Kessler Foundation awarded nearly $1 million in COVID-19 emergency grant funding for nonprofits faced with the challenges of serving people with disabilities in New Jersey.
The recipient organizations were current or former grantees of Kessler Foundation’s employment grant program, according to a media release from Kessler Foundation.
“When the pandemic reached New Jersey, the effects on our grantees were devastating,” noted Elaine E. Katz, senior vice president of the Center for Grant-making and Communications at the Foundation, in the release.
“Being in the front lines of serving people with disabilities, a population at higher risk for infection complicated the ability of our grantees to adapt to this new reality. To help these organizations remain viable, we knew we needed to respond immediately.”
Kessler Foundation quickly established the COVID-19 Emergency Fund, which provided 37 emergency grants of $10,000 to $40,000 to help with unanticipated needs and expenses. In addition, a rapid response team was formed to review and approve applications.
Grants also helped cover costs of personal protective equipment, and supplies and services to meet new federal and state requirements for sanitation and safety measures. Furloughs and layoffs continue to affect staff and the people with disabilities they serve, increasing the need for employment services, and creating demand for assistance with applying for unemployment and other benefits. For the many organizations dependent on in-person contact, the emergency funding is being used to develop new ways to continue their work, according to Katz, the release continues.
The Newark-based GI Go Fund received a grant for its Jackson Drysdale Veterans Center, which anticipates tripling of the number of veterans needing employment services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Drysdale Center is reportedly the only one of its kind in New Jersey, according to Jack Fanous, the Center’s executive director and GI Go Fund’s CEO. “The Center also serves as an incubator for veteran-owned small businesses,” Fanous says, “helping them succeed as profitable and sustainable enterprises.”
Some of the Drysdale Center’s businesses have already adapted to serve their communities, producing masks and sanitation supplies, and providing virtual fitness classes to families
Some of the Drysdale Center’s businesses have already adapted to serve their communities, producing masks and sanitation supplies, and providing virtual fitness classes to families sheltering at home.
“With this additional support, we can provide microloans to our veteran entrepreneurs, and assist them with applications for disaster relief, including options available through the Small Business Administration, specifically the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL),” Fanous adds.
“The new reality affects all of us,” Katz concludes, “but people with disabilities are being affected disproportionately. Our COVID-19 emergency grants are giving New Jersey organizations that serve this population a chance to adapt to this new reality, so we can continue toward our collective goal – helping individuals with disabilities reach their goals of independence and self-sufficiency.”
[Source(s): Kessler Foundation, PRWeb]
