Local Organizations Request $515,000 in Federal Aid
Nine groups presented how they could use federal funding to provide additional education, outreach and networking opportunities to low- to moderate-income residents in Montclair.
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Federal funding is up for grabs, and qualifying organizations presented their cases for why they deserve a piece of that pie on Tuesday night.
Nine Montclair groups are asking for $515,000 in federal grants to help benefit low- and moderate-income residents in the areas of education, outreach, networking and infrastructure.
At the Montclair Council conference on Tuesday, the organizations presented their project ideas to the council. The council will prioritize the projects, and determine how best to distribute funds. The deadline for the council is in January.
The projects will be funded through the Community Development Block Grant program, which is run by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The exact amount of federal money the township will receive is not yet known, said Montclair's Director of Planning and Community Development Janice Talley, and she was skeptical whether Montclair would be awarded anything close to the requested $515,000.
Talley said CDBG funding has continued to be “whittled down." Last year, the township received approximately $321,000 -- a decrease of nearly 50 percent from a few years prior.
“We are hoping the funding is the same” as last year, said Talley, but she added there are no certainties.
The federal funding will be made available in the fall of 2013.
The following organizations, their funding requests and a brief synopsis of how they will use the money is below.
| Organization |
Amount |
Project Description |
| Montclair Township | $180,000 |
Streetscape improvements to Glenridge Avenue (between Cloverhill Place and Grove Street).
|
|
Counseling Outreach Prevention Education |
$49,000 | Provide additional counseling programs to low-income Montclair residents. |
| BlueWave Public Interest Foundation | $46,950 | After school tutoring and summer enrichment programs. |
| Neighborhood Childcare Center | $60,000 | Hire additional staff to care for special needs children. |
| Homes of Montclair Ecumenical Corporation, or HOMECorp | $30,000 | Funding for a financial literacy program. |
| Montclair Neighborhood Development Corporation | $50,000 | Funding for youth programs. |
| Interfaith Hospitality Network | $30,300 | Case management services for Montclair families. |
| Family Service League | $20,000 | Counseling for low-income families and rape victims. |
|
United Way |
$50,000 | Funding for its Family Success Center. |
| Total | $515,000 |
JohnCarlo
11:21 am on Thursday, December 6, 2012
Free money? Or has the fed govt taken money from its hard working citizens and redistributed (or spread it around a little) to those that choose not to work? what say you Montclair libs?
Townie
3:25 pm on Friday, December 7, 2012
The CDBG program was started by President Ford and has been supported by every President since. The idea is to devolve what had been less-than-sucessful federal community development programs back to the state and local governments. Those who believe in state's rights are big supporters of this approach.
Looking at the above list, I'm not finding anything that (as JohnCarlo writes) puts money in the hands of those who choose not to work. I see money for streetscape improvements and for paying teacher and social worker salaries, but these are people willing to work.
We have to live with the reality that not everyone can work. It would be terrific if everyone could, but there are people who cannot. The "thousand points of light" we rely on are the non-profits that get local support, supplemented further when local officials determine them worthy of CDBG dollars.
The COPE Center, for example, got $49K and they deal with dysfunctional, messed-up people, plain and simple. Thank goodness for them, for their work and for the work of all those listed.
scarletxknight
1:09 am on Saturday, December 8, 2012
johncarlo,
what an obnoxious comment. do you know anything about each of those organizations? what a horrible assumption from someone who clearly knows nothing about those places. i've interned at one and volunteered at three and they service "hard working" individuals and families.
Jay Bell
8:07 pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012
And why shouldn't they ask for assistance? The banks have received TRILLIONS of dollars in low-interest (almost 0%) loans, and the working and middle class will be "footing the bill" for it, so why not get money for the working and middle class? www.firebrandcentral.com
emiliac
8:07 pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012
Hey JC, where have you been since George W left the country in a near depression? I hope you weren't hidden away in some none government funded facility. There are just not enough jobs for all who want to work. Hey, you probably think that FEMA funds should be denied to home owners whose homes sustained damage during Sandy. Ho, Ho, Ho Scrouge.