, timeliness, teachability, respect, integrity, and craftsmanship. Funds will go towards Phase 2 of remodeling their building, including adding a kitchen in which to teach culinary trades.
Paramus Fritz Behnke Historical Museum (Paramus, NJ) was the 10th 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to receiving funding in The Bolger Foundation’s Fall 2022 grant cycle. They have agreed to raise $15,000 in order to receive another $10,000 from The Bolger Foundation.
Named for a lifelong resident and local history buff whose family has lived in Paramus since 1886, the Paramus Fritz Behnke Historical Museum provides an interesting and educational tour of life in rural-to-suburban New Jersey 100+ years ago. Their Bolger Foundation challenge grant will go towards the purchase of new artifacts for the museum.
The Bolger Foundation congratulates our Fall 2022 grant recipients. We are confident that these worthy organizations will meet their challenges, and we look forward to seeing what they do with their funding.
Applications for Spring 2023 grants from The Bolger Foundation will be accepted online at TheBolgerFoundation.org from November 1, 2022, through February 1, 2023.