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The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, and Impala today announced the upcoming launch of the New Jersey Philanthropy Hub, a first-of-its-kind, one-stop platform designed to bring unprecedented clarity and transparency to the state’s philanthropic sector.
About the Hub
The Hub brings together billions of data points on every New Jersey–based nonprofit and every foundation across the United States that funds them. With detailed classifications spanning issue areas such as education, environment, and arts and culture, the Hub creates a nuanced “map” of philanthropy in New Jersey, revealing where funding is flowing, where gaps exist, and where new opportunities for collaboration can drive greater impact.
“The New Jersey Philanthropy Hub will be a game-changer for our state,” said Theresa Jacks, President & CEO of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers. “By providing funders with free and easy access to high-quality data about their current and potentially new nonprofit partners, we are giving both the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors an extremely helpful tool that is especially needed in light of the tremendous pressures facing the social sector as a whole.”
By combining Impala’s cutting-edge data technology with the reach of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, the New Jersey Philanthropy Hub democratizes access to information and strengthens collaboration across the sector. The Hub is free to use, ensuring that nonprofits, funders, policymakers, researchers, and the public can all benefit from greater visibility into the state’s philanthropic ecosystem.
“In a time of enormous challenge for the nonprofit community, the New Jersey Philanthropy Hub offers a wide array of opportunities,” said Linda M. Czipo, President & CEO of the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits. “Through the Hub, organizations of all sizes will have access to the same high-quality data and insights, enabling stronger connections and more equitable partnerships among nonprofits and funders.”
Virtual Launch Events
The launch of the New Jersey Philanthropy Hub will be celebrated with two virtual events:
Nonprofit Launch Event – Thursday, October 23, 2025, 12:00-1:00 PM
Focused on how nonprofits can use the Hub to showcase their work, connect with funders, and explore new opportunities for growth.
Link to registration: Launching New Jersey Philanthropy Hub: Nonprofits
Grantmakers Launch Event – Friday, October 24, 2025, 12:00-1:00 PM
Focused on how funders can use the Hub to streamline due diligence, identify funding gaps, and strengthen collaboration across NJ.
Link to registration: Launching New Jersey Philanthropy Hub: Grantmakers
About the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers is the center for philanthropy in New Jersey, serving the leading independent, corporate, family and community foundations as well as public grantmakers of our state. Its mission is to supports and elevates New Jersey’s philanthropic community through shared learning, collaborative and trusting relationships, network building, and leadership.
About the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits
The New Jersey Center for Nonprofits is the statewide network, champion and go-to resource for and about New Jersey’s nonprofit community, providing professional education, advocacy, resources, training and information to strengthen nonprofits and help them thrive in pursuit of their charitable work.
About Impala
Impala is a unified data business intelligence platform for the philanthropic sector. Impala leverages billions of data points to provide accessible, actionable insights for funders, nonprofits, and networks. By making critical data transparent and easy to use, Impala empowers organizations to fund, measure, and achieve social impact more effectively.
New Jersey’s philanthropic and nonprofit sectors are in the forefront of helping communities respond and recover from the worst health and economic crisis of our lifetime.
On these pages, CNJG offers resources to help our members get the knowledge and information needed to be the most effective possible grantmakers.
CNJG is helping to track New Jersey philanthropy’s pandemic response through our “Get on the Map” campaign partnership with Candid, which launched a coronavirus map in response to funders’ requests. As you can see, the information collected is not complete, so please help. Visit our Share Your Giving Data webpage for information about how to share your COVID-19 grants data.
Sharing information with other funders is critical to informing philanthropy in the weeks and months ahead. Knowing where money is going, and how — and having the latest information — facilitates thoughtful collaboration and decision-making in times of crisis.
CNJG Response
Communications
CNJG created a Coronavirus Response webpage and listserve for the COVID-19 Response
Email to Members: NJ Philanthropic Response to COVID-19 (March 13)
Email to Members: Working Remotely Ensuring Service to Members (March 17)
CNJG participated in: Creative NJ Statewide Conversations - NJ’s Philanthropic Response (April 8)
CNJG Member Query: COVID-19 Rapid Response Funds
CNJG asked their members to share your grants data to update the coronavirus map and track philanthropy’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
CNJG Member Query: Grant Approval Templates Related to COVID-19
CNJG signed onto letter calling on philanthropy to act to curb bias attacks as virus spreads.
CNJG created a FAQ page about philanthropy’s COVID response.
NJ COVID-19 Response and Recovery Funds Learning Community
The NJ COVID-19 Response and Recovery Funds Learning Community helps grantmakers involved in special purpose COVID 19 funds get timely updates on what is happening on the ground, share information about what and where services and help are needed most, and explore strategies for the most effective grantmaking investments. Designed around the Center for Disaster Philanthropy's key principles of grantmaking -- resilience, equity, sustainability, and civic participation -- the Learning Community is committed to holding the difficult conversations about how philanthropy can best respond to community needs and help those who need it most.
COVID-19 Funders Briefings
CNJG hosts regular briefings where funders hear from government officials, disaster recovery and health experts, nonprofit leaders, funders, and other stakeholders dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The briefings provide an opportunity to share how colleagues are changing grantmaking practices for rapid response, learn about new policies and government actions, and connect with local leaders who work with people whose financial, physical, and mental health suffers due to COVID-19. Series I topics included food insecurity, mapping response funding, racial health disparities, federal and state policy, and updates from New Jersey response funds and Rapid Response Surveys, completed in partnership with the Center for Non-Profits in March, April, and July 2020.
Newark COVID-19 Webinars
CNJG’s Newark Philanthropic Liaison, Kevin Callaghan, organized a series of webinars for our Newark Funders Affinity Group and other funders to know the specific challenges of New Jersey’s largest city responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Guest speakers included, Mayor Ras Baraka, Newark Public Schools Superintendent Roger Leon, consulting firm McKinsey & Co., and Catherine Wilson, CEO of United Way of Greater Newark.
Affinity and Interest Group COVID-19 Webinars
In order to dig deeper into the impact of the pandemic on certain communities and stay connected during this difficult time, CNJG worked with our affinity group chairs and other members to develop programming that supplemented our COVID-19 Funders Briefing Series and Newark COVID-19 Series. These virtual affinity and interest group meetings were designed for colleagues to update each other on coronavirus response efforts, hear about the greatest needs in their funding area, and share what they have learned.
CNJG Member Actions
News articles showing members philanthropic responses to the coronavirus pandemic which include announcements, emails, blogs, grants given and other resources gathered by and for our members.
New Jersey Focused Response Funds
A list of all of the response funds that foundations and philanthropic organizations have set up to help local communities, residents, non-profits, and businesses throughout New Jersey and news of the grants being awarded by each fund.
PSO, State, and Government Resources
Resources gathered from our colleagues at other philanthropy-serving organizations, state associations of nonprofits, and city, state and federal governments.
State and National COVID-19 News Articles
Some of the top COVID-19 news stories, centrally located for easy access.
CNJG provides this information free to the philanthropic community. If you are not a CNJG member, please join so you can take full advantage of the many benefits of membership and help underwrite the cost of services like this.
CNJG’s community foundation services (through the United Philanthropy Forum) breakdown into three categories:
1. a national listserv for CEOs
2. two in-person boot camp trainings
3. discount on the On-Line CF Express Training
National Listserv for Community Foundation CEOs
CNJG’s listserve for Community Foundation CEOs connects to a national listserv for the CEOs of community foundations. This active listserve allows community foundation CEOs to communicate easily via email with community foundation CEOs from across the country, to pose questions, engage in conversations and more. The service is being made available to our community foundations members as a benefit of your membership with CNJG and is operated by the Untied Philanthropy Forum, which is CNJG’s national network.
If you are interested in participating in this national community foundation listserve, please contact Craig Weinrich.
Community Foundation Boot Camps
The United Philanthropy Forum offers two or more Community Foundation Boot Camps a year that are made available to CNJG members at the member rate as a benefit of CNJG membership. The two-day Community Foundation Boot Camp program offers a comprehensive overview of the structure and operations of a community foundation. The program is an ideal in-depth introduction to community foundations for new community foundation staff, community foundation board members, or more experienced community foundation staff looking for a good refresher.
On-Line CF Express Training
The Forum is partnering with Kansas Association of Community Foundations (KACF) to offer a $400 discount on KACF’s On-Line CF Express Training. The online training and certificate program focuses on core essentials over a 15-module series that covers nearly every aspect of community foundation work: from asset development and quality grants programs design to fiduciary and policy matters. Plus, enjoy 24-hour-access to the easy-to-navigate short (5-15 min) modules in any order from the comfort of a home or an office, in private, or as a group training.
Watch the CF Express Training Promo Video and view a sample module (password: mod15) to learn more. To take advantage of the discount, sign-up at https://cfexpresstraining.com and enter discount code: Forum2018. You can also reference the following attachments for more details.
These articles are curated from news sources, philanthropic-focused publications, philanthropy serving organizations, and other places found on the internet. We encourage philanthropic organizations to read, share, and use the strategies suggested in these articles for your own diversity, equity, and inclusion learning journey. If there are others that you feel we should include, please contact us.
Chronicle of Philanthropy: Philanthropy Pours More Money Into Advancing Economic Wealth of Latinos (10/13/2022)
ABC News: Two New Jersey towns illustrate the race gap in the COVID pandemic (5/13/2022)
Chronicle of Philanthropy: General Operating Support Is Vital to Advancing Equity, Strengthening Nonprofits, Say Leaders (4/18/2022)
MacArthur Foundation: Movement to End Philanthropy’s Complicity in Anti-Blackness (4/18/2022)
Chronicle of Philanthropy: Nearly 500 Foundation Leaders Unite to Push for More Support of Asian Americans (3/26/2021)
Chronicle of Philanthropy: As Violence Against Asian Americans Intensifies, the Moment for Philanthropy to Act Is Now (3/17/2021)
Chronicle of Philanthropy: How One Family Foundation is Evolving to Refocus on Racial Equity (3/16/2021)
HealthDay.com: Many Adults Do Not See Link Between Racism, Poorer Health (1/27/2021)
Stanford Social Innovation Review: How to Begin Considering a Gender Lens Investing Strategy (12/10/2020)
Nonprofit Quarterly: How to Welcome Native Leaders to the Philanthropic Sector (12/3/20)
Chronicle of Philanthropy: Opinion Piece: Diversity Mandates from Foundations Maki It Harder for Nonprofits to Do Their Jobs Well (12/2/2020)
Chronicle of Philanthropy: Invest in and Strengthen People of Color: A Corporate Grant Maker Explains How (11/17/2020)
Nonprofit Quarterly: White House Declares Ban on Federal Racial Equity Trainings (9/14/20)
Nonprofit Quarterly: White Supremacy: Call It By Name (9/14/2020)
Denver Post: How Donors Can Advance Racial Equity (9/14/2020)
ROI-NJ: NJ to recognize Juneteenth as official state holiday (9/11/2020)
Chronicle of Philanthropy: The 'Warping Effects' of Philanthropy (8/25/2020)
Chronicle of Philanthropy: Companies Lead Philanthropic Response to Calls for Racial Justice, but Will It Last? (8/25/2020)
Exponent Philanthropy: Moving Towards Racial Equity in Philanthropy: Introducing an Anti-Racist Intersectional Frame (8/25/2020)
Inside Philanthropy: “A Moment of Reckoning.” How Can Funders Support an Equitable and Inclusive Arts Sector? (7/16/2020)
Generocity: Uprising in Philadelphia: A to-do list for the next six months (7/9/2020)
Boston Globe: The Problem is White Supremacy (6/29/2020)
Inside Philanthropy: Amid Demands for Change, Here’s How Philanthropy Can Back Underfunded Black-Led Group (6/18/2020)
Nonprofit Quarterly: This Moment Shows Us Why Philanthropy Should Reinvent Itself by Gislaine Ngounou, of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation (6/17/2020)
Chronicle of Philanthropy: Who Holds Philanthropy Accountable for Racial Justice? by Lisa Pilar Cowan, vice president of Robert Sterling Clark Foundation (6/16/2020)
Creative New Jersey: Summary and resources from their statewide conversation on Racial Justice (6/10/2020)
Chronicle of Philanthropy: 64 Black Foundation Leaders Tell Philanthropy to Go Big in Response to Pandemic and Police Killings (6/10/2020)
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Mass Decarceration, COVID-19, and Justice in America by Deanna Van Buren co-founder of Designing Justice + Designing Spaces and F. Javier Torres-Campos, Thriving Cultures Program Director at Surdna Foundation (6/9/2020)
Communications Network: Crowdsourced Anti-Racism Resources and Tools
NonprofitAF.com: Privilege, power, and personal conflicts: The forces preventing change in nonprofit and philanthropy by Vu Le (6/8/2020)
Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia: Articles and Resources from the webinar: The Crisis of White Supremacy in America: What’s Philanthropy’s Role (6/4/2020)
Chronicle of Philanthropy: Dismantling Racism Might Require Philanthropy to Dismantle Itself by Lisa Pilar Cowan, vice president of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation (6/2/2020)
Chronicle of Philanthropy: Why All Grantmakers Should Seek to Fix Democracy by Suzette Brooks Masters, senior strategist at the Center for Inclusion and Belonging at the American Immigration Council (6/2/2020)
Southern Poverty Law Center: Authoritarian State or Inclusive Democracy? 21 Things We Can Do Right Now by Eric K. Ward, Senior Fellow (6/1/2020)
Nonprofit Quarterly: Dear Philanthropy: These Are the Fires of Anti-Black Racism by Will Cordery of Leverage Philanthropic Partners LLC & Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice (6/1/2020)
NonprofitAF.com: Have nonprofit and philanthropy become the "white moderate" that Dr. King warned us about? by Vu Le (6/1/2020)
Library Journal: Books on Anti-Racism (5/31/2020)
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Overcoming the Racial Bias in Philanthropic Funding by Cheryl Dorsey, Peter Kim, Cora Daniels, Lyell Sakaue, & Britt Savage (5/4/2020)
Stanford Social Innovation Review: For a More Equitable America, Understand Race and Racism as Actions We Do and Can Undo by MarYam Hamedani, Hazel Rose Markus & Jeanne Tsai (5/1/2020)
Jacobin Magazine: The Perils of Liberal Philanthropy by Karen Ferguson (11/2018)
Smithsonian Magazine: The 1968 Kerner Commisssion Got It Right, But Nobody Listened by Alice George (3/1/2018)
Continuum Chart on Becoming an Anti-Racist Multicultural Organization by Crossroads Ministry (2013)
The Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture from Dismantling Racism: A Workbook for Social Change Groups (2001)
Resource Generation: Guidance for Giving to Black-led Organizations for Black Liberation (undated)
Prison Policy Initiative: Prison Gerrymandering Project how the Census Bureau counts people in prison (undated)
A sample conflict of interest form for independent private foundations.
Many of your organization's key priorities — innovative grantmaking, sound management and governance, strategic partnerships — are of paramount concern to other New Jersey philanthropies as well. CNJG is the go-to center for information, connection, and leadership among a growing network of grantmakers and philanthropic organizations throughout New Jersey. Members have access to exclusive benefits and services and a powerful link to fellow funders who share a commitment to addressing critical issues affecting citizens and communities across the state.
Memberships are for the entire organization, so your entire philanthropic team (staff, trustees, and more) can access these benefits:
Show your support of CNJG by adding a Proud Member of CNJG Logo to your website.
CNJG offers quarterly New Member Orientations either via Zoom or in person for any new member organization, or new staff or new Trustees at your organization. In the interim times, CNJG can come to your office or lead a virtual orientation just for your organization.
Invite CNJG staff to present at your board meeting on a variety of topics: benefits of CNJG membership; trends in philanthropy; policy issues affecting philanthropy, or another topic of interest to you and your organization. Please contact us to arrange.
CNJG Programs
CNJG offers over 80 programs per year that focus on peer learning, best practices, professional development, networking, and updates on certain topics that affect and influence your work. Most are free for members, and members receive a significant discount to any programs with a fee, including our signature events: Spring Colloquium, Spring Conference, and Annual Meeting of Members. Read about the different events and programs we offer.
Highlights of CNJG.org Website
Online Resources - hundreds of resources, tools, documents, templates and more to assist you in your work.
Leverage the New Jersey Principles for Philanthropy to promote continuous learning and reflection at your organization.
Take action to decrease the power imbalance between philanthropy and nonprofits through our joint initiative with the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, Doing Good Better.
Read through a plethora of information on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion work; philanthropy's disaster response, including COVID; and past CNJG work.
Find and connect to your peers using our online member directory. Only logged-in CNJG members can see full contact information for member organizations and their staff and/or trustees.
Benchmark the benefits you offer your staff and trustees, and compare salary rates for staff using our triennial Philanthropy Benefits and Salary Survey. Last published in 2023, we’ll be asking for your information in 2026. The salary data is gathered by the Council on Foundations through their annual Grantmaker Salary and Benefits survey.
Discover peers funding in similar areas through Affinity Groups and corresponding listserves.
Post any available philanthropic jobs at your organizations for free on our job board.
Save on administrative costs through several different discounts on a variety of products and services for grantmaking organizations.
Through the website and our member newsletters, CNJG can share your grant award announcements, personnel changes, and articles or announcements from your organization with our membership, informing them of your activities. Please email CNJG’s Manager of Communications Shakirat Odunsi with links to the announcement on your website, so we can include in our own communications.
Public Policy Updates and Advocacy
CNJG keeps its members informed of public policies that affect grantmaking institutions and their non-profit partners. Members can attend Foundations on the Hill (a joint program of the United Philanthropy Forum, the Council on Foundations, and Independent Sector), or read about CNJG’s work on the 2020 Census. We plan on revisiting this work for the upcoming 2030 Census.
Read through CNJG’s Policy Agenda, that guides our policy work on behalf of all the CNJG membership, under the direction of CNJG’s Policy Committee of the Board.
CNJG though our membership with the United Philanthropy Forum, we share programs and information from our fellow ‘philanthropy-supporting organizations’ from across the country that offer insights and policy strategies for philanthropy.
Newark Philanthropic Liaison
A model for the country, CNJG’s Newark Philanthropic Liaison, in collaboration with Newark’s Office of the Mayor, harnesses interest, attracts resources, and fosters greater effectiveness towards policy and programmatic areas affecting Newark’s residents.
Newsletters
CNJG News: Emailed at the start of each month, CNJG News provides timely information on members, member benefits, job announcements, and more. Please share your grants news, personnel changes, and announcements with us to include!
Grantmaker Learning Calendar: Bi-monthly emails describing upcoming programs for members.
Corporate Philanthropy Brief: Distributed monthly to the contacts of all CNJG’s corporate members, the Brief offers links to articles that help you learn more about CSR and how to get the best results from your giving.
Family Ties: A monthly e-publication specifically for CNJG’s family foundation members offers helpful articles, news, and tips for managing the unique needs of this brand of philanthropy.
You can also follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Publications
2023 New Jersey Philanthropy Benefits & Salary Summary Report: Produced every three years, this detailed benchmarking report looks at the benefits offered by philanthropic organizations to your staff and trustees. Salary information is provided by the Council on Foundations’ annual salary survey.
Disaster Philanthropy Playbook: A partnership with the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, in association with the United Philanthropy Forum, the Disaster Philanthropy Playbook website, created in response to Superstorm Sandy, brings together a meaningful compilation of early stage response ideas, tested models and innovative strategies employed by funders throughout the world after any natural or human-created disaster.
What Every Grantmaker Should Know & Frequently Asked Legal Questions: an “oldie but a goodie” guide to help the state’s philanthropic community understand what the ethical, legal, and fiduciary requirements and obligations are for grantmaking organizations, no matter the size of grants.
Add Your Leadership Voice to a CNJG committee
Membership in the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers offers grantmakers the opportunity to deepen their experience with the organization by serving on a Board committee, co-chairing an affinity group, or serving on CNJG’s board of trustees. Committee members lead, recommend and develop policies that help us shape our organization. Affinity Group co-chairs work with CNJG staff to develop programs for the members. The Board offers fiduciary and governance responsibilities for the entire organization.
Unique Benefits for Specific Members
For Family Foundations:
Family Ties newsletter
Family Philanthropy Online webinars with National Center for Family Philanthropy; offered every month
Family Foundation listserve
Family foundation members can access family foundation resources in the National Center for Family Philanthropy’s Knowledge Center.
For Corporate Members:
Corporate Philanthropy Brief newsletter
A New Jersey Corporate Philanthropy Network Affinity Group
Corporate Funders listserve
For Community Foundation Members:
DAF holders and component funds, like Impact 100 groups, can attend CNJG programs at the member rate. Please share relevant programs with interested DAF holders.
DAF holders can also receive CNJG News and our calendar emails should they choose
CNJG staff can introduce CNJG to your DAF holders at any of your gatherings
Community Foundation CEO listserve, which connects to a national listserve of Community Foundation CEOs from across the country.
To learn more about CNJG membership, contact Craig Weinrich.
You don’t need to be a technologist to understand that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing our world, including philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.
As you attend next month’s CNJG 2024 Spring Colloquium – A Conversation for the Social Sector on June 18, consider what philanthropy does best as the conversation unfolds. Philanthropy takes risks. Philanthropy tests new ideas and concepts, that can then be scaled. Philanthropy drives experimentation. Philanthropy convenes thought leaders, practitioners, and community voices, to engage in full and deliberate conversations.
We’re excited to welcome Jean Westrick, Executive Director of the Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG), to moderate the morning panel session. TAG and Project Evident recently released their Responsible AI Adoption in Philanthropy framework to help grantmakers adopt AI in a manner that aligns with their mission. Jean will help us dig deeper into the framework during an afternoon session. Not only does the framework provide practical guidance, it is a clarion call for philanthropy to play a crucial role in advancing the responsible use of AI for nonprofit enablement.
Understanding this seminal role, last year, ten major foundations announced a $200 million investment to ensure AI advances the public interest. The investment is centered around five areas of need including: ensuring AI advancements protect democracy and the rights and freedoms of all people, empowering workers to “thrive amid AI-driven changes,” and supporting the development of AI international norms and rules.
Colloquium panelist Don Chen, President and CEO of the Surdna Foundation, recently spoke at the Partnership for AI’s 2024 Philanthropy Forum. There he discussed the importance of working with partners to make investments in responsible infrastructure. He expanded on these ideas, encouraging ongoing AI conversations to be reparative and healing, especially for racial equity and justice.
Governor Murphy created the New Jersey State Office of Innovation in 2018 to "improve the lives of New Jerseyans by solving public problems differently.” Colloquium panelist Dave Cole, Chief Innovation Officer, in a recent StateScoop Priorities Podcast, shared his commitment to solving problems for NJ residents using human-centered design and leveraging AI to improve services. The practical and pragmatic conversations about AI are central to philanthropy’s role in harnessing technology for good.
Our third panelist, Rachel Kimber, joined fellow social sector leaders in calling for philanthropy to move forward with “responsible AI development and adoption.” Published by the Center for Effective Philanthropy, the blog Responsible AI: How Philanthropy Can (and Should) Support the Movement outlines four critical concepts for philanthropy: drive sector-level vision, fund the back-end, develop guidelines, and invest in equitable innovations.
I encourage you to review the resources we’re gathering on the Colloquium web area to further inform your thinking.
While AI and analytical technologies are revolutionary tools reshaping industries, as Vilas Dhar, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, said in an interview with the Chronicle of Philanthropyrecently, “These conversations are very rarely actually about technology.” In the article, How A.I. Could Solve Humanity’s Biggest Problems — If Philanthropy Catches Up, Dhar implores philanthropy to look closely at how AI is changing our world and challenges us to examine how philanthropy must change. Indeed, philanthropy has several roles to play, including fueling the big picture and visionary conversations, and helping to drill down on the more practical applications of AI for grantmakers and nonprofits in support of a just and equitable world.
Join us at the CNJG 2024 Spring Colloquium: A Conversation for the Social Sector - Empowering the Future: Harnessing AI and Data for Philanthropic Social Impact on Tuesday, June 18, to engage in these big, bold, and transformative conversations.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Sincerely,
Theresa Jacks, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers
I’m absolutely thrilled about the upcoming 2025 CNJG Conference for the Social Sector on June 18. Planning for the event has given us ample opportunity to consider and explore the many different ways that people participate in civic engagement.
It’s also broadened our definition. One definition comes from our colleagues at Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement:
Civic engagement is the process of helping people be active participants in building and strengthening their communities, whether defined as a place or a shared identity or interest. It’s a spectrum of ways people can participate in self-governance, from interactions with government to voluntary associations, and everything in between.
This past Memorial Day, my husband and I visited our fathers’ gravesites at Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery. Both of our dads served in the Air Force. We grew up with a sense of civic engagement. I share this because — EVERYONE — has, or is currently, partaking in civic engagement. If you were a girl scout — civic engagement. If you’ve ever written a letter to a government official — civic engagement. If you’ve volunteered for a community cleanup — civic engagement. If you collect data as part of a citizen scientist project — civic engagement. If you serve on your local school or a nonprofit board — civic engagement. If you voted — civic engagement.
Civic engagement is undeniably crucial for a healthy democracy. By participating in civic activities, individuals contribute to a more vibrant and equitable society.
Democracy in action IS civic engagement. We’re partnering with our friends at the
New Jersey Council for the Humanities to collect conference attendees’ thoughts on our democracy and reflect on their role in civic society. During the opening session, we’ll have a prompt card at each table asking attendees to answer a question related to civic engagement. This will add our voices — New Jersey’s philanthropic and nonprofit sector leaders – to our national story and underscore that the actions we take in our own communities absolutely matter.
We have an exciting and packed conference agenda, vibrant and brimming with examples and stories of civic engagement! The opening Spark! Civic Pulse session will hear from six dynamic New Jersey social sector leaders who will share their definition of civic engagement through the lens of their organizations’ missions and work. The morning sessions will foster inspiration and conversation about civic engagement, while the afternoon sessions will focus on mobilization and action. Keynote speaker Dale Anglin, Press Forward, will tackle the vital role that local news plays in fueling strong communities.
I’m immensely proud of the range of topics our spring conferences have elevated over the years. The 2019 New Jersey Conference for the Social Sector: Census 2020 – Defining the Next 10 Years was a clear and explicit call to support a full and accurate census. During COVID, our 2021 Virtual Conference dove into the future of work. The information and insights shared during the event still resonate today. The 2023 Conference challenged us to understand and embed Doing Good Better in our philanthropic discussions and grantmaking protocols. Lifting up these topics feels like civic engagement to me.
CNJG has added our support to several sign-on letters - another act of civic engagement. I hope you will consider adding your foundation’s name to the National Letter to Protect and Strengthen Nonprofit Organizations in the Tax Package. As you know, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was passed by the House and is now in the hands of the Senate. While it does include a time-limited universal charitable deduction for non-itemizers, the bill also includes several provisions that will adversely affect the philanthropic and nonprofit sector, among them:
- Tiered Tax Increase on Private Foundation Investment Income: The proposal to impose substantially higher excise tax rates on the net investment income of private foundations based on their asset size remains in the bill. This could still significantly reduce funds available for grantmaking and charitable programs.
- 1% Floor for Corporate Charitable Contributions: The bill retains the 1% floor, meaning corporations could only deduct charitable contributions exceeding 1% of their taxable income. This could lead to a decrease in corporate philanthropy.
The letter urges lawmakers not to use the nonprofit sector “as a revenue source to pay for other unrelated policies.” Thank you to our national partners, United Philanthropy Forum, the Council on Foundations, the National Council of Nonprofits, and Independent Sector for coordinating the sign-on letter and continuing to advocate on behalf of the sector. The deadline to sign the letter is Friday, June 6, at 9 a.m.
And finally, in case you missed it, the Community Foundation of New Jersey has created a rapid-response fund; the NJ Strong: Emergency Fund aims to provide a safety net for nonprofits, help them weather this funding crisis, and minimize service disruptions in our communities. Other funds include the New Jersey Sustainability and Resiliency Fund and EQUIP NJ’s fund.
I look forward to seeing you at the 2025 CNJG Conference for the Social Sector: Stronger Together — Philanthropy and Civic Engagement on June 18! The opportunities for civic engagement are boundless. Whether your organization’s mission clearly states a commitment to civic engagement or works behind the scenes to move forward strong communities, I hope you will leave the gathering inspired and energized!
And in the spirit of participation — early voting has already started. I encourage you to make your voice heard!
Best,
Theresa Jacks, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers