WOODBRIDGE, NJ (August 6, 2026) — The Provident Bank Foundation (PBF) is proud to announce the recipients of its 2026 Empowerment Grant cycle.

PBF’s Board of Directors has approved 39 multi-year grants totaling $505,000 in funding annually to support the missions of nonprofit organizations in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Empowerment Grants awarded this cycle range from $7,500 to $20,000 per grant and will be automatically renewed at the same level in 2027.

Projects funded by these grants align with PBF's priority areas of Education, Human Services, and Workforce Development, and their corresponding areas of interest which include community colleges, special education services, housing assistance, food security, healthcare access for uninsured and underinsured individuals, youth mental health, vocational programs, employment supports, and reentry programs. All programs align with the PBF mission of empowering individuals on their paths to economic self-sufficiency and many serve communities disproportionately impacted by systemic inequities and resource divestment.

"Our Empowerment Grant partners are addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing our communities, and their services are needed now more than ever," says Samantha Plotino, Vice President and Executive Director of The Provident Bank Foundation. "What inspires us is their unwavering commitment to meeting these challenges with compassion and creativity, creating meaningful, lasting change for the people they serve."

The recipients of PBF’s 2026 Empowerment Grants are as follows:

Education

• Community Colleges
  • County College of Morris Foundation (Randolph, NJ)
  • Middlesex College Foundation (Edison, NJ)
  • Raritan Valley Community College Foundation (Branchburg, NJ)
• Special Education Services
  • Ramapo College Foundation (Mahwah, NJ)

Human Services

• Housing Assistance
  • Anchor House (Trenton, NJ)
  • Affordable Housing Alliance (Neptune, NJ)
  • Center for Food Action NJ (Englewood, NJ)
  • Central Jersey Housing Resource Center (Somerville, NJ) 
  • Family Promise of Morris County (Morristown, NJ)
  • Family Promise of Sussex County (Newton, NJ)
  • P.A.R.T.N.E.R. (Perth Amboy, NJ)
  • The Milestone House (Dover, NJ)
  • The Waterfront Project (Jersey City, NJ)
  • United Way of Northern New Jersey (Bridgewater, NJ)
• Food Security
  • City Green (Clifton, NJ)
  • Family & Children's Service (Long Branch, NJ)
  • Interfaith Food Pantry Network (Morris Plains, NJ)
  • Jewish Family & Children's Service of Greater Mercer County (Princeton, NJ)
  • Lunch Break (Red Bank, NJ)
  • Meeting Essential Need with Dignity, Inc. (Maplewood, NJ)
  • New Bethany (Bethlehem, PA)
  • New Jersey Agricultural Society (Bordentown, NJ)
  • Rescuing Leftover Cuisine (New York, NY)
  • Wallace Temple Community Activity Resource Enrichment Site (Bayonne, NJ)
  • York Street Project (Jersey City)
• Healthcare Access for Uninsured/Underinsured Individuals
  • Clara Maass Foundation (Belleville, NJ)
  • KinderSmile Foundation (Bloomfield, NJ)
  • Medina Health Center (Trenton, NJ)
• Youth Mental Health
  • Bergen Family Center, Inc. (Englewood, NJ)
  • Child Focus (Wayne, NJ)
  • Sanar Wellness Institute (Newark, NJ)

Workforce Development

• Vocational Programs
  • Capital Health Foundation (Pennington, NJ)
• Employment Supports
  • Freedom House (Clinton, NJ)
  • Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement (Queens, NY)
  • Our House Foundation (Murray Hill, NJ)
  • Project Self-Sufficiency (Newton, NJ)
  • The G.I. Go Fund (New Brunswick, NJ)
  • Women's Rights Information Center (Englewood, NJ)
• Reentry Programs
  • SELF! LV (Allentown, PA)

For more information about these grants, visit theprovidentbankfoundation.org/our-grants/2026-empowerment.

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About The Provident Bank Foundation
Established in 2003 by Provident Bank, The Provident Bank Foundation (PBF) supports nonprofit organizations in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania that are building strong, inclusive communities. Through grants focused on Education, Human Services, and Workforce Development, PBF invests in programs that expand access to opportunity and promote economic self-sufficiency. Since its founding, the Foundation has awarded more than $33 million in funding to organizations driving meaningful, community-rooted change. To learn more, visit theprovidentbankfoundation.org or join the conversation on LinkedIn.