Town Applies for $50,000 Dodge Foundation Grant

The passed a resolution on Tuesday night that set the wheels in motion for another possible grant from the Morristown-based Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

The grant, worth $50,000 if received, would go to support the town’s Sustainable Communities Initiative and Morristown’s Office of Sustainability, which is directed by Paul Miller.

Miller expressed his appreciation for the Dodge Foundation’s support following Tuesday night’s council meeting.

“It’s non-traditional for policy to fund government, but because it’s their home, they help us at least introduce this,” Miller said.

Mayor Tim Dougherty was equally as appreciative of the foundation’s support, saying that, with help of the Dodge Foundation, the town is able to exercise its environmental awareness to a greater degree.

“It allows us to go out and get more money to work on more projects for the environment, and to help businesses that need guidance in green technology and things like that,” Dougherty said.

“That’s one of the main things. The main thing is, we appreciate the Dodge Foundation’s funding for our Office of Sustainability. It gives us a leg up for grants and different entities that we have in the Office of Sustainability. It shows that we’re committed, and that goes a long way into trying to gain funds to do projects.”

Miller also added that, while he hopes the Dodge application will go through, the town is working on finding other ways to fund the Office of Sustainability at no cost to Morristown’s residents.

“We’re weaning ourselves off of Dodge support as we find other non-tax revenues to support the initiative,” Miller said. “It’s an emerging, evolving trend in producing a quality of life in the community that balances environmental protection with economic vibrancy and meeting the social needs of the community.”

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated in the headline the grant was for $500,000.