New Jersey Autism Grant Program Announced
The Karma Foundation has long believed that small grants can produce big outcomes. It is with that thought in mind, that the Foundation is initiating a competitive program to award up to 20 grants of $2500 each to provide programs and services to help people with Autism in the State of New Jersey. Read more
Recent Grants
J Team
J Team is the teen philanthropy program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County. A select group of 8th-12th grade students meet monthly throughout the school year to learn about philanthropy, engage in community service and make charitable donations - all with a focus on core Jewish values of giving. The teamwork approach to philanthropic giving makes this program a win-win for the community's teens and nonprofit agencies and gives young people the tools to begin a life of giving. J Teens each make a donation of $125 and use the knowledge they acquire to propose and select organizations to fund; that donation is then generously doubled by the Karma Foundation. At the end of the program year, team members decide together which programs will receive funding and how that money is allocated to the selected programs.
Over the last 3 years, J Team participants have distributed funding to a wide variety of social service, educational, environmental and disaster relief organizations throughout the world. Recipients include Chaiyenu, an Israeli organization that arranges weekend retreats for families who struggle with cancer or other serious illnesses; Women Aware, a program that enhances consciousness of dating abuse and promotes healthy relationships; and Elijah’s Promise Soup Kitchen which feeds the hungry and homeless populations of central NJ.
Mercer Street Friends
Mercer Street Friends serves 20,0000 people a year from seven locations. Programs serve infants, children, adults, the disabled, and the elderly. A grant from The Karma Foundation supports efforts of the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank to manage The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), a USDA commodities program designed to channel food to people. TEFAP commodities constitute an ongoing source of high quality, nutritious food that flows from Mercer Street Friends to its member agencies-food pantries, shelters and soup kitchens. With the funding, the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank distributes one million pounds of TEFAP commodities that reaches 25,000 food insecure children and adults.