Newark Funders
Update from Mayor Ras Baraka, and other non-profit leaders
The Newark Philanthropic Liaison is a unique partnership between the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and the City of Newark, supported by several foundations. Read more about the Liaison’s work In these reports. Due to several transitions, there were no written reports between 2015 and 2022.
Newark Philanthropic Liaison, Kevin Callaghan, was featured on an episode of Newark Today on WBGO with Sukhi Samra, Executive Director of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, to discuss the results of the Newark Movement for Economic Equity.
The Newark Philanthropic Liaison led a two-year process to develop a municipal economic empowerment blueprint that brings all sectors together in Newark to support resident’s financial health. The resulting document created a financial empowerment continuum that calls on the implementation of a tiered approach that focuses on helping residents stabilize, sustain, and secure their wealth over time. The document was created with grant funds from Cities for Financial Empowerment and in close coordination with the United Way of Greater Newark’s Asset Building Coalition.
One of our longest and most successful public-private partnerships in Newark, the Summer Youth Employment Program empowers youth each year with a job, workforce training, financial literacy, and coaching and mentoring. Thanks to the support of more than 15 funding partners, we were able to employ just over 2,000 youth in 2025 and raised over $3 million. Newark SYEP is the biggest summer program in New Jersey thanks to the collaborative leadership of the Liaison.
The NPL led a multi-year, cross-sector effort to explore, plan, and execute a guaranteed income pilot in Newark in partnership with Mayors for a Guaranteed Income and the Center for Guaranteed Income Research. On June 17, we hosted a community unveiling of the pilot’s results and laid out next steps. The NPL continues to work on the intersection of cash policy and economic stability and resilience.
We are pleased to share the 2022 Newark Philanthropic Liaison Report to the Field. The role continues to demonstrate meaningful impact in Newark while serving as a model to other cities and states across the country interested in deepening the intentionality of public-private partnerships.
On March 9th, 2023, the City of Newark unveiled a Harriet Tubman monument in the newly re-named Harriet Tubman Square.
Newark is one step closer to its highly anticipated Guaranteed Income Pilot Program following the release of a report by the city, the Jain Family Institute and the Economic Security Project outlining findings and recommendations that would put more cash into residents’ hands.
At the October Grantmakers for Education Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., the Newark Funders Education Committee presented a workshop called “How Not to Read the Prize” to a standing-room-only audience of national, regional, and local foundations.
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