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Bank of America has announced grants totaling more than $22 million in support of advancing racial equality and economic opportunities.

A total of $18.35 million was awarded in support of higher education and workforce development, with a focus on efforts to strengthen hiring pipelines and empower students to advance their academic and career opportunities, including a previously announced $10 million grant to Spelman and Morehouse colleges to establish the Center for Black Entrepreneurship. Workforce development awards include $300,000 to GRID Alternatives in support of the SolarCorps Fellowship Program, which enables individuals from diverse backgrounds to be trained and launch careers in the renewable energy field, as well as grants to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Posse Foundation, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and United National Indian Tribal Youth.

In addition, $1.3 million was awarded to assist minority and indigenous entrepreneurs and their small businesses through organizations such as the Latino Business Action Network, Echoing Green, and Our Native American Business Entrepreneurship Network (ONABEN), and $2.55 million was awarded in support of health and emergency needs, such as hunger relief and shelter focused on helping communities recover from the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus including Hispanic-Latino community-based health organizations that are part of the UnidosUS community health affiliate network and the Hispanic Federation.

"Workforce development, job creation, and access to health and housing services are some of the most pressing needs facing Black, Hispanic-Latino, and Native American individuals," said Ebony Thomas, Bank of America's racial equality and economic opportunity executive. "By providing this support alongside our national and local partners, we are further addressing many of the challenges facing under-resourced and underserved communities across the U.S."

The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey (HFNJ) has awarded $1,219,591 to 12 New Jersey non-profit organizations in the first quarter of 2022.

All awards given this cycle were in support of new projects, and many awards were given to organizations receiving their first-ever grant from HFNJ. The largest grant of this cycle, a $500,000 gift to Morristown Medical Center, will help the hospital fund an ambitious renovation of its pediatric emergency department, doubling space available for children facing behavioral health crises.

Many grants this cycle embody a “win-win” approach to ameliorating multiple social problems with one project. For instance, a $160,000 grant to Youth Build Newark will allow the group to create a post-secondary career track to healthcare professions for Newark-area youth currently disconnected from school or employment. The project will both help the young people gain a foothold to promising career paths, and help fill regional staffing shortages in the healthcare industry. Likewise, a $50,000 grant to support Newark’s Working Kitchens project will both feed hungry families, and help ensure that restaurants that have seen downturns in business due to the pandemic can continue to remain solvent.

“HFNJ is pleased to end our first quarter of funding in 2022 by providing over $1.2M in funding for critical projects that will support residents in the greater Newark area, especially grants that will help train the next generation of healthcare workers, who are in short supply and are vitally needed as communities recover from the pandemic,” said Michael Schmidt, Executive Director and CEO of the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.

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