Montclair Nonprofit Receives $50,000 Grant

A Montclair nonprofit that offers social services received a $50,000 federal grant this week. 

During a meeting at Orange Town Hall, the Essex County Freeholder Board approved a grant package as part of the Community Service Block Grant Program. A portion of these funds will be channeled to the Montclair Neighborhood Development Corporation in the amount of $50,000.

Following the vote, Freeholder Gill stated, “Since I was sworn in as freeholder, I’ve been able to play a small part in getting grant dollars to organizations that have a record of accomplishment in partnering with local government to benefit our communities.”

The funding is the second sum that has been approved by the Freeholder Board for the MNDC since September 2012, when Gill announced that funding in the amount of $164,294 would be passed along to the organization.

By federal mandate, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs allocates and administers funds to agencies, such as the MNDC, that provide various assistance programs and services to low-income persons. All New Jersey counties are served by a Community Action Agency.

“What was approved by the freeholders is administrative funding that will be used to operate the agency, so that we can be in the community and support other programs” stated MNDC Executive Director Albert Pelham.

Pelham oversees the MNDC’s extensive community operations and directs programs intended to assist clients who have various needs for services that the Bloomfield Avenue based organization provides. These services include employment readiness and housing counseling, financial literacy training, youth after school programs, and case management towards economic self-sufficiency.

“The funding comes in two phases – this is the initial part. Once the state determines what the final amount will be, we’ll get a second flow of funding. The freeholders are aware of the importance of administrative money to keep the agency in Montclair, and which will then enable us to do the other programs that we run.”

Freeholder Gill, a Montclair native, has praised the MNDC for its working relationship with the county, emphasizing its successes in providing “much needed and well-received services” to Montclair residents in need.

“Essex County partnerships, including the one we have with the MNDC, are cornerstones of our development in towns across the county.” Gill said.

“Director Pelham and his team have consistently done a great job for residents in neighborhoods across town, and I’m confident they will continue to do so with these funds.”