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The New Jersey Historic Trust and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts today announced the FY23 Capital Arts – Historic Locations grant award recipients. This grant opportunity prioritized project proposals that will be used to halt and remediate the physical deterioration of historic locations. There were 13 grants awarded totaling more than $2.6 million, with a maximum award of $250,000.
The FY23 Capital Arts - Historic Locations grant program is presented through a new partnership between the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (Arts Council), a division of the New Jersey Department of State, and the New Jersey Historic Trust (the Trust), affiliated with the Department of Community Affairs. The grant program is designed to assist New Jersey’s nonprofit arts organizations that are operating within buildings that are listed or eligible for listing in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places. Funds may be used for construction expenses related to the preservation, restoration, repair, and expansion to improve or enhance the facility. Grant funding is provided by the Arts Council and reviewed and administered by the Trust.
"Keeping history alive through preservation is key to building generational awareness and providing educational and recreational opportunities," said Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver, who serves as DCA Commissioner. "We are pleased that the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the New Jersey Historic Trust are combining resources to preserve historic properties, which play a key role in increasing tourism and economic development at both the local and state level."
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.
CNJG's Storify content from their Signature Events.
This report highlights three philanthropic efforts to build the capacity of local communities in the West - The Ford Family Foundation’s Ford Institute Leadership Program, the Northwest Area Foundation’s Horizons Program, and the Orton Family Foundation’s Heart and Soul Community Planning Program.

Effecting systemic change through philanthropic initiatives requires not only a strategy but a well-constructed implementation plan focused on "people, partners, and platforms.” According to a new report, Moving Beyond Theories of Change: A Framework for Strategic Implementation, philanthropic organizations hoping to achieve impact must align the partners, approaches, and organizational commitments before they begin to design programs, issue Requests for Proposals, or even hire staff. The report further suggests frameworks should include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and partnerships with intermediaries and donor collaboratives.


This report is designed to inform stakeholders in complex change strategies involving multiple partners, funders, intermediaries, and evaluators. It is framed by a literature review on partnership structures, trust building, and developing a learning culture, and offers case studies of three different partnerships. The report was commissioned by The James Irvine Foundation and collaboratively developed by Equal Measure, Engage R+D, and Harder+Company Community Research.
Case study from Philanthropy New York documenting the formation, challenges and ultimate success of the Education Funders Research Initiative – an unusual funder collaborative that brought together funders for and against charter schools, funders with different views of testing and accountability, and funders with vastly different approaches to supporting education reform to identify and advance shared priorities.
The Executive Director is an employee of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Metrowest. In this role, they lead the Grotta Fund’s grantmaking, strategic initiatives, and partnerships to advance its mission. The Executive Director guides the Advisory Council’s priorities, monitors emerging issues affecting older adults, builds collaborative relationships, and supports advocacy aligned with policy and program opportunities in New Jersey.
The Northern NJ Community Foundation (NNJCF) is hiring a part-time Foundation Coordinator (20 hours per week) to help support daily operations, donor services and event management. This role is perfect for an independent self-starter with strong organizational and communication skills, a collaborative spirit, and a hands-on approach. Prior experience in the nonprofit sector is a plus.
This advocacy and civic engagement toolkit is designed for community and public foundations that want to educate and encourage their grantees about getting involved in civic and policy activities to increase organizational capacity and impact. While its primary focus is on the grantmaking activity of these foundations, the toolkit also addresses rules and guidance for policy involvement by foundation officials acting on behalf of their foundations.
Despite a field replete with research, analysis, recommended policies and practices — not to mention an abundance of educational programs and frameworks for grantmaking to diverse communities — philanthropic leaders have been slow to advance these values in their foundations. Philanthropy Northwest (PNW) wondered: what is getting in the way? Why are good intentions, buttressed with theory and practical advice, not achieving better results on measures of diversity, equity and inclusion?
With the support of the D5 Coalition, PNW began a year-long study to explore these questions. The study was divided into two parts. They began with personal interviews of 23 philanthropic leaders in the Pacific Northwest. In order to better understand how these organizations incorporated diversity, equity, and inclusion into their work and workplaces, they collected baseline information about their staff composition, leadership styles, and organizational practices/policies.
This report details their findings. It includes an in-depth look at the peer cohort model, in which ten foundation leaders met regularly to discuss these issues and support each other in advancing their own leadership. It also includes practical lessons about shifting organizational cultures towards greater diversity, equity and inclusion — lessons drawn directly from the experiences of peer cohort leaders.
PNW presented this work in a webinar hosted by the D5 Coalition. The webinar recording and slides are below.
Philanthropic organizations of all shapes and sizes are well positioned to support Communities for a Lifetime (CfaL). This issue brief explores four roles for philanthropy in advancing CfaL work.
Newark funders joined this webinar for an engaging discussion with a great panel of small business leaders/entrepreneurs in Newark, who discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the small business community and considerations for re-opening.
Speakers:
Bisola Taiwo, Assistant Director, City of Newark Department of Economic and Housing Development
Bernel Hall, President and CEO, Invest Newark
Adenah Bayoh, Foya Foods Group (Owner of Cornbread and Newark and Irvington IHops)
Ken Tays, Owner, Minuteman Press
Laura Bonas Palmer, Owner, Akwaaba Gallery
Cost: Free for CNJG Members and Non Member Grantmakers
Webinar Video
The New Jersey Historic Trust, an affiliate of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), today approved a total of $15,758,315 in grant recommendations from the Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund to save and promote historic sites throughout the state. Sixty-five preservation planning, heritage tourism, and capital projects are included in this year’s list of recommendations.
“The New Jersey Historic Trust is committed to its mission of saving and telling New Jersey’s history,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, who serves as DCA Commissioner. “This round of grant recommendations for preservation planning, heritage tourism, and capital projects will help to preserve historic structures, documents, and artifacts that tell the stories of New Jersey’s history to future generations.”
Of the 65 grant award recommendations, 27 will help fund preservation planning projects such as condition assessments, historic structure reports, archaeological investigations, and construction documents; one grant will help fund heritage tourism initiatives to improve the visitor experience at historic sites; and 37 grants will fund capital preservation projects on sites listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places. All grants awarded to nonprofit organizations or entities of municipal, county and state governments require a match from the recipient.