Working Together
As the year comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about the conversations I have had with many of you over the years, in meetings, at programs, and sometimes in those unplanned moments before a convening. Time, and time again, I hear a version of the same reflection: we can do so much more if we work together.
That idea has stayed with me as we prepare for our Annual Meeting & Holiday Gathering on December 10. If you haven’t registered, please register today as online registration closes today at 5 PM. Once online registration closes, you can still register by calling or emailing Office Manager Dana Schwartz at (609) 414-7110, extension 801.
Our Annual Meeting is a time not only to celebrate, but to take stock of what we’ve learned, to reconnect with colleagues who understand the nuances of this work, and to imagine what the impact could look like when we sharpen our focus on the collaborative possibilities ahead.
Our theme this year, Catalyzing New Jersey Communities: Building Local Coalitions, is about how funders can move beyond traditional grantmaking to become impactful coalition builders. Across the state, funders, government agencies, nonprofits, and community organizers continue to find new ways to align efforts, share responsibility, and strengthen local ecosystems. These efforts don’t just expand reach, they deepen trust, and lead to more durable change.
We’ll explore this in depth during our luncheon panel with Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer, New Jersey Department of Children and Families; Atiya Weiss, Executive Director of The Burke Foundation; Edwin “Chino” Ortiz, co-founder of Returning Citizens Support Group; Alma García, Director of Equity Ahora New Jersey, and moderated by Craig Drinkard, CNJG Board Chair and Executive Officer, Victoria Foundation.
Before the Annual Meeting begins, I encourage you to join our hands-on workshop featuring the New Jersey Philanthropy Hub, a partnership initiative of CNJG and the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, powered by Impala. This powerful data platform brings together a clear, comprehensive view of giving across our state. It’s designed to help funders identify nonprofit partners, understand who else funds in your areas of interest, and conduct due diligence with confidence. It also helps grantees see where funding is flowing and find useful information about funders and other nonprofits. It’s simple, helpful, and designed to support your coalition-building efforts well beyond this convening.
My personal hope is that every attendee leaves with at least one new, meaningful partnership and one concrete strategy for breaking down silos in their funding and grantmaking approach.
Congratulations are in order as several of our members has been tapped to serve on Governor-Elect Mikie Sherrill’s transition actions teams and interdisciplinary advisor task force members; this clearly reinforces the immediate significance of the Annual Meeting’s theme. It also ensures that New Jersey’s philanthropic sector will have a meaningful voice in shaping policy priorities and community strategies at the highest levels of the incoming administration.
This representation underscores something important - philanthropy plays a critical role not only in funding solutions, but in lifting and aligning community issues, advancing collaborative approaches that government alone cannot achieve, and advocating for the deep and varied expertise that the social sector brings to the table.
To ensure our sector’s perspective is fully represented in the new administration, I encourage all members to take a moment to complete Governor-Elect Mikie Sherrill's Public Input Survey. Please share the survey with your grantees to ensure their perspectives are represented and voiced as well.
Reminder that online registration for the Annual Meeting closes today at 5 PM. Register now to be part of the conversation.
I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to our generous sponsors, whose partnership makes this gathering possible: Signature Sponsor – Prudential; Collaborating Sponsor – Devils Youth Foundation; Contributing Sponsors – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Pincus Family Foundation, and The Campbell's Company; Supporting Sponsors – Grunin Foundation and WSFS CARES Foundation. Also, thank you to NJM Insurance Group for their donation.
I look forward to seeing you on December 10.
Theresa Jacks, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers