Two New Jersey nonprofit organizations are splitting nearly $1 million in funding from a Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit provided by New Jersey American Water, according to a news release.
The funds will support 10 projects across the two nonprofit organizations, Stand Up for Salem and Camden Lutheran Housing, Inc., in collaboration with numerous local partners.
The funding was announced in coordination with the N.J. Department of Community Affairs, the company said.
Stand Up for Salem will receive $702,500. It supports community-driven neighborhood planning and revitalization in Salem City, Salem County, it was stated in the news release.
The money will fund a variety of local projects, including initial training and workforce development at its Career Trades Training Center, a business incubator for local entrepreneurs and small businesses. Money will also go to a home repair assistance program for low-and moderate-income homeowners, and local community organizing and engagement efforts.
“This grant supports a range of community programs and projects designed to address existing socioeconomic and housing challenges and create more opportunities for Salem residents through workforce training, a small business incubation program, and efforts to preserve and maintain the neighborhood’s housing stock through proactive repairs,” Betsy McBride, executive director of Stand Up For Salem, said in a statement from the company. “We are so grateful that New Jersey American Water shares our vision of a thriving, revitalized Center of Salem.”
Camden Lutheran Housing, Inc. will receive $247,000. It partners with and supports North Camden residents through community restoration and improvement initiatives, according to a news release. The funds will help support the community development work outlined in North Camden residents’ neighborhood plan.
Community projects will focus on developing and maintaining affordable homeownership housing for residents, supporting community engagement through events and initiatives, installing decorative board ups at abandoned properties to beautify North Camden, and restoring the 290-year-old historic Benjamin Cooper House and transforming it into a museum for community use.
“This NRTC grant delivers the support we need to turn residents’ vision for a stronger, more vibrant North Camden into a reality,” Brandi Johnson, executive director, Camden Lutheran Housing, Inc., said in a statement. “New Jersey American Water’s partnership will help us advance projects that will improve the neighborhood, including expanding affordable housing for residents who currently spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing and ongoing home maintenance and repairs.”
The tax credit program, administered by Department of Community Affairs’ Division of Housing and Community Resources, is designed to spur the renewal of distressed neighborhoods through strategies developed by residents and the community-based nonprofit organizations that assist them, it was stated in a news release.
These local organizations prepare, submit, and receive approval from Department of Community Affairs for multi-year revitalization plans for the neighborhoods they serve.
New Jersey American Water and its predecessors has been the water service provider for the Cramer Hill and eastern parts of the City of Camden for more than 130 years and will soon be the water and sewer service provider for the City of Salem, after winning a ballot referendum last year to purchase the city’s systems.
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Bill Duhart may be reached at bduhart@njadvancemedia.com.
