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The Township of Montclair launched the “Directory of Nonprofit Organizations in Montclair, NJ” this week – a months-long joint project of Mayor Sean M. Spiller’s COVID19 Task Force Nonprofit Committee, headed by former mayor Ed Remsen, and the Kiwanis Club of Montclair. The directory, now available online, lists local nonprofits by category and provides detailed contact information and summaries of the type of work they do in the community. It is the result of many hours of painstaking work on the part of Mr. Remsen and Kiwanis Club Secretary Peter Ebling.
A separate contact list of more than 170 local nonprofits and faith groups was compiled by Nonprofit Committee members and is posted here.
The directory’s ten categories comprise faith groups, arts and cultural organizations, advocacy groups, funding providers, children and parent organizations, school and learning groups, organizations for older citizens, business and housing, health and human services, and a miscellaneous category.
The project began earlier this year when the task force nonprofit committee sent a survey to many of the local faith-based and nonprofit organizations.
“We wanted to see how they were faring during the pandemic and if there were things the municipality could help them with,” said Mr. Remsen.
In the course of doing the survey, the committee decided to spend some time updating and expanding the list and to invite all the groups to submit a 125-word description so that they could create a nonprofit directory that would give community residents and others a better idea of what these organization do. More than 80 percent of the organizations contacted submitted texts.
“The directory is something we thought would be valuable to the community, since so many people have been in Montclair for such a short time,” said the former mayor. “This latter, expanded project, was made possible by the generous offer from Montclair's Kiwanis Club to help us contact all the groups and collect their summaries,” he said.
“This is a tremendous effort on the part of the task force and the Kiwanis Club of Montclair,” said Mayor Sean Spiller. “I want to thank them for their hard work which will not only help bring deserved attention to our hard-working nonprofit organizations but will also help those in need by providing invaluable information on where they may turn for much-needed assistance.”
“This project won’t bring world peace, eliminate the achievement gap or help the Yankees win the World Series, but I think people will find it helpful,” said Mr. Remsen.
Mayor Sean M. Spiller formed the COVID-19 Recovery Task Force in November of 2020. Its members work with community stakeholders and liaisons from all levels of government to identify and put in place innovative solutions to help Montclair residents, small businesses and nonprofits get back on their feet.