2 Burlington County Nonprofits Receive Arts & Culture Grant

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — The New Jersey Arts and Culture Recovery Fund has awarded $1.3 million in grants to more than 60 nonprofits across the state still coping from the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

West Jersey Music Academy in Moorestown and Roebling Museum in Roebling were two of the grant recipients.

This is the second round of grants awarded by NJACRF, which is hosted by the Princeton Area Community Foundation. Earlier this year, the fund provided $2.6 million in grants to more than 100 other arts, culture and historical nonprofits statewide.

COVID-19 shuttered venues and forced furloughs and layoffs of more than half of the state’s creative workforce. The state’s nonprofit arts industry reported pandemic-related losses of more than $100 million as of December.

In response to the needs of the arts community, NJACRF was established last year with a gift from the Grunin Foundation, based in Toms River. A coalition of funders quickly followed with their support, to ensure the recovery of the industry.

Most recently, Merck became a leadership donor, and the 1772 Foundation and Turrell Fund became major donors to the fund, which has raised a total of over $4.5 million. But the needs of the community across the state are great and fundraising continues, according to NJACRF members.

“COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted the health and economic wellbeing of many communities in New Jersey,” said Carmen Villar, vice president, Social Business Innovation, Merck. “We are proud to support the NJACRF’s work to ensure equitable recovery of the vibrant arts and cultural sectors for all communities in our state.”

The fund is chaired by Jeremy Grunin, President of the Grunin Foundation, and Sharnita C. Johnson, Program Director – Arts, of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and members include Prudential Foundation, Stone Foundation of NJ, E. J. Grassmann Trust, NJ State Council on the Arts, and the NJ Historical Commission. Other major donors include the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Amazon and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.