It's a little more unusual for non-profits to receive grants that they can use for their general operating expenses.

Entities that give out grants "love to fund the sexy programs," according to Vivian Nix-Early, the founder and chief operating officer of BuildaBridge, a Germantown arts education non-profit.

But at a ceremony at the Germantown YMCA on Monday morning, representatives from various non-profits came together to celebrate the grants they received from The Northwest Fund, which recently announced which organizations would receive a portion of the $300,000 in federal funding it will disburse as part of an effort to keep Northwest Philadelphia communities more safe.

And many of those representatives said they were pleased they could, to some extent, spend the money in ways they saw most fit.

"There are very few grants that can be used for general operating expenses," East Mt. Airy Neighbors Executive Director Elayne Bender said.

One by one, people from organizations such as Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, Interfaith Hospitality Network, Gas & Electric Arts and others stepped up to the front of a room at the YMCA to accept certificates commemorating the grants they received. (A full list of grant recipients is here.)

They also shook Rep. Chaka Fattah's hand when they did so. Fattah helped secure the $300,000, which came to The Northwest Fund through a congressional appropriation from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Fattah cited a variety of neighborhood projects that are going on throughout the Northwest as examples of positive activity happening there. He talked about a recent ribbon cutting at Allen Lane Station and a developing streetscape project along Germantown Avenue.

Without the help of these non-profits, though, Fattah said none of that would really be possible.

"These kinds of projects won't do what they're intended to do unless there's activity at the ground level," Fattah said.

A total of 45 organizations received some sort of funding. A few of them, according to Northwest Fund Executive Director Sylvie Gallier Howard, can count this grant as the first one they've ever gotten.

She said she's pleased to give out money. The number of non-profits that applied for funding, though—a total of 87—illustrates the relative state of things in the Northwest, according to Gallier Howard.

"It's really apparent ... how much need there is," she said. "You guys are warriors out there and heroes in the community."

Because of that, representatives said the funding is significant.

"It means being able to operate to do the good things that we're doing," Nix-Early said.