Philadelphia Foundation Awards $1 Million to Community Groups Selected by Online Vote
July 31, 2019, Oren Oppenheim - The Philadelphia Inquirer
Groups that help Philadelphians become homeowners, make their homes energy efficient, and become leaders through basketball skills each won $200,000 Wednesday evening from Philadelphia Foundation as part of a competition whose winners were selected by online voting.
The foundation awarded $1 million in “Key to Community” grants during a ceremony at the Comcast Technology Center. Second-place winners will each receive $100,000, while third-place winners get $33,000.
The Hispanic Association of Contractors and Enterprises (HACE) fosters home ownership and development in Northeast Philadelphia. With the grant, HACE plans to establish a “Good Lands Trust” that will let people buy homes owned by the organization at an affordable cost and increase the number of Fairhill-area residents who own homes. The other winners in the economic prosperity category are Philabundance and the Urban League of Philadelphia.
The Energy Coordinating Agency provides low-income families with help for home energy repairs and weatherization, as well as running energy training programs. It plans to bolster a maintenance and repair training program geared toward people recently released from prison. The second- and third-place winners for creating equitable communities were TechGirlz and Girls Inc. of Greater Philadelphia & Southern New Jersey.
Philadelphia Youth Basketball helps young people with leadership and academic development through basketball. It hopes to keep more teenagers in school by boosting its after-school programming. Defender Association of Philadelphia and New Leash on Life USA are the two other winners in the civic and community engagement category.
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