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by Tai Cooper and Jeremy Johnson
“When I Become Mayor, We All Become Mayor”
When Ras J. Baraka won the mayoral election for New Jersey’s largest city last year, expectations were high. The former South Ward councilman, one-time principal of Central High School and son of the famed poet-activist Amiri Baraka championed a populist vision. During the campaign, he famously told residents, “When I become Mayor, we all become Mayor!”
In the days leading up to, and following the election, the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers recognized an opportunity to work intensively with the incoming mayor. CNJG had previously established a nonpartisan, City Hall-based Newark Philanthropic Liaison office, in collaboration with then Mayor Cory Booker in 2007.
Following the transition, Mayor Baraka and CNJG built exciting new bridges.
For example, the Mayor included the grantmakers’ recommendations for collaboration as an appendix to his strategic plan, The Blueprint for a New Newark.
“We felt this transition was a time for funders to ‘lean in,’” said Nina Stack, President of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers. “The grantmaking community spent seven years organizing ourselves to work collectively with the City of Newark. Under Mayor Baraka, we saw an opportunity to build on old investments and create new ones.”
Prioritizing Five Pillars
It’s impossible for philanthropy to be a panacea for all of Newark’s challenges. But the Mayor’s team appreciated the value that philanthropic partners brought to the table. Fueled with support from CNJG members, including the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Newark Philanthropic Liaison office, in concert with the Mayor’s Chief Policy Advisor, set about to convene, connect, and leverage partnerships and resources for Mayor-identified pillars.
Among dozens of issues, the Mayor has cited five initiatives as worthy of philanthropic engagement and top of mind attention. So far in 2015, $3 million in private support is helping seed strategies that show promise for Newark residents.
1. Public Safety
Mayor Baraka has long understood violence to be a public health issue. He has won praise for a constant rhythm of neighborhood events, summits, and youth presentations to address violence. Local funders have rallied around several prongs of the Mayor’s initiatives. For example, CNJG members funded a cross-sector retreat to coalesce multiple public safety partners working in the city. That retreat has led to the creation of the Safer Newark Council, committed to inter-connected solutions to reduce violent crime and improve perceptions of safety.
An accompanying funder-supported initiative is the Newark Community Street Team. The team comprises 15 outreach workers in the South Ward Model Neighborhood Initiative. They are assisting approximately 100 individuals to stabilize their lives and turn away from a life of crime, through mentoring, life skills, and case management.
2. Education – Communities Schools/Read and Believe
As a former principal, Mayor Baraka has been outspoken on the critical role of education in Newarkers’ lives. His appointment of Dr. Lauren Wells as Chief Education Officer in the Office of Comprehensive Community Education has helped inaugurate long-term and short-term public-private efforts.
Dr. Wells has written how “community schools” help mitigate the impacts of poverty on students and provide an environment that can greatly improve schools. Launching community schools will necessitate early support from the funding community. Encouraging discussions are underway among neighborhood residents, funders, and education leaders.
Read and Believe, a literacy-focused initiative, imagines a city that takes on literacy as a communal cause. The umbrella campaign includes, among several programs,My Very Own Library. CNJG members, including the Foundation for Newark’s Future, as well as Rutgers, individual donors and Scholastic’s Summer Reading Challenge, enabled MVOL to serve 27,000 Newark Public School students in grades K-8 students. Each child selected four free books to take home for summer break.
3. Centers of Hope
The Centers of Hope are nine community-based centers in all five of Newark’s wards that allow access to City services, wellness and enrichment opportunities where people live and work. Four centers have opened thus far, some focusing on young women, special needs, entrepreneurship, and municipal ID access. All offer a variety of after school, athletic, arts and culture, educational, environmental, healthy living, free WiFi and recreation programming to engage children and families.
4. My Brother’s Keeper Newark
The Mayor’s My Brother’s Keeper Newark initiative is part of a nationwide, White House-led campaign to empower boys and men of color and strengthen the systems that ensure their success. MBKN’s goals are dependent on cross-sector partnerships, data-mining, and a combination of policy and direct-service projects. CNJG members have provided seed funding for the MBKN’s initial roundtables, forums, and on-ramping initiatives. Most notable was a “Young Men of Color and Law Enforcement” forum at Central High School, designed to address issues that damage the relationship between African-American and Latino youth and law enforcement. The White House has recognized MBKN as a leader among the national communities that are building greater supports for young men of color.
5. Summer Youth Employment Program and Postsecondary Access
One of the biggest success stories of the year was the dramatic increase in the number of teenagers employed in the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program. Newark went from 1,500 last summer to over 2,600 youth who got jobs. The growth was prompted by a partnership between the Mayor’s office, funders, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the Newark City of Learning Collaborative (NCLC). One thousand of the teens were enrolled in jobs that provided not only a paycheck but also learning opportunities for coding, urban landscaping, and an NCLC Summer Learning Institute on the campus of Essex County College. Financial empowerment and banking support for these first time workers, made possible from the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, was an added bonus.
The New York Times recently praised Mayor Baraka for defying expectations. Working collaboratively with residents, institutions, and funders, the Mayor is driving the change that makes Newark a city we all can believe in.
Tai Cooper is Chief Policy Advisor to Mayor Ras J. Baraka. Jeremy Johnson is the Newark Philanthropic Liaison, a position funded by the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers as a joint venture with the Mayor.
The Office of the Governor has taken extraordinary steps to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus and protect the health and well-being of New Jerseyans. Among the Governor’s executive orders includes the creation of the State Coronavirus Task Force, closing schools and issuing a shelter-in-place directive. While these orders are paramount and designed to ensure the overall health of our state’s residents, they are impacting our communities. This includes the need for services such as emergency childcare, tax relief, extra SNAP benefits, additional resources for unemployed workers and small businesses, housing and rental assistance, and increased support for healthcare workers.
Join Deborah Cornavaca, Deputy Chief of Staff for Outreach to Governor Murphy, for an overview of how the administration is addressing a range of numerous and complex issues related to mitigation, protecting our state’s most vulnerable, and working with partners on-the-ground. This discussion will help us understand the range of unmet needs and other services that will be filled by nonprofits, identify possible opportunities for the philanthropic community to collaborate with state government, and how the overall social sector might better utilize resources and tools during these unprecedented times.
Learn how funders and grantees can help fill gaps, keep people informed as trusted community partners, and share insights on the most critical needs facing the state.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members and Nonmember Grantmakers
This program is open to Grantmakers only.
Webinar Video
We will hear from four organizations which have varying focuses and strategies, but share the same goal to help struggling New Jersey communities fight against the growing impact of the coronavirus. Join us for an overview of the purpose and progress of these COVID-19 funds and assistance programs.
We’ll hear about the ALICE Recovery Fund from CEO Kiran Gaudioso and Senior Vice President Theresa Leamy from the United Way of Northern New Jersey and the PHL COVID-19 Fund from Kate Houstoun, Managing Director for Capacity Building at the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. These funds support two different locals and populations reeling from coronavirus crisis. The ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) population is especially vulnerable to economic disruption and illness during this pandemic. The PHL COVID-19 Fund focuses on the 5 southern counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, and Cumberland.
We’ll also hear from Tim Sullivan, CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, who will outline how they are working with philanthropy and nonprofits to develop funds and programs that support our communities during this difficult time. We’ll round out the webinar with a presentation from Wayne Meyer, President of New Jersey Community Capital, who will discuss the Garden State Relief Fund, and its focus on providing low interest loans to nonprofits and small business which have been disproportionately affected by this crisis.
Register now to keep up to date with the latest COVID-19 funds and programs helping to address critical needs and provide equitable relief throughout New Jersey.
Cost: Free for CNJG Member and NonMember Grantmakers.
This program is only open to staff and trustees from grantmaking organizations.
Webinar Video
The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey (HFNJ) is pleased to announce that it has awarded $1,116,928 to eight New Jersey non-profit organizations in the second quarter of 2022.
The two largest awards given this quarter are a $222,383 grant to the Jewish Community Housing Corporation to support the renovation and expansion of their Lester Senior Housing Medical Suite, and a $193,923 award to Caldwell University to upgrade the equipment, staff capacity, and professional training opportunities at their School of Nursing.
Nearly all the other grants awarded in this cycle address behavioral health – highlighting the urgent need for treatment laid bare by the “second pandemic” of mental health concerns exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The requests The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey received this quarter demonstrate that nonprofit organizations in greater Newark and the Jewish Greater MetroWest community have an urgent need for qualified mental health clinicians to help them address their communities’ increasing and ever-more complex health needs,” said Michael Schmidt, Executive Director and CEO of the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey. “We are particularly pleased to support several organizations serving children, whose mental health has been particularly impacted throughout the pandemic by school closures and loss of learning time, loss of routines, social isolation, and family stress.”
Learn how your grantmaking organization can support local news that serves New Jersey communities by providing trusted information, while promoting equity and justice.
Local news plays a critical role in providing residents with reliable, high-quality, and accessible local news to stay informed about policy changes and other community responses, how to stay safe and get help, and share their concerns and needs. As we continue to face COVID-19 during an election year, it is more important than ever that we support local news that centers the concerns, voices, and information needs of residents.
During this briefing we’ll discuss COVID-19’s impact on the local news and information ecosystem and how media collaborations are filling COVID-19 information gaps in U.S. cities, including New Jersey. We’ll also explore how investments in journalism, including supporting BIPOC media, helps ensure more voices are heard and advances a more just and equitable democracy.
Join us for an engaging conversation on the importance of local journalism in building connected, informed, and engaged communities during times of crisis.
Cost: Free for CNJG Grantmakers. $50 for Nonmember Grantmakers
Webinar Video
Today, we are excited to announce that the Dodge Foundation’s latest cycle of grants provides support to over 30 organizations focused on addressing the root cause and repair of structural racism and inequity across New Jersey. These organizations are working on everything from building power among immigrant communities to advocating for housing and environmental justice.
We have been honored to partner with our Imagine a New Way grantees over the last few years, including those we supported in our first grantmaking cycle in 2023. In addition to those we are announcing today, we have been able to fund organizations that have already mobilized meaningful change for communities across the state. Just last week, advocates stood at Perth Amboy’s ferry port where slave ships docked from Africa in the 1700s. During a Juneteenth celebration, our partner, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, launched the New Jersey Reparations Council to measure slavery’s impact, to determine how to repair the damage, and to repay the generations who suffered. The Council will establish nine committees to examine the wealth gap, disparities in health and incarceration, school segregation and more.
The announcement of the new Council builds on the important impacts of NJISJ over the last few years. In 2021, NJISJ was part of a coalition that secured $8.4 million in state funds to create “restorative justice hubs” in Camden, Newark, Paterson, and Trenton, offering services for young people returning from incarceration. Other Imagine a New Way partners have also had tremendous impact – just last year, our grantee partners at Salvation and Social Justice successfully advocated to require, for the first time, New Jersey police officers to be licensed — as doctors and lawyers are — and set rules for decertifying officers who engage in misconduct.
The Morris County Funders Group, a coalition of 10 grantmaking organizations, pooled $325,000 to support mental health in the region. With funding from this newly formed collaboration, the Mental Health Association in New Jersey (MHANJ) will facilitate mental health first aid training for up to 45 Morris County organizations. This first initiative of the funders group aims to address the growing mental health crisis in young people and adults.
Supporters of this initiative include the Community Foundation of New Jersey, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, Somerset Hills Community Health Foundation, Fannie E. Rippel Foundation, Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Six Talents Foundation, F. M. Kirby Foundation, MCJ Amelior Foundation, and the Mimi Washington Starrett Foundation.
Moderated by Justin Kiczek, F. M. Kirby Foundation, you’ll hear from panelists Bernie Moriarty, Hyde & Watson Foundation and Aaron Turner, Community Foundation of New Jersey, Bob Kley from MHANJ and a partner nonprofit. The panel will share how the funders came together to support this important and urgent issue, and how they worked in collaboration with MHANJ. Following the panel discussion, participants will have time for Q & A.
Webinar Video
Resources
Mental Health Association in New Jersey
Jersey Gives a Damn Podcast
CNJG is pleased to offer the 2024 Virtual Budget and Tax Briefing Series, hosted by our partners at Economic Opportunity Funders, to our members.
This year presents opportunities to get ready for transitions both politically and with the expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2025. Learn more about key battles and opportunities and what’s at stake and in play in 2024 and beyond.
Part 1 (35 minutes): Noted tax and budget policy expert Sharon Parrott will provide an overview of the key provisions in the federal budget, discuss current and upcoming budget and tax debates, and offer insights on the potential impact on struggling families, workers, and communities.
Sharon Parrott, President, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Part 2 (55 minutes): A panel of experts will share how funders and the field are working together to build long-term power and achieve a racially and economically just tax system.
Amy Matsui, Director of Income Security and Senior Counsel, National Women’s Law Center (invited, pending confirmation)
Sarah Pray, Executive Director, Better Taxes for a Better America
Amber Wallin, Senior Policy and Outreach Director, State Revenue Alliance
Cost: Free for CNJG Grantmakers and Non Member Grantmakers.
Note: This program is for funders and philanthropic advisors whose primary activity is grantmaking.
This program will be livestreamed via YouTube, starting at 10:55 am. Registrants will receive a link to the livestream prior to the program. Please register by noon on March 18 to receive the link. If you cannot watch during this time, you can use the same link to access the recording on YouTube.
For questions, please contact Chanika Svetvilas, Manager of Programs and Learning.
Link up with your fellow Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy! We want to get to know you and form connections in-person for the first time since the pandemic. Over savory refreshments, you will have the opportunity for a casual conversation to connect with colleagues, learn more about what’s happening across New Jersey philanthropy, and discuss possible changes within your own work and the sector. You also can share your ideas for future Emerging Leaders Affinity Group meetups. All emerging leaders who are relatively new to the philanthropic field are welcome to break bread together and catch up. Ficus Cafe is BYOB, so feel free to bring your preferred beverage (wine will be available too). Non-alcoholic beverages will be provided. Space limited.
The Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy Affinity Group’s mission is to nurture, develop and support professionals in the philanthropic sector across all departments/roles within foundations. Programming for the Emerging Leaders group is geared towards early and mid-career professionals and will serve as: a professional learning community for emerging professionals working in diverse positions; an opportunity for professional development and individual capacity-building that will lead to institutional change within the member organizations; and as a critical partner in the creation of a pipeline into senior/executive leadership in NJ philanthropy.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members, $50 for Non Member Grantmakers.
Open to Emerging Leaders Funders/Grantmakers
The Future of Work and the Role of Philanthropy
Date: This event has been postponed.
After much consideration and in light of the ongoing spread of coronavirus, CNJG has decided to postpone the 2020 Spring Colloquium, entitled The Future of Work and Philanthropy’s Role.
This was a difficult decision, but the health and safety of attendees and staff are of the utmost importance at this time. It is especially significant because our communities--and indeed our state--rely so heavily on the services and programs made possible by New Jersey’s foundations and charitable organizations. We do not want to do anything that could impede the good work being done by our philanthropic and nonprofit staff, leaders and stakeholders.
We are tremendously grateful to PSEG, our Signature Sponsor, for their continued support, and thank the CNJG Program Committee for their thoughtful guidance and ongoing assistance.
At its Annual Awards Meeting on June 5, Impact100 Garden State announced four recipients of $100,000 grants. The recipients are:
Cheshire Home, a provider of short-term rehabilitation for adults with spinal injuries and neurological impairments, for its program “Helping Paralyzed Young Adults Rise&Walk Again”
Comfort Zone Camp for its program “Free New Jersey Bereavement Camp Where Children Learn to Grieve, Heal and Grow”
The Institute of Music for Children for its program “Arts Access for High-Need Children
Table to Table for its program “Food Rescue Heroes: Bridging the Gap Between Food Waste and Hunger.”
The three remaining finalists each received a $3,000 Merit Grant. They are:
Housing Partnership for Morris County
Passaic County Community College Foundation
Rebuilding Together North Jersey
The all-women, all-volunteer Impact100 Garden State organization pools member contributions to make high-impact grants. The group has donated more than $3.5 million to area nonprofits since it began grant-giving in 2013. This year a record membership of 408 women allowed Impact100 Garden State to give four $100,000 grants for the first time.
In this webinar presented by Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, funders will learn from experts on the ground about their efforts to champion universal representation and how philanthropy can resource and support their work.
Universal Representation–as a principle and policy objective–ensures that every person, regardless of immigration status, has access to due process. Having access to legal representation makes a sizeable difference in an individual’s case. For example, asylum seekers are five times more likely to win their case for asylum if they have legal counsel. Yet there continue to be systemic inequities, with upwards of 70% of immigration cases lacking legal representation.
Not having an attorney has also been shown to have significant negative effects on the health and well-being of immigrants and their families. Areas of impact can include loss of income, degradation of mental health, and loss of access to medical care. Although having legal representation does not guarantee the outcome of a case, it can reduce harm and ensure that the dignity of individuals is protected.
Across the nation, organizations at the local and state levels are using a variety of tools and approaches to advance the goal of universal representation. In this webinar, funders will learn from experts on the ground about their efforts to champion universal representation and how philanthropy can resource and support their work.
COST: Free for CNJG Members and Non Member Grantmakers
Calling all funders with interests in the environment, public health, social justice, urban development, and policy! We welcome you to join the Environmental Funders Affinity Group for breakfast and a discussion about one of the most critical funding needs of our time: the intersection of climate justice, public health, and protection of our natural resources for future generations. Please join us at Duke Farms for a light breakfast and an in-person conversation with Chris Daggett, former Commissioner of the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection and former CEO of the Dodge Foundation.
After the meeting, you are welcomed to join a group bike tour of the 20 miles of trails at Duke Farms 2,700 acre environmental center, continue networking at the Terrace Cafe or simply indulge in a bit of self-care on a leisurely nature walk around the Gardens! Fifteen loaner bikes are available on a first come/first serve basis, courtesy of Duke Farms, or bring your own bike.
Chris Daggett is a lifelong New Jerseyan and currently the board chair and interim executive director of the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium. Previously, he served as President and CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation from 2010 until 2018. In addition to his career in philanthropy, Chris served in many public-facing roles including Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Tom Kean, Regional Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, and Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Daggett has also served on and led a number of nonprofit boards.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $50 for Non Member Grantmakers.
Programming for the Emerging Leaders group is geared towards early and mid-career professionals and will serve as: a professional learning community for emerging professionals working in diverse positions; an opportunity for professional development and individual capacity-building that will lead to institutional change within the member organizations; and as a critical partner in the creation of a pipeline into senior/executive leadership in NJ philanthropy. This meeting will focus on current trends in Philanthropy from the perspective of Brandon McKoy, President of the Fund for New Jersey, who brings a wealth of knowledge as someone who first served as a Program Associate at the Fund.
Brandon McKoy is President of the Fund for New Jersey and is an established leader in public policy analysis and advocacy statewide and nationally. Returning to The Fund for New Jersey in 2024 served as a homecoming given that Brandon worked as a Program Associate at the organization and served as its first philanthropy fellow from 2012 to 2014.
Brandon is well known for his accomplishments from his time at New Jersey Policy Perspective, where he held several roles over the course of seven years, first as a State Policy Fellow through the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ program, next as a Policy Analyst, and then as Director of Government and Public Affairs, before assuming leadership of the organization as NJPP’s President from 2019 through late 2021.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $50 for Non Member Grantmakers
Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) is presenting a timely program in response to the 2024 Election. In a year in which immigrants have been openly and regularly denigrated for cynical partisan purposes, the 2024 election has immigrants and their families understandably worried. The rising threat of authoritarianism and white nationalism – and the attendant political violence, hate crimes and regressive policies – have compelled community leaders to plan for their futures under any election scenario. Down-ballot races will also have a significant influence on the opportunities and threats that emerge at all levels of government.
Join GCIR, movement organizations, and funders for a post-election debrief and discussion about these new realities, what strategies are already being put into play, and how philanthropy can align its grantmaking to support those efforts while keeping an eye on the long game of building a multiracial and inclusive democracy.
SPEAKERS
· Anu Joshi, National Campaign Director for Immigration, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
· Jasmine Rivera, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition (PICC)
· Laura Martin, Executive Director, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN)
· Kica Matos, President, National Immigration Law Center (NILC)
MODERATOR
· Kevin Douglas, Senior Director of National Programs, GCIR
Cost: Free for Members and Non Members
You will need to register for a free web account on GCIR’s website before being able to register (much like the process to register for an account on CNJG’s website).
What does the family philanthropy landscape look like? How has it changed across the last decade, and what do those changes mean for the field?
Join National Center for Family Philanthropy to discuss the findings of the Trends in Family Philanthropy 2025 report.
We will explore:
The changes in philanthropic focus for many family philanthropies
How grantmaking practices are evolving, and whether community needs are coming to the fore
How philanthropies are learning about new ideas and approaches
The changes in family dynamics, shifts in how the next generation are being engaged, and the factors that sustain and impede family engagement
Changes in the make-up of boards
What the findings suggest about future trends
Speakers include:
Miki Akimoto, Chief Impact Officer at the National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP) and Erin Hogan is a Managing Director and Philanthropic Market Executive for Bank of America’ Philanthropic Solutions
There will be time at the end of the session for Q&A.
About the Trends report
The Trends survey captures and tracks leading trends in the field of family philanthropy. Conducted every five years, this research identifies emerging issues, changes in funding priorities and governance practices, innovative approaches to giving and decision making, and anticipated future giving patterns and practices among US-based philanthropic families nationally. Ultimately, it aims to equip donors with data they can apply to their decision making.
As artificial intelligence (AI) and technological advances take on an increasingly prominent role in our society, BIPOC and immigrant communities face the threat of biases and outright hostilities being encoded and automated into surveillance, enforcement, and judicial tools. At the same time, creative leaders in the nonprofit sector are leveraging and building new technologies to better deliver culturally responsive services at scale to their communities. In this two-part series on the intersection of AI, technology and immigrant justice, GCIR invites funders to deepen their knowledge in the space as well as gain insights on how philanthropy can deploy investments that build the movement’s capacity to respond to emergent threats and opportunities.
Part 2: Tech for Good: Building Innovative Tools to Serve Immigrant Communities
In the hands of creative and justice-driven leaders, computer technologies hold significant potential for advancing the public good. Across the country, nonprofits are harnessing the power of AI and building innovative tech tools to bridge gaps in culturally responsive services while expanding their organizational impact. From accessible legal tools, to on-demand translation services, to tech-based workforce development, the movement for immigrant justice is leveraging technology in creative ways to transform and scale service delivery. In this discussion, funders will learn from talented innovators about the tools they have built and how philanthropic investments can catalyze this burgeoning field.
Speakers:
Swapna Reddy, Co-Founder & Executive Director, ASAP
Daisy Magnus-Aryitey, Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director, Code the Dream
Bartlomiej Skorupa, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer, Mobile Pathways
Alex Mitchell, Product Manager, Tarjimly
A sample document detailing the core values of the Betty and Davis Fitzgerald Foundation including restrictions on participation on nonprofit/grantee boards.
There is a plurality of definitions of the term systems change, each contextualized within different cultures and purposes. Doing Good Better embraces systems change as an inter-sector process that addresses complex social problems nonprofits and funders confront with collective action centered on equity, mutual respect, and resilience. Systems change refers to changing the parts and their relationships within a system with the understanding that this change will have ripple effects. As grantmakers, we need to create an environment that enables grantee effectiveness, so they can deliver on their mission. Systems change in philanthropy focuses on structures, policies and processes, resources, values, power, mindsets and, infrastructure that is illustrated in three iterative phases. In time, we hope that the application of this model will result in collective impact and a more resilient social sector for all of New Jersey.
The first phase is structural (operational) change, which involves funders adopting new policies, practices, and resource flows. The second phase is characterized by new relationships and connections that emerge from structural change eschewing old power dynamic practices. Finally, the third phase is transformative change, which occurs when change becomes rooted in organizational culture and mores. We cannot underestimate the length of time and learning at each stage. Achieving transformative change can be a long journey, but it is a learning journey. One grantmaker stated, “One change led to another and another, like dominos. I started to see what people meant by systemic change. New energy and excitement surged among us as hope grew and the cloudy vision of what we wanted became clearer and clearer.”
Although the figure below displays the six developmental stages as linear and distinct, change is unlikely to follow a linear path. Any change in a system will seldom stay fixed at one of these stages but rather will shift back and forth from one stage to another on the path toward the ideal state. We believe just one organization can’t shift the conditions that hold problems in place; we all must share the same perspectives and move the sector together and simultaneously. We call for all of those involved in the sector to work together to build a better and more equitable nonprofit and philanthropy system for all New Jerseyans.
Graphic comes from “The Water of Systems Change” by John Kania, Mark Kramer, and Peter Senge.
Doing Good Better, a partnership of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, is a community of funders and nonprofits taking action against the power imbalances and racial inequities in philanthropy, nonprofits, and government.