CNJG's 2017 Annual Meeting & Holiday Luncheon

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The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers cordially invited staff and trustees representing grantmaking organizations across the state for our signature event for New Jersey’s philanthropic community.

This year our featured speaker was Chancellor Nancy Cantor, Rutgers University – Newark. Dr. Cantor recently co-edited an inspiring collection of essays, Our Compelling Interests: The Value of Diversity for Democracy and a Prosperous Society. This thoughtful and transformative piece makes the case that our diverse culture is not only good for our country, but is essential and advantageous to a prosperous democratic nation. Chancellor Cantor’s keynote helped us unpack these concepts to discover the wisdom in these ideas and how our nation is indeed the better for it.

The “pre-meeting workshop” that we offered just prior to the lunch, was just as compelling. We brought in the Alliance for Justice, the nation’s leading trainers in helping grantmakers understand the rules for advocacy work. We had a number of members asking us to provide this type of workshop as they explore how private and public foundations can support grantees’ advocacy efforts, and perhaps engage in advocacy themselves.

AGENDA
10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Pre-Meeting Workshop: Foundations and Advocacy: Understand the Rules and Misconceptions
11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Networking and Registration
12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Luncheon and Business Meeting

Pre-Meeting Workshop: Foundations and Advocacy: Understand the Rules and Misconceptions
From talk of repealing the Johnson Amendment (to allow nonprofit electioneering) and massive shifts in longstanding Federal policy to proposed elimination of entire government funding programs - private foundations need to understand how best to respond for the issues they care about. This often means advocacy and policy related work, though there are many misconceptions about what private foundations can and can’t do to support their grantees.

The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers will partner with the Alliance for Justice/Bolder Advocacy (AFJ/BA) to provide grantmaker advocacy education. This series begins with the 2017 Annual Meeting and Holiday Luncheon’s PreMeeting Workshop, and continues in early 2018 with two webinars. The Pre-Meeting Workshop will provide an overview of activities that constitute advocacy, lobbying, and public policy work; explore the various advocacy roles and rules for foundations; and generally explore how private and public foundations can support grantees’ advocacy efforts and engage in advocacy themselves. Advocacy can play a crucial role in a foundation’s stated mission. As government at all levels are considering policy that impact our communities, foundations and their grantees need to be engaged more than ever. Advocacy is often one of the most effective strategies in the philanthropy toolbox.

The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers thanks our Sponsors for supporting the 2017 Annual Meeting and Holiday Luncheon: Novartis – Signature Sponsor, The Prudential Foundation – Sustaining Sponsor, Novo Nordisk – Gift Sponsor, BD – Program Sponsor, and The Provident Bank Foundation – Performance Sponsor.

Article of Interest
Rutgers University – Newark and Chancellor Nancy Cantor spotlighted by The Atlantic

Annual Meeting Photos