VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) — Yesterday, Governor Tom Wolf approved funding for community projects in Venango County through the Neighborhood Assistance Program.

Governor Wolf approved funding for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest PA which includes Cameron County, Clarion County, Clearfield County, Crawford County, Elk County, Erie County, Forest County, Jefferson County, McKean County, Venango County, and Warren County. This project seeks to alleviate hunger and inadequate nutrition in the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania’s 11 county service area.

In addition, Governor Wolf announced the approval of $17.9 million in funding to support 125 community investments through the Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP). Administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development, NAP provides tax credits to enable businesses and community organizations to invest in projects that serve distressed areas or support conservation efforts.

“Our communities form the stable bedrock of Pennsylvania’s economic success,” said Governor Wolf. “By encouraging businesses to make impactful investments in worthy projects across the commonwealth, the Neighborhood Assistance Program plays an invaluable role in improving the lives of Pennsylvania residents. These rewards we are able to provide through tax credits in this high-demand program reach deeply into our neighborhoods and the benefits multiply.”

The funding supports:

• 40 community investments in the Southwest Region of the commonwealth in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Somerset, Washington, and Westmoreland counties.
• 31 community investments in the Southeast Region of the commonwealth in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.
• 23 community investments in the Northwest Region of the commonwealth in Clarion, Cameron, Crawford, Erie, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Potter, Venango, and Warren counties.
• 12 community investments the Central Region of the commonwealth in Adams, Bedford, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Cumberland, Dauphin, Huntingdon, Franklin, Fulton, Juniata, Lycoming, Mifflin, Perry, and York counties.
• 10 community investments in the Lehigh Valley Region of the commonwealth in Berks, Lebanon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union counties.
• Nine community investments in the Northeast Region of the commonwealth in Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Montour, Pike, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wayne, and Wyoming counties.

The new funding raises the three-year total under the Wolf administration to $53.9 million in NAP tax credits supporting 339 projects statewide. The investment will result in more than $227.1 million in additional funds leveraged through corporate contributions.

NAP has five main components: the Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP), Special Program Priorities (SPP), the Neighborhood Partnership Program (NPP), the Charitable Food Program (CFP), and the Enterprise Zone Program (EZP). A description of each of these components is available within the NAP Guidelines.

For a comprehensive list of statewide awards, or additional information on NAP, visit dced.pa.gov/nap.