EAST MT. AIRY (11/5/2019) – The East Mount Airy Neighbors (EMAN) Community Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation is pleased to announce it has awarded $69,700 in grants to six nonprofits providing services to Northwest Philadelphia, with an emphasis on programs serving the East Mt. Airy neighborhood.
The grants, ranging in size from $10,000 to $16,700, address priority funding areas established by the EMAN Community Fund. The fund focuses its work on East Mt. Airy bounded by Stenton Avenue, Washington Lane, Germantown Avenue and Cresheim Valley Drive.
“This year’s slate of grant winners represents the work East Mount Airy Neighbors is committed to doing within the neighborhood and furthers the organization’s mission to make ‘a good community better’ said Natalia Serejko, EMAN’s Executive Director. “We are extremely proud to be able to support the great work of these organizations which enrich our community.”
This is the fifth consecutive year that the EMAN Fund has provided community support through the Philadelphia Foundation. This year’s funding brings the total grant dollars distributed to $417,700.
The recipients will be celebrated at the “A Toast to Mt. Airy” event from 7 to 11 p.m. Sat., Nov. 9 at the United Lutheran Seminary’s Brossman Center-Benbow Hall, 7301 Germantown Ave. Tickets are available online at eastmountairy.org.
In March, nonprofits were invited to submit Letters of Interest (LOI) to apply for the EMAN grants. Following a review, a select group of applicants were asked to share full proposals. Philadelphia Foundation staff and EMAN board members conducted site visits with each of the remaining applicants.
Receiving the grants are:
- Artwell, to support Artwell Programming at Parkway Northwest High School.
The organization supports young people and their communities through multidisciplinary arts expression, education, and creative reflection to celebrate their strengths, help them thrive while facing complex challenges and awaken their dreams. It provides trauma-informed, healing-centered multidisciplinary arts programming to K-12 students in under-resourced Philadelphia schools and organizations.
- Food Moxie, to support Awbury Agricultural Village Programming.
The organization educates and inspires people to grow, prepare, and eat healthy food. It is the largest and most innovative food and urban agriculture organization in Northwest Philadelphia. Food Moxie’s programs focus on those most affected by food insecurity, who are looking for skill-building to better access healthy foods through growing, cooking, tasting and eating.
- Jumpstart Germantown, LLC, to encourage borrowers in the East Mt. Airy boundary to invest in properties this fall.
The organization works to revitalize Northwest Philadelphia through mentoring, networking and providing financial resources to aspiring local developers who want to make a positive impact in the community through renovating residential & mixed-use properties. Funding will support Jumpstart East Mt. Airy, which will offer an incentive for renovation projects within East Mt. Airy.
- Mt. Airy Business Improvement District, to support the design, production and installation of street banners to contribute to the beautification of the neighborhood.
The organization works to enhance the vitality of Mt. Airy by providing services that clean, beautify and improve the Germantown Avenue commercial corridor so that area businesses and institutions are more successful, commercial and mixed-use properties are more valuable, and residents and visitors can enjoy the benefits of a vibrant community. The grant aligns with the Mt. Airy 2025 goal of strengthening the commercial corridor, strengthening neighborhood retail and commerce, and strengthening community safety and place-making.
- Mt. Airy CDC, to support Mt. Airy Public Elementary School Guides, a profile-raising project designed to support and promote local public schools through professionally-designed print materials and video.
The CDC’s mission is to preserve, empower and advance a vibrant and diverse Mt. Airy by stimulating development responsive to the community’s need. As an initiative of Mt. Airy Schools Coalition (MASC), a collaborative effort of Mt. Airy CDC, EMAN and West Mt. Airy Neighbors, this project will enable six public elementary schools (AB Day, Emlen, Houston, Henry, Lingelbach and Jenks) to more effectively compete with private schools for the opportunity to serve the community’s families and combat negative perceptions of the city’s schools.
- Ralston Center, to support “Ralston My Way” -- a low-income home repair initiative.
The organization’s mission is to provide supportive services and programs to older adults in West and Northwest Philadelphia. Ralston My Way is a membership-based one-stop shop that provides seniors in Northwest Philadelphia with reliable, responsive and respectful home care, cleaning, repair and transportation services that enable them to age in place safely and with dignity for as long as possible.
ABOUT THE EAST MT. AIRY NEIGHBORS COMMUNITY FUND
The East Mt. Airy Neighbors (EMAN) Community Fund strategically focuses its grants to support nonprofit organizations actively working to improve the health, welfare and quality of life of the Philadelphia Northwest communities. The Fund supports work in the areas of Aging, Building Community, Children & Youth, and Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities.
ABOUT PHILADELPHIA FOUNDATION
Founded in 1918, the Philadelphia Foundation strengthens the economic, social and civic vitality of Greater Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Foundation grows effective philanthropic investment, connects individuals and institutions across sectors and geography, and advances civic initiatives through partnerships and collaboration. A publicly supported foundation, the Philadelphia Foundation manages more than 900 charitable funds established by its donors and makes over 1,000 grants and scholarship awards each year. To learn more, visit philafound.org.