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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.

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.

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.

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.

The United States Department of Labor, State of New Jersey, and City of Newark announced a $5 million grant to help provide jobs and support to hundreds of Newark residents returning home from prison over the next two years.

The grant includes $2 million in matching funds from the Bodman–Achelis Foundations, Joan Ganz Cooney, the Charles Edison Fund/Edison Innovation Foundation, the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, the F.M. Kirby Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, the Nicholson Foundation, and the Victoria Foundation.

“The City can’t do this alone. It takes strategic alliances with federal and state officials, community and faith-based organizations, and the leveraging arm of the philanthropic institutions,” said Mayor Cory Booker. “We established the office of the philanthropic liaison, underwritten by the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, to help create stronger connections with funders. The matching grants from the private sector show that these efforts are working.”

“The foundation community is delighted to partner with strong government leadership and the city’s philanthropic liaison in addressing the challenges faced by the growing numbers of men and women re-entering society,” said William H. Byrnes, Jr., program officer with the F.M. Kirby Foundation and trustee of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers.

Over the past three years, the United States Department of Labor has been the lead agency for implementing the federal government’s Prisoner Reentry Initiative. “This grant will enable Newark to build on the success of the President’s Prisoner Reentry Initiative and provide over 1,200 ex-offenders with basic job skills and other assistance to help them succeed in developing new career paths,”  said U.S. Secretary of Labor, Eliane L. Chao.

The combined $5 million award will enable the City to strengthen and expand services via a network of partners working through a one-stop center, Opportunity Reconnect, at Essex County College.

The goal of the grant is keep people working, help employers find workers, and keep families safe by successfully integrating ex-prisoners back into their communities through a comprehensive system of services including case management, mentoring, skills assessment, and referrals to health care providers. 

State and local agencies will be coordinated to strengthen the city’s network and avoid duplication of efforts.

“We’ve managed to make funders more aware of the barriers that prevent ex-prisoners from being successful," said Jeremy Johnson, Newark’s philanthropic liaison. "Grantmakers have become increasingly involved as a result.”