FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact:
Phyllis Lacca: 609.344.2400 x204 cell 609.214.7870 / phyllis@masterpieceadvertising.com
Alan Rosenzweig: 609-238-5999 / alan@masterpieceadvertising.com
Public Relations: 609.344.2400 x202 / pr@masterpieceadvertising.com
(VINELAND, NJ – August 31, 2017) – Frances P. Sykes, President of the Pascale Sykes Foundation, today announced that the Foundation has awarded $1.5 million in funding to New Jersey Community Capital’s (NJCC) THRIVE South Jersey program to support small business lending throughout New Jersey’s Heartland.
The agreement that governs the funding, which should at minimum generate a dollar-for-dollar return in terms of additional loan commitments, directs that the grants be used solely for small business loans. It designates the funds be equally utilized for loans up to $100,000, between $100,000 and $150,000, and between $150,000 and $200,000.
“New Jersey Community Capital, through it’s THRIVE South Jersey Program, has done a tremendous job generating additional loan commitments while funding a host of impactful economic development and business initiatives throughout New Jersey’s Heartland,” said Sykes, whose Foundation is on track to award more than $50 million in social service, transportation and economic initiative grants by the time it sunsets in 2022-23. “In working with NJCC, we saw a unique opportunity to generate additional funding commitments and small business loans in amounts that are needed and are proven to provide valuable returns throughout the region.”
There are a variety of success stories the Foundation and THRIVE have written since the program’s inception, including a $30,000 loan issued to Andrea Covino, co-owner and chef of Andrea Trattoria Italiana in Downtown Millville, NJ, at the THRIVE kickoff in May of 2016. Since then, THRIVE has awarded $20,000 for the refurbishment of 13 storefront facades in the downtown Millville Arts District, as well as another $10,000 in funding for entrepreneurial training for 18 local, small business owners.
Dreams of a Pocket Park facelift in the heart of Uptown Pitman, NJ, will soon become a reality thanks to a $15,000 THRIVE grant that was just presented by NJCC to the Pitman Chamber of Commerce. The grant will go towards the conversion of Theatre Avenue to Theatre Plaza, a new public space in the center of the downtown.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Pascale Sykes Foundation, and honored they have chosen to demonstrate their faith in this important initiative through the additional $1.5 million grant,” says Wayne T. Meyer, President of NJCC, which is a US Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). “Creating quality job opportunities and strengthening residents’ connections to these opportunities will go a long way toward making South Jersey thrive.”
The Pascale Sykes Foundation partnered with NJCC to create THRIVE, a dedicated financing and capacity building initiative created to address poverty and unemployment by catalyzing local economic development in the targeted, four-county region of Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem, and Western Atlantic Counties.
The Foundation’s initial grant of $4.1 million has generated $26.125 million in funding commitments for THRIVE, which operates as an arm of the Foundation’s South Jersey Economic Initiative (SJEI) and supports a wide array of projects in the region. Included among those major projects is the Paulsboro Plaza, a once-thriving shopping center left vacant that is presently being developed to include a Save-a-Lot supermarket and 25,000 square feet of additional retail space to serve the local community.
For more information on NJCC’s THRIVE South Jersey program, contact Laura Wallick at 267.397.1605 or email lwallick@njclf.com.
For information on The Pascale Sykes Foundation, its mission, grantees and programs, visit PascaleSykesFoundation.com.
About the Pascale Sykes Foundation
The Pascale Sykes Foundation was founded in 1992 on the belief that strong families are basic to adult and child well-being. Individuals live within families; what happens to each family member affects the family; and what happens to the family affects each individual within the family. Families succeed when all family members work together to address issues before they become problems and work toward common goals.
The Foundation’s direct investment in Salem, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Western Atlantic Counties through its South Jersey Strengthening Families Initiative will have surpassed $50 million when the Foundation closes its doors in 2022-23.
In 2017-18, the Foundation will provide grants in support of 11 social service Strengthening Families Collaborations and four comprehensive transportation initiatives, as well as the funding for the Foundation’s South Jersey Economic Initiative, which includes the New Jersey’s Heartland destination marketing campaign. Seed funding for the South Jersey Economic Initiative has been leveraged by New Jersey Community Capital, the Foundation’s community investment partner, to secure economic development and business lending commitments totaling more than $26 million in available funding.
The Pascale Sykes Foundation’s South Jersey social service Strengthening Families Collaborations include:
Child Connection Center
Connecting Families to Communities
Families In Motion
Families to College
Family Enrichment Network
Family Strengthening Network
Heart of South Jersey
Stronger Families
South Jersey First Star Collaborative
Unidos para la Familia (United for the Family)
United Potential 4 Families
The Transportation Plus initiatives include:
English Creek Tilton Road Community Shuttle – Atlantic County
Routes 54-40 Community Shuttle – Atlantic County
Greater Bridgeton Area Transit – Cumberland County
Pureland East-West Community Shuttle – Gloucester County
The Foundation’s South Jersey office is located at 80 South Main Road, Suite 114, Vineland, NJ 08360. The Foundation may be reached at 856-213-5068 (p), 856-457-7098 (f), or at www.pascalesykesfoundation.com.
About New Jersey Community Capital (NJCC)
NJCC is a nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI) that transforms at-risk communities through strategic investments of capital and knowledge. NJCC invests in affordable housing, community facilities, and economic development ventures that strengthen neighborhoods, improve education, and increase jobs, ultimately providing greater opportunities for low-income populations. Since inception, NJCC has facilitated the investment of over $500 million into 800 high-impact projects across the state, supporting the creation and preservation of 12,900 education seats, 8,200 housing units, 6,100 early care slots, and 6,100 jobs. For more information, please visit newjerseycommunitycapital.org.
###