NVE Bank has awarded a total of $200,000 in grant funds to non-profit organizations and locally owned full-service restaurants in Bergen County. The Bank also made a $10,000 donation to the Office of Concern Food Pantry at St. Cecilia in Englewood. All recipients were selected to receive funds based on needs driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On August 26, 2020, NVE President and CEO Rob Rey was joined by local Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson, and Office of Concern Food Pantry Executive Director Donald Wuertz in announcing the grant awards and donation. Assemblywoman Huttle generously commended our efforts, stating, “We represent 13 towns in this district, so when you see a bank giving back to the community, that makes us so much stronger. I’m so proud that NVE Bank gives back to people who really need it. It speaks to the character of the bank.” Assemblyman Johnson also offered praise, adding, “Their funding shows that they are really part of this community.”
Non-Profit Grant Recipients
Each of the non-profit grantees are located throughout the Bergen County region. These organizations are collectively dedicated to supporting education, food insecurity, home repair for low-income homeowners, nature preservation, and faith-based initiatives.
As a community mutual bank, NVE’s mission is to ensure the people and organizations in the communities we serve remain strong, even in these difficult times. For many of the grantees, large portions of their revenue are typically secured through fundraising programs and events that were canceled due to the pandemic. NVE does not issue stock or exist to maximize investor returns for Wall Street, which allows us to focus on serving our customers and community. Our goal with these grants is to help organizations that help our communities.
NVE Bank secured grant funds through The FHLBNY SBRG program. This program was developed with the intention to support organizations that have suffered a decrease in revenue because of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. These businesses and organizations are facing unanticipated extraordinary expenses and are least likely to have access to other sources of emergency funds.
Grantees are required to utilize the money for specific purposes, such as but not limited to COVID-19 compliance efforts, purchasing and installing safety equipment, reconfiguring spaces, re-hiring employees, and working capital needs.
Small-Business Grant Recipients
Following the non-profit grants, NVE was able to provide an additional $100,000 through the grant program to distribute to eligible small businesses. The grants were focused on locally owned full-service restaurants located in business centers within the communities that we serve. These restaurants were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, with some having to temporarily shut down operations.
Office of Concern Food Pantry
In addition to the grants NVE awarded, we were also pleased to make a $10,000 donation to The Office of Concern Food Pantry at St. Cecilia in Englewood. NVE is a longtime supporter of the Pantry, proudly hosting food drives, supporting initiatives with volunteers from the Bank’s staff, making donations, and even donating a van for transporting and collecting food and goods.
The Pantry’s Executive Director, Donald Wuertz explained what the donation means to the organization, stating, “We are so grateful to NVE for giving us this donation. It’s a continuation of a partnership that began many years ago. They always help us out at Thanksgiving, and this money is going to be used for the protein meals that we have been giving out during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been distributing close to 1,000 meals per week.”
Through the years, NVE Bank has been fortunate to partner with the Office of Concern and has witnessed first-hand the essential services they provide for our neighbors in need. We are grateful to be in position to further assist the Pantry’s remarkable efforts to help others during this very difficult time.
NVE is thankful and proud to help all these deserving organizations get back on track with these grants and donations. We will be highlighting each recipient in an ongoing series of social media features on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, so follow us and stay tuned!
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