Princeton NJ Business Press Releases

Hightstown, NJ – Mercer County announced the first two recipients of a special grant for small businesses and non-profits in Hightstown Borough. In May 2024, County Executive Dan Benson and the Mercer County Office of Economic Development launched a grant program to assist small businesses and non-profits in the Borough, utilizing $450,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. 

The first two awardees will be TacoRito, a Mexican Restaurant, and RISE a community nonprofit that operates a food pantry and provides services to those in need. 

“We are thrilled to announce that TacoRito and RISE are the initial grant recipients of the CDBG program,” said Mercer County Executive Dan Benson. “These institutions play an important role in the Hightstown community and our grant will help to ensure their continued success. We can’t wait to approve the next set of grantees in Hightstown.” 

On November 13th, the Mercer County Office of Economic Development will host an event to guide Hightstown establishments through the application process for the CDBG grant. The event will be held in partnership with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at TCNJ from 5 PM to 8 PM at the Hightstown Fire Hall, 140 North Main Street, Hightstown NJ. Staff from Mercer and SBDC will be on hand to assist attendees with the application process. 

In order to qualify for the CDBG grant, businesses and nonprofits in Hightstown must be in one of the following eligibility categories: 

• Small Business (under 50 employees; less than $5M in revenue)
• Microenterprise (5 employees or less, of which at least one is the owner)) 

• Non-profit (located in Hightstown, NJ; IRS non-profit category tax ID certificate). 

The business or nonprofit must have been registered in Hightstown prior to December 31, 2021. Organizations that meet these requirements may be eligible for grant dollars up to $40,000. 

Interested individuals and organizations are strongly encouraged to register for the event beforehand using the flyer below.