More Than $1 Million In Grants Handed Out To DE Non-Profits - WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's Choice

DELAWARE - A national bank's charitable foundation is giving more than $1 million to non-profits in Delaware. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation is providing 25 Delaware non-profits with offering job training, education programs and support services that help connect the unemployed, underemployed, veterans, youth and people with disabilities to employment opportunities. Some of the Delaware non-profits receiving grants that support workforce development and education are:

· Connections Community Support Programs, Inc. in Wilmington was awarded a grant to support the expansion of Connect to Work, a job readiness program which successfully employs those with barriers to employment, offering individuals a meaningful work experience and increasing long-term financial independence.  This program will individually train 145 people, find job placement for 380 workers and foster a 95 percent increase in wages.

· Communities in Schools of Delaware, Inc. in Dover received a grant for its On-Track College Access and Readiness Initiative for high school students.  As part of the program, organizations provide community-based, integrated student services to help at-risk students and their schools succeed. These services, ranging from providing mentors to meeting health and counseling needs, vary by student, but are systemically linked to school-based efforts to meet the health, safety and counseling needs of at-risk youth.  Ninety percent of the high school students in this program graduate to higher education access or post-secondary school training.

Grants are also being awarded to Autism Delaware, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware, Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware, Challenge Program, Christina Cultural Arts Center, Delaware Adolescent Program, Delaware Council on Economic Education, Delaware Futures, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical & Community College Educational Foundation, Easter Seals Delaware & Maryland's Eastern Shore, First State Community Loan Fund, Friendship House, Goodwill Industries of Delaware & Delaware County, Jewish Family Services of Delaware, Junior Achievement of Delaware, Latin American Community Center, Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League, NPower Delaware, Teach for America, The Arc of Delaware and United Way of Delaware.

These $1 million in grants in Delaware, are just a small part of the more than $22 million that the organization invested in more than 1,050 non-profits in 34 states. Earlier in the 2012, Bank of America announced almost $600,000 in grants to more Delaware non-profits to build and rehab affordable housing, offer foreclosure prevention services and homeowner counseling, and provide other services intended to revitalize neighborhoods and help working families find and keep sustainable homes.