Opening Plenary
How Philanthropy Can Do Good Better
This plenary aims to frame the day around the Doing Good Better joint initiative of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, whose goal is to take action against the power imbalances and racial inequities in philanthropy, nonprofits and government. The panelists, each representing a different type of foundation, have exercised in the recent past different ways that they have changed their funding practices to align with Trust Based Philanthropy principles. This is not a traditional funder panel talking about who and what they fund, but rather, how funders have changed their grantmaking practices to lessen burdens on nonprofits.
Tanuja Dehne
Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation |
Jeremy Grunin
Grunin Foundation |
Samantha Plotino
The Provident Bank Foundation |
Jeffrey Vega
Princeton Area Community Foundation
Moderator |
Morning Breakout Sessions
Re-Defining Capacity Building: Meeting Nonprofits Where They Are
BIPOC-led and serving nonprofits are vital lifelines of economic recovery and the health of communities of color. Many were forced to shut their doors in recent years due to decades of chronic underfunding - compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. This unveiled the need for philanthropy to adapt more equitable approaches to building organizational capacity. Since then, multiple channels have emerged to strengthen BIPOC-led nonprofits and facilitate the application of trust-based principles. Through targeted infrastructure support, peer to peer learning,coaching, trust-based principles and more, grantmakers can provide community leaders with resources & space to work on the urgent issues that matter. In this session, grantmakers will share learnings on their unique approaches to supporting the capacity needs of BIPOC-led nonprofits across New Jersey.
Speaker: Cathy Garcia, Director of Funder Community and Learning, Resilia
Nonprofit Burnout
Trust cannot be created or maintained if nonprofit staff constantly change. Nonprofit executives, senior, and development staff are experiencing higher rates of burnout. Staffing the Mission will present toolkits for both funders and nonprofits to understand the issue around burnout, tactics nonprofits and funders can use to create sustainable nonprofit jobs.
Betsy Leondar-Wright
Staffing the Mission |
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Developing Trust Through Finances
Nonprofit and foundations executives constantly deal with financial statements and returns, even if we don’t always completely understand what they mean. Financial statements, 990s, and 990-PF’s: they all offer a wealth of information for both nonprofits and philanthropy. It is helpful to know where to look and how to interpret these numbers. Yet, this skill is often overlooked and largely assumed that we all know how to read these statements and returns. As we look to deepen philanthropic and nonprofit partnerships, simplify the reporting and application process, and build trust, we should all feel comfortable with these documents to have meaningful conversations, and be mutually accountable.
Join this panel discussion that offers what donors and funders look for in the audited financial statements and the tax returns, how to make sense of the responses to each section, a refresher on the IRS requirements, and more. We’ll devote special attention to key narrative sections of the audited financial document and what you should expect to see in the free-form Schedule O. The panel will also discuss the sections funders often use for analysis: the Statement of Functional Expenses, and the year-over-year financial comparisons in the first-page summary section. Lastly, we’ll touch on areas where you might find common red flags.
Panelists: Lovepreet K. Buttar, The Mercadien Group
Elizabeth Wagner, Bryn Mawr Trust
Participatory Grantmaking in Action: Lessons Learned
More details coming soon.
Speakers: Cecile Edwards, NJ Birth Equity Education Alliance
Melissa Litwin, Henry & Marilyn Taub Foundation
Kashieka Phillips, Community Advisory Committee Member with New Jersey Birth Equity Funders Alliance
Luncheon Plenary
Trust Based Philanthropy: The Collective Work of Funders and Nonprofits in Advancing Culture Change
CNJG welcomes Shaady Salehi, Executive Director of the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project who will outline the underlying values of a trust-based approach, and how this ties into our collective responsibility in advancing a sectorwide culture wherein our work reflects the needs and dreams of communities.
Shaady Salehi
Trust-Based Philanthropy Project |
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Afternoon Breakout Sessions
Demographics via Candid: Movement building to advance equity for the social sector
Comprehensive and public demographic data is vital to our sector’s work on racial equity. But duplicate requests for this information increase the burden on nonprofits and take time away from their missions. A new initiative, Demographics via Candid, empowers nonprofits to share their data, one time, where it can be accessed by funders, PSOs, nonprofit associations, researchers, and others.
Cesar Del Valle
Candid |
Catalina Spinel
Candid |
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Session 2
More details coming soon.
Speakers: Nonprofit Professionals of Color Collaborative
Government Funding and Trust Based Philanthropy
Government funding is quite different than most private philanthropy as they operate under different rules, structures, and laws. But that doesn’t mean government funding cannot be trust-based or find ways to share power. Hear from current and former government executives about how they are applying trust-based philanthropy principles to their funding, some of the challenges they face, and how nonprofits can advocate for change.
Charlie Venti
Inventive Strategies |
Eddie LaPorte
Office of Faith-Based Initiatives |
Doug Schoenberger
New Jersey Center for Nonprofits
Moderator |
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Nonprofit Trends & Advocacy
More details coming soon.