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The Newark City of Learning Collaborative, which has been driven by several CNJG members and Newark Philanthropic Liaison Jeremy Johnson was recently featured in national publication, The Heckinger Report, which covers innovation and inequality in education.

In this guide, contributors share strategies for structuring a collaborative to fit its purpose, building strong relationships and resolving conflicts, and figuring out if the collaborative you're in is working. Contributors also offer ample proof that collaboratives are leading the field in bringing the voices of nonfunders — grantees, intended beneficiaries, experts, and others — into the process of making grants.
As we know, COVID-19 had a significant impact on student academic achievement. School districts across the state and country are working to accelerate student learning with a particular focus on literacy. Join us for our next Newark Education Funder meeting as we explore how funders can support a community approach to literacy, including the recently released Ten Point Literacy Plan. We will hone in on statewide and local data with the support of a recent study published by JerseyCAN, and then discuss how we can collaborate with grantees on systems that complement the traditional K-12 school day, particularly early literacy and support for reading at home, after-school and community programs, and collaborations with institutions like the Newark Public Library.
Panelists:
Paula White, Executive Director, JerseyCAN
Christian Zabriskie, Director, Newark Public Library
Nayibe Capellan, CEO, Programs for Parents
Catherine Wilson, President and CEO, United Way of Greater Newark
Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $50 for Non Member Grantmakers.
Please join us for our next Newark Funder Affinity Group Meeting at a special location. We will meet at the Courage in Care: Community Doulas and Joyful Revolution in Birth exhibit at the new Newark ArtsSpace (more information below). Our discussion will focus on local implementing partners in Newark and Essex County committed to improving black maternal health. We will also use the second part of the meeting to update each other on the response to the federal funding environment.
Joining us will be these dynamic speakers representing philanthropy, direct service, systems change, and training backgrounds:
Jazmin Rivera, Vice President of Holistic Support, BRICK Education Network
Nastassia K. Harris, Founder & Executive Director, Perinatal Health Equity Initiative
Julie Blumenfeld, Program Director, Nurse-Midwifery and Dual Women's Health, Rutgers University School of Nursing
Lisa Block, Senior Prorgram Officer, Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey
Atiya Weiss, Executive Director, The Burke Foundation
Please plan to stay after the meeting to interact with the exhibit.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members and Nonprofits; $75 for Non Member Grantmakers
About Courage in Care
The Courage in Care was developed under the guidance and leadership of a statewide advisory council of community doulas and maternal health advocates across New Jersey. With support from Narrative Initiative and In Good Company, these birth workers shaped the stories, themes, and vision that bring The Courage in Care to life.
Supported by the Burke Foundation, Ascend at the Aspen Institute, MERCK for Mothers, Community Health Acceleration Partnership, Turrell Fund, MCJ Amelior Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Bristol Myers Squibb, The Courage in Care is part of a larger effort to reimagine maternal health in New Jersey and beyond. Events associated with the exhibit are produced by NJPAC Arts & Well-Being.
CNJG is pleased to offer this program to family foundation members as part of NCFP's Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy 2024 webinar series, providing guidance on the core tenets of effective family philanthropy.
Family philanthropies are increasingly recognizing the power of inclusive and collaborative approaches to maximize their operations and impact—and to ensure that their philanthropy will bring more value to family members, grantees, community members, and others. This session will delve into innovative models, cutting-edge practices, and case studies that showcase how shared decision-making, inclusivity, and true partnerships can drive more effective and sustainable philanthropic strategies for families.
Cost: This event is free for CNJG Members who are family foundations.
Other types of foundations are ineligible to join this webinar.
This program is a CNJG membership benefit for family foundation members, including staff and trustees, in partnership with the National Center for Family Philanthropy.
When Mayor Ras Baraka took office in 2014, he immediately called for an expansion of the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program.
There is a growing body of evidence that youth employment programs are a positive intervention that can reduce summer violence and incarceration and improve educational outcomes of participating youth. Just as important, they help to expose youth to career pathways early, allowing the city to integrate youth into an overall workforce development strategy. For Mayor Baraka, the call was personal — he participated in the program as a youth and remembers fondly the impact it had on his life.
The Arts and Culture Renewal Fund (originally called the New Jersey Arts and Culture Recovery Fund) was created by a coalition of funders to raise and direct much needed support to the nonprofit arts and cultural sector statewide.
This panel discussion, facilitated by Executive Director, Lynne Toye, will explore the progress and impact of the fund, lessons learned, and prospects for its future. The panel includes: Sharnita Johnson, Victoria Foundation; Jeremy Grunin, Grunin Foundation; and Tammy Herman, New Jersey Council on the Arts.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members, $50 for Non Member Grantmakers
Webinar Video
The Silicon Valley Out-of-School-Time Collaborative invested in a cohort of regional nonprofit organizations to sustain and strengthen their ability to serve more students with stronger academic and social-emotional programming. Partners in the collaborative included three family foundations that together made an initial $1.6 million pooled investment over three years, and eight nonprofits that collectively served more than 7,000 low-income middle and high school students outside normal school hours. From the start of the partnership, funders and grantees held regular meetings focused on shared learning, trust building and dialogue. A midcourse evaluation of the collaborative showed that grantees were stronger, programs were better and are reaching more students, and funders had adopted new, collaborative grantmaking practices. The funders invested another $900,000 into a second phase of the work and committed to more flexibility –– letting grantees drive the group’s planning and learning efforts, and manage consultants, budgeting and group communications. Grantees also opted to redirect the focus of the collaborative from capacity building to program development and evaluation, with the added goal of sharing effective afterschool and summer program models with others, both inside and outside the region.
This PowerPoint presentation developed by Southeastern Council of Foundations provides an excellent overview to the pros and cons of different philanthropic structures for Corporate entities, including Corporate Foundations, Corporate Giving Programs, and working through Community Foundations.