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At the October Grantmakers for Education Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., the Newark Funders Education Committee presented a workshop called “How Not to Read the Prize” to a standing-room-only audience of national, regional, and local foundations.
They did so not to dispute the findings in Dale Russakoff’s book, “The Prize,” but rather to expound upon the progress and challenges that have occurred during the period since Mark Zuckerberg’s $100-million-dollar gift was announced in September 2010 and to paint a fuller, more nuanced picture.
The process of putting together the panel was a learning experience for all of us who participated. It helped us to clarify our own thinking about what the gift enabled Newark to accomplish, how we as local funders have come to work together more effectively, and how we might advise national foundations interested in place-based impact to engage with the community and with local funders.
In September 2010, Mark Zuckerberg announced a $100 million gift, to be matched dollar for dollar, to transform education in Newark in five years. The Foundation for Newark’s Future was created as a local foundation that would manage a then-undetermined portion of the gift.
The Prize, by Dale Russakoff, documents the first five few years of this reform effort. As Russakoff illustrates, there were strong personalities involved in the reform effort who had or have now moved to new positions. Also, this was the donor’s first foray into philanthropy and despite efforts at community engagement, many community leaders and activists felt that district and state leaders and national foundation representatives did not invite or respect authentic community participation in its decisions. The book and subsequent book tour largely focused on these themes.
The narrative in philanthropy is that “this bold effort largely failed.” With the benefit of time, we would write a different narrative: there were missteps along the way, and some philanthropic overreach, but Newark is moving forward, education outcomes are improving, and some of the work that was started because of this initiative has had sustained positive impact. Most importantly, there is a robust education dialogue in the city that has moved from vigorous disagreement to an agreement to collaborate even when we disagree. So, the hashtag for this work seven years on might be: #notfinishedyet or #needapart2.
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.
CNJG's 2018 Annual Meeting & Holiday Luncheon pre-meeting workshop with Michelle Greanias from PEAK Grantmaking focused on how foundation CEO’s, program officers, staff, and trustees could engage internally to put values-based grantmaking into practice.
Walk the Talk Video
Learn how you can register for events online, search the member directory for organizations and colleagues who have the same interests, and update your profile.
The 4th goal of CNJG’s strategic plan calls for CNJG to expand partnerships and collaborations to create more value for our members. One of our long-standing partnerships is with the Council on Foundations to collect salary data, which we will include in our upcoming triennial 2023 New Jersey Philanthropy Benefits & Salary Summary report.
We are now partnering with YOU to collect your data on the benefits that your organization provides to your staff and/or trustees. The CNJG benefits survey is open for you to complete.
The New Jersey Philanthropy Benefits & Salary Summary report is often cited as one of the most valuable benefits of membership, and the more data we collect from a variety of philanthropic organizations, the more valuable the report becomes! As we did in 2020, we’re also pleased to ask demographic information about your board and staff within this survey. Even if you do not have any paid staff, you will be able to add your board demographic information to the survey.
We aim to publish the 2023 New Jersey Philanthropy Benefits & Salary Summary report in late 2023. The report is the premiere benchmarking tool for our members and the philanthropy sector in New Jersey.
The survey closes on August 4, 2023. We encourage every CNJG member organization to complete the survey. While the survey is long – taking about 45 minutes to complete – it allows us to create a truly comprehensive report to inform your decision making. We encourage you to review the questions in advance to gather the information you will need to make it easier for you to complete the survey in one sitting. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Director of Member Services, Craig Weinrich. I hope that one person from your organization will complete the survey before August 4.
A couple more summer notes – we will not publish CNJG News in August, but will resume in September. And, to recognize and show appreciation for our hard-working staff, the CNJG office will be closed on Fridays throughout the summer. This is one benefit that we offer our staff. It will be fascinating to see how many others offer this same benefit, so please complete our survey before the end of the July!
Theresa Jacks, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers
Multi-year Grants
Affirmation: Multi-year funds provided both reliability and breathing room for nonprofits.
Making fundamental and long-lasting change comes with the promise of reliable investments. Longer grant terms create an environment where collaborative partnerships can flourish, and trust and transparency break down power dynamics. The result is that nonprofits have the “breathing room” and financial stability to focus activities where they are most needed.
Although many funders award grants to the same nonprofits year after year, they often require submission of annual applications that request information they already have and are complex and needlessly lengthy. These processes can heighten mutual distrust. From a practical standpoint, multi-year awards reduce paperwork for both funder and nonprofit and open communication channels promoting shared goals, mutual trust, and increased overall impact.
Activities
• For funders that historically award repeat annual grants to the same nonprofit partners, shift from an annual grant/proposal cycle to a long-term, multi-year commitment with an annual outcomes/progress report in lieu of a full application.
• Tailor grant terms to suit grantee timelines and needs (negotiated outcomes and milestones).
• If data collection is required solely to meet a funder’s compliance requirements, the funder should assume this responsibility or provide sufficient funding and/or capacity for the nonprofit to meet the requirement.
Short-term Outcomes
• The number of funders making multi-year grants increases by 50% over the previous years.
Long-term Outcomes
• More funders convert an annual application process for repeat grantee partners to a multi-year commitment with an annual outcomes report at the most, instead of full proposals each year.
• Funders assume responsibility for data collection or provide sufficient funding and/or capacity for the nonprofit to meet the requirement.
• Grant terms are suited to grantee timelines and needs (negotiated outcomes and milestones).
How to Begin Doing Good Better on Reliability
Learning opportunities
• What barriers keep funders from making long-term commitments to repeat grantee partners? Are any of these barriers legal?
• What are the minimum data requirements for funders to collect from repeat grantee partners?
Pre-Work
• Address the barriers to awarding multi-year grants through tested tools.
• Learn about how multi-year grants strengthen grantee partners and improve philanthropic, nonprofit, and community impact.
• Research mechanisms funders can use to meet legal compliance requirements while gaining trust in their grantee partners.
Save the Date
Catalyzing New Jersey Communities: Building Local Coalitions
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 - 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Location: The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center
10 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Join over 125 of your fellow CJNG members and special guests for a day to celebrate the end of the calendar year, connect with colleagues, and explore this year's theme: Catalyzing New Jersey Communities: Building Local Coalitions. We will celebrate our collective impact, share stories of success, learn from one another’s experiences, and collectively envision a more connected, resilient, and equitable future for New Jersey. The Annual Meeting & Holiday Gathering includes a panel discussion that will explore the profound and tangible ways that philanthropy can move beyond traditional grantmaking to become powerful coalition builders for lasting change.
During the luncheon, we will convene our annual business meeting to elect new trustees, recognize new CNJG members, and report on our activities for the year. There will be time to connect and collaborate with colleagues and friends, old and new.
The day kicks off with a New Member Orientation for any new CNJG members or new staff of existing members to learn more about CNJG’s many offerings. Separate registration is required.
Prior to the Annual Meeting, CNJG will offer a deeper dive into the Impala platform that will launch in New Jersey for all grantmakers and all nonprofits. During this workshop, we will showcase the Impala for Grantmakers product which can help you:
- Conduct due diligence for potential and returning grantees
- find nonprofits that you might not yet know
- find who else is funding in a particular geographic or topical area
- find which nonprofits are working in a particular geographic or topical area
- find connections to other funders
- communicate to potential applicants what your funding criteria is
| Agenda | |
| 9:00 am – 12:00 noon | Registration, Networking, and Coffee |
| 10:00 am – 11:30 am | Workshop and Continental Breakfast |
| 12:00 noon – 12:45 pm | CNJG Annual Meeting of Members |
| 12:45 pm – 1:30 pm | Lunch and Networking |
| 1:30 pm - 2:20 pm | Panel followed by Q & A |
| 2:20 pm – 2:35 pm | Meeting adjourns |
A sample conflict of interest form for independent private foundations.
When considering how to improve health outcomes for low-income individuals, most people think about providing access to good medical care and keeping the cost of that care as low as possible. What people rarely think about is the connection between good health and quality affordable housing.
Nonprofit Finance Fund's Annual Survey chronicles the challenges facing the nonprofit sector and calls out some of the targeted investments we can start to agree on as a society to salvage the investment we have collectively made in our social infrastructure. We believe that a coordinated intervention now will not only better prepare us for inevitable future economic crises; it can lead to a happier, healthier community for us all.
What CNJG Can Do for You
Foundations of all types and sizes are engaging in grantmaking efforts with a complexity that often calls for input from colleagues. CNJG is the go-to center for information, connection, and leadership among a growing network of grantmakers throughout New Jersey.
We are connectors, conveners, knowledge brokers, facilitators and collaborators. We are a network serving Family Foundations, Private Foundations, Corporate Grantmakers, Public/Government Grantmakers, Giving Circles, Federated Funds, Trusts, and Family Office Advisors. CNJG's membership works toward the shared goals of improved practice, expanded impact through collective action, and most importantly, stronger communities.
98% of CNJG members with an opinion say CNJG
- Provides access to programming they wouldn’t find elsewhere
- Makes them better philanthropy practioners
- Has high quality programming
- Provides access to relationships and collaborations they wouldn’t have established otherwise.
- Meets or exceeds their expectations for membership
Corporate Foundations
Corporate Foundations and Giving programs work smarter and extend the reach of their philanthropic dollars through CNJG. We provide:
- Benchmarking tools and data to help you set goals and measure impact.
- Broad access to peer funders, influential leaders and legislative decision-makers throughout New Jersey.
- Cost-effective, local, high-quality knowledge-building programs that will boost your operational effectiveness – available online and in person.
- The latest news and information that impacts and drives corporate philanthropy locally and around the world.
- Affinity groups that deepen your understanding of needs and opportunities in areas that align with your corporate giving mission, including our newest affinity group – the New Jersey Corporate Network.
- Listserves that enable you to connect to not only other corporate funders, but other grantmaking colleagues on different issues and/or geographic areas.
“The Council provides a network where I can tap into colleagues who may have valuable experience with an issue, grantee or vendor. In addition, Council research can prove extremely useful for any number of decisions, large or small.” -Etta Denk, Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, Bank of America
“The programs and seminars that CNJG produces are always substantive. From a professional development point of view Council membership is extremely cost effective.“ –Marion O’Neill, Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability, PSEG
Family Foundations
Family foundations represent approximately one-third of the membership of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers. Join CNJG and you will:
- Have the opportunity to participate in monthly interactive webinars featuring presentations and Q&A sessions with nationally recognized experts in different areas of family philanthropy. Presented in partnership with the National Center for Family Philanthropy, these webinars take place on the second Thursday of each month.
- Have complimentary access to Family Philanthropy Online — a web-based knowledge center that provides practical advice and knowledge on a variety of relevant topics. Continually updated, the site provides members with access to the latest resources to inform their philanthropic efforts. Logged in CNJG members may access Family Philanthropy Online directly from our website through our members-only portal.
- Participate in Affinity Groups that deepen your understanding of needs and opportunities in areas within your foundation’s giving mission.
- Connect to the experience, knowledge and best practices of other grantmakers throughout the country.
- Get access to discounts on board liability insurance, technology and industry publications.
- Take advantage of CNJG’s vast library of how-to resources.
- Attend cost-effective, local, high-quality knowledge-building programs that will boost your operational effectiveness – online, by phone and in person.
- Save on CNJG’s signature events featuring national experts, workshops focused on skill-building and best practices, and networking opportunities.
- Meet influential leaders and legislative decision-makers throughout New Jersey.
“One of the greatest benefits has been the opportunity to meet people who are working in much larger foundations...people who are doing things on a different scale, and to be able to hear what they’re doing and learn from them.” -Sharon Karmazin, President, The Karma Foundation
“Our CNJG membership has helped us to be more effective and efficient grantmakers, and allows us to tap into the expertise of the broader philanthropic community.” -Bill Gibson, Trustee, Leavens Foundation
“Access to the Family Foundation teleconferences has been helpful. What we have listened to has been good, engaged discussion germane to family foundations, in particular issues around multi-generational family philanthropy and the dynamics on such Boards.” - Dillard Kirby, President & Director, F.M. Kirby Foundation
Out of State Funders
Organizations and individuals (as defined on the Eligibility & Criteria page) headquartered outside of New Jersey that provide charitable funding in New Jersey can stay informed of the latest news and important information regarding New Jersey’s philanthropic community through membership in CNJG. As membership is organization-based, any of your representatives, including staff and trustees located in or near New Jersey, are welcome to attend our programs.
Please note that dues for out-of-state funders are based only on your giving in New Jersey.
Private Donors
Private donors who are unaffiliated with a private or family foundation, or whose giving assets might be held with a Community Foundation or other donor advised funds, may join CNJG and engage with other grantmakers to enhance their personal giving.
To learn more about CNJG membership, contact Craig Weinrich at (609) 414-7110 x802
We invite you to join our next virtual meeting of the NJ Corporate Philanthropy Network where we will learn how non-profits are responding to the changing Federal landscape from the perspective of four different stakeholders and how they’re dealing with these challenges and the impact this climate is having on future planning. Our speakers include: Linda Czipo, New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, who will share with us a broad brushstroke of the impact and the Center’s advocacy efforts to respond;. Sandra Toussaint, United Way of Greater Mercer County, who will review the findings of a recent study in the region; Elizabeth McCarthy, Community FoodBank of New Jersey, who will discuss the impact on the already overly stressed issue of food insecurity in the state; and Peter Rosario, La Casa de Don Pedro (in Newark), will share how a large multi-service organization’s constituents have been directly impacted and how La Casa has responded and adapted.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $75 for Non Member Grantmakers
This program is only open to staff and trustees from grantmaking organizations.
Linda Czipo is President & CEO of the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, New Jersey's statewide champion and network for the charitable community. Through advocacy, education, professional training, management and compliance assistance, and membership services, the Center strengthens charities so that they can do their vital work in our communities. Linda’s nonprofit sector experience spans over 30 years, and includes expertise in public policy, analysis, research, compliance and management. She speaks frequently to the media, nonprofit, philanthropic and business leaders, and government officials regarding the size, strength, economic and social contributions of New Jersey’s nonprofit sector and current and emerging trends facing the nonprofit community; and has successfully mobilized broad-based coalitions of nonprofits around numerous advocacy issues. She is a public policy committee member and former board treasurer of the National Council of Nonprofits, and also serves on the New Jersey Commission on National and Community Service, and the Policy Committee of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University
Elizabeth McCarthy, President and CEO, Community Foodbank of New Jersey, has been a leader in shaping and implementing programs that address immediate critical needs, as well as providing the tools and support to effect long-term positive impacts on communities. Elizabeth joined The Community FoodBank of New Jersey in July of 2023, CFBNJ distributes enough food for more than 90 million meals annually and addresses the root causes of food insecurity with programs that provide job training, nutrition education, and more. From 2011 to 2023 Elizabeth served as the CEO of Sheltering Arms, which addressed the effects of social inequity for children and families in the most challenged New York City communities. The organization provided wraparound services for families living in poverty, including education, mental health, and violence prevention programs. She chaired the Board of Directors of the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA),was the Treasurer of The Developmental Disabilities Services/Child Welfare Collaborative, LLC, and was a Board member of The Children’s Collaborative, Inc.
Peter T. Rosario is the President and CEO of La Casa de Don Pedro, Inc., New Jersey’s largest Latinx-led community development corporation, celebrating over 50 years of mission-driven service. Under his leadership since August 2021, La Casa has implemented a comprehensive service delivery model focused on three central pillars: Early Childhood, Healthy Homes, and Community Empowerment. Peter has led a strategic transformation of the organization, overhauling its strategic plan, strengthening its brand around the core values of Justice, Love, Solidarity, Excellence, and Belonging, and securing major new funding from leading institutions including the Devils Youth Foundation, MetLife Foundation, Pershing Square Foundation, and Bank of America. A passionate and transformative advocate for equity, Peter has played a key role in advancing critical state policy reforms such as expanding NJ FamilyCare to undocumented children, eliminating barriers to early childhood education, and improving access to child care and nutrition programs. His work continues to elevate the voices and needs of New Jersey’s hardest-working families and communities.
Sandra Toussaint-Burgher serves as the President & CEO of United Way of Greater Mercer County, a role she’s had since 2016. Sandra provides executive leadership and vision to the organization. Prior to that Sandra held the position of Vice President of Resource Development & Strategic Partnerships. Sandra also serves as Chair of the statewide association of Unted Ways of New Jersey. Sandra has 20+ experience in fund development, strategic partnerships, community relations, and marketing. She’s held senior positions at local and national organizations including Youth Communication, Inc., Special Olympics, and Twenty-First Century Foundation. Before coming into the non-profit sector, Sandra worked in the insurance industry. Sandra is a sought-after speaker on a variety of topics such as creating and motivating teams, corporate engagement, board development, cultivating donors and finding your passion - transitioning from for-profit to non-profit. She has presented at the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association forum, New Jersey Center for Nonprofit Conference, Princeton Community Works, Association for Fundraising Professionals Conference, Nonprofit Connect and many others. Sandra is very active with the nonprofit community. She serves on the Board of Directors of Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce, NJ Center for Nonprofit, Foundation Academies Leadership Council and Advisory Board Member for Kidsbridge Tolerance Center. She also served on the YWCA of Princeton Board of Directors and on the Advisory Committee for Single Stop USA, a nonprofit organization that aims to reduce poverty and promote economic mobility. Sandra is a 2021 Lead New Jersey fellow and a recipient of the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce Champion for Business Award. This award recognizes outstanding business leaders for growing their business and demonstrating the values of being a good corporate citizen.
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