September 24, 2019
Despite granting more than $1 million in scholarships every year, the Community Foundation of New Jersey knows there is still tremendous need among New Jersey’s aspiring learners. It’s why, in 2017, we launched the Scholarship Opportunity Fund with the goal of making education a reality for even more deserving New Jerseyans.
The response from fundholders has been extraordinary and has enabled the Community Foundation to support even more students.
This year, with dollars from the Scholarship Opportunity Fund, CFNJ made a $5,000 grant to Per Scholas Newark, a workforce development nonprofit. Specifically, the dollars will go to provide emergency assistance for those who are pursuing education and employment in the technology sector. Per Scholas Newark students often face a number of socio-economic challenges outside of the classroom that may hinder their ability to learn, so this funding is intended to lessen the impact of transportation costs, last-minute childcare, personal health needs, and immediate housing costs.
Per Scholas was founded more than 20 years ago with a mission to open doors to transformative technology careers for individuals from often overlooked communities. They accomplish this mission today by:
- CREATING OPPORTUNITY
For people who work hard, Per Scholas creates real opportunities to build better lives for themselves and their families. - CLOSING THE SKILLS DIVIDE
Per Scholas prepares smart, dedicated people to work in key technical roles, always designing its courses in response to what employers say they need. - ACHIEVING DIVERSITY
Per Scholas is building a more diverse technical workforce by creating on-ramps for women and people of color, groups staggeringly underrepresented in IT employment today. 90% of Per Scholas students are people of color, a third are women and a third are disconnected young adults.