(WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com) — Over $3 million in new funding will give many organizations a helping hand to make a difference in the Erie community.

According to a release, 26 projects across Erie County have been approved to acquire a total of $3,362,042 in tax credits.

The funding will be used to “revitalize neighborhoods, increase access to education, improve job training, and enhance healthcare facilities and services” across the region.

One state representative said receiving these credits is a game changer and will have a positive influence on agencies that are dedicated to serving the community.

“The state provides the pool of money but the individual agencies are the ones who have to go out and hustle and solicit for those contributions for those tax credits,” said Bob Merski, state representative.

The list of Erie County organizations being accredited includes:  

  • $642,400 Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest PA 
  • $500,000 Renovation of Renaissance Centre, Erie 
  • $280,000 Bayfront East Side Taskforce 
  • $273,750 Minority Community Investment Coalition 
  • $220,000 Gannon University (West Bayfront neighborhood improvement) 
  • $206,250 Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center 
  • $174,572 Two Penny Group, PSNERGY 
  • $160,000 SSJ Neighborhood Network (vacant lot maintenance) 
  • $136,000 Erie Center for Arts & Technology 
  • $101,625 Mercy Center For Women 
  • $79,500 Crime Victim Center of Erie County 
  • $75,000 Erie Downtown Partnership 
  • $71,500 Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center 
  • $68,750 Erie Neighborhood Growth Partnership 
  • $63,750 Erie Dawn 
  • $52,500 St. Martin Center  
  • $41,250 SSJ Neighborhood Network (revitalization projects) 
  • $37,500 Climate Changers 
  • $35,750 Erie Playhouse 
  • $27,500 Erie United Methodist Alliance 
  • $27,500 Gannon University (Planting for Our Future Environmental Complex) 
  • $23,650 expERIEnce Children’s Museum 
  • $18,945 United Way of Erie County 
  • $17,875 Erie Cancer Wellness Center 
  • $15,000 Our West Bayfront 
  • $11,475 Julia Hospice and Palliative Care 

The Department of Community and Economic Development approved the projects through the Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP), which is a tax credit program to promote businesses to invest in projects and improve distressed areas.

The state approved a total of $36 million in tax credits across the Commonwealth through NAP this week. The full list of projects awarded state-wide can be found online.