The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod Charitable Foundation Trust (The Coop Foundation) has awarded $98,000 in grants to five local nonprofit organizations dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in the region.
The grants awarded mirror the bank’s corporate giving focus areas for fiscal year 2023 – Housing Initiatives and Solutions, and Social Justice and Racial Equity.
“I congratulate the five deserving nonprofits that have been awarded The Coop Foundation grants and applaud their tireless work to make Cape Cod a better and more equitable place to live,” said Lisa Oliver, Chair, President and CEO, The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod. “The latest cohort of grant recipients exemplifies The Coop Foundation’s mission to cultivate vibrant and thriving communities. While the region’s housing, social justice and racial equity issues will not be resolved overnight, these organizations are creating and implementing innovative programs to make an immediate difference and contribute to long-term solutions.”
During the recent quarterly meeting of the Board of Trustees, the following grants were awarded:
- $30,000 to Amplify POC (People of Color) over the course of three years for communications and programs capacity building. Amplify POC promotes racial equity by providing accessible resources and education that enhance visibility and increase sustainable ownership opportunities for communities of color. The grant will be used to create communication and education materials, enhance the organization’s website to connect the BIPOC community to more financial and educational resources, and compile data about program participant demographics, community need and program impact
- $3,000 to Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts to provide scholarships for six low- and middle-income girls to attend summer camp in 2022. The organization’s camps offer girls a nurturing single-gender community that fosters healthy development and opportunities to build self-esteem, learn new skills, enjoy the natural world around them and stay mentally and physically active while under the guidance of caring, trained adults.
- $10,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod to help fund the cost of building materials and licensed contractors to construct four new two- and three-bedroom homes in Falmouth. For four families, the opportunity to help build their own home and then purchase it on terms they can afford will provide a permanent solution to the housing insecurity they may have experienced for years.
- $50,000 to Housing Assistance Corporation over the course of four years for its new THRIVE (Tools to House Residents in a Vulnerable Economy) housing voucher program. The program has been designed to help participants decrease debt, improve financial health and establish more stable and sustainable housing by bridging the gap between resources currently available. Strong results from a recent pilot of the program have already yielded a two-year grant from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to assist daycare and disability care workers, whose professions are critical to households dependent upon them to remain in the workforce
- $5,000 to Lower Cape Outreach Council for emergency food assistance to serve clients at its nine food pantries on the Lower and Outer Cape. The grant will be used to purchase additional protein, produce and dairy products for the pantries, which have been experiencing supply issues from a primary inventory source.