Job Opportunities
The John Merck Fund's Job Opportunities Program was eliminated at the end of 2009. See below for a recent history of grants made in that program.
2008 Grants
2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003
Microenterprise Technical Assistance
Central Vermont Community Action Council$40,000
To offer enhanced services and programs to Vermont Women's Business Center alumnae.
Coastal Enterprises Inc.$40,000
To provide comprehensive business assistance to low-income women in Maine's rim counties.
Four Directions Development Corporation$40,000
To foster entrepreneurial activities within Maine Native American communities.
University of Vermont and State Agricultural College$45,000
To provide support, peer networking and technical assistance to at least 60 farmers engaged in small-scale, ecologically-oriented businesses.
Workforce Development Innovations / Enhancements
Association of the Bar of the City of New York Fund$40,000
To provide ex-offenders with legal assistance in overcoming barriers to employment and housing.
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation$50,000
To help 120 formerly incarcerated young adults aged 18 to 24 reintegrate into society and the workforce.
Boston Private Industry Council$40,000
To help Boston high school graduates who are planning professional careers in the financial services sector enter and succeed in college.
Center for Employment Opportunities$50,000
To provide training for formerly incarcerated individuals that will lead to well-paying, skilled-labor jobs.
Common Ground Community HDFC, Inc.$25,000
To provide general support for Common Ground Community, in honor of 2008 Sparkplug Award winner Rosanne Haggerty.
Community Servings$50,000
To train participants for employment in the food sector, and to increase Community Servings' capacity to feed the critically ill.
Crittenton Women's Union$40,000
To create clear and attainable pathways for low-income women to become economically independent.
Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow$40,000
To enable young people from low-income families to find employment, advance towards self-sufficiency and achieve financial security.
Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute$45,000
In partnership with Home Care for Maine, to develop a career advancement pilot for personal support specialists that will encourage worker retention and job satisfaction.
Pioneer Valley Rebuilders CDC$50,000
To implement a pre-apprenticeship training program for women emerging from the Western Massachusetts Women's Regional Correctional Center.
Restaurant Opportunities Centers United$50,000
To initiate an advanced restaurant training and placement program for immigrant and US-born restaurant workers in Maine.
Safe Harbors of the Hudson$5,000
To provide general support, in honor of Rosanne Haggerty, winner of the 2008 Sparkplug Award.
STRIVE Boston Employment Service$60,000
To train and place Boston ex-offenders in jobs, and help ten ex-offender graduates enroll in post-secondary education.
Vermont Works for Women$50,000
To ensure the modular home building program's smooth transition to the St. Albans Correctional Facility, and to pilot a transitional jobs program for women recently released from prison.