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The Newark Philanthropic Liaison is a unique partnership between the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and the City of Newark, supported by several foundations. Read more about the Liaison’s work In these reports. Due to several transitions, there were no written reports between 2015 and 2022.

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.

To answer the basic question of how many active family foundations are planning to spend down or exist in perpetuity (or have not yet made a decision), and to examine foundations’ motivations and decision-making, the Foundation Center, in collaboration with the Council on Foundations and with additional assistance from the Association of Small Foundations, launched a study of family foundations in 2008.  This report presents the full range of study findings, which are based on survey responses from 1,074 family foundations. 

Jersey City has awarded more than $1 million in funding to 78 artists and arts organizations in its third round of grants from the city’s Arts and Culture Trust Fund, Mayor Steve Fulop announced Friday.

The latest funding consists of 44 program grants, 13 arts education grants, 21 general operating grants and 20 individual artist fellowships. To date, nearly 300 Arts and Culture Trust Fund grants have been distributed, totaling $3 million.

CNJG joined over 350 delegates from across the country for Foundations on the Hill on February 23-26. The event included a policy conference followed by meetings on Capitol Hill. Our delegation was a nice mix of newcomers to FOTH and those with years of experience.

Joining me this year were Board Chair Craig Drinkard; Sharnita Johnson, Victoria Foundation; Board Secretary Kortney Swanson Davis, Forman Acton Foundation; Board members, Jeremy Grunin, Grunin Foundation, and Lucy Vandenberg, Schumann Fund for New Jersey; Bill Engel, The Union Foundation; Carrie Bersak and Jessica Nugent, The Burke Foundation; Sharif Braxton, EQUIP NJ; Naeema Campbell, The Fund for New Jersey; Alma Garcia and Hellen Zamora-Bustos, Equity Ahora (formerly New Jersey Health Initiatives); Jessica Johansen and Shelley Skinner, The Tepper Foundation; Sharese York, Smith Family Foundation; Nelida Valentin, Princeton Area Community Foundation; and Renee Woodside, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey.

For the last few years, we’ve also been joined by Linda Czipo, President and CEO, New Jersey Center for Nonprofits. Linda’s voice elevates our conversations and helps ground them in the work nonprofits do every day. 

Speaking with one voice, we urged our legislators to sign on to the bipartisan Charitable Act (H.R.801/S.317). Congressman Kean co-signed the bill on March 3, 2025. We also took the opportunity to share with our Congressional delegation how changes in federal policy and various executive actions are impacting nonprofits and the communities we collectively serve. 

In advance of FOTH, the Center surveyed NJ nonprofits for the New Jersey Nonprofits Trends and Outlook 2025 Report – just released this morning! As part of their survey, they also asked for on-the-ground stories of impact in the face of federal funding freezes and actions from the executive branch. Here’s a sampling of what they heard and what we shared at FOTH:

“As of 2/12/25 our agency had not received over $1.5 million owed on federal contracts for work performed in December and January, and on 2/11/25 we furloughed 46 employees … There are currently 1,000 children in NJ who need services in the database for unaccompanied minors where our program staff are assigned cases…If staff are furloughed or laid off these children will not receive services.”

“It was terrifying--a payroll week. We were afraid that we would not be able to pay contractors for work they had already done. Our refugee assistance programs, which had just expanded, lost funding. We were afraid that we would not be reimbursed for $100,000 in disbursements … we had to let go 2 brand new staff members.”

“[Organization] receives federal funding administered by the state and counties (Aging funds and Ryan White funds). If we lose those funds, we will not be able to serve seniors in Ocean and Union County or people living with HIV in 8 counties in NJ.” 

“Our federal grants comprise of about $900,000 in total. These funds are our main lifeline for our mental health counseling and sexual violence programming. Especially those who are already marginalized, underserved and/or at risk are more vulnerable to the funding uncertainties than any other groups…”

FOTH is always an opportunity for us to discuss issues of interest to philanthropy, advocate for policy and legislation that strengthen the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors and build relationships with legislators.

This year, we also had a moral obligation to ring the alarm and make sure our representatives understood how communities are being impacted by a wave of reckless and destructive policy decisions. 

Earlier this morning, the Center presented their webinar, "The State of NJ’s Nonprofit Sector", providing a high-level review of the related report. Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents reported that at least some of their funding comes from federal grants or contracts which account for more than 4,500 jobs. These findings tell us that people’s lives and livelihoods are at stake. 

The webinar provided a concise list of what funders can do during these especially challenging times: 

• Check in with nonprofit partners.
• Provide flexible funding.
• Simplify applications and reporting processes.
• Connect nonprofits to information/guidance (Start here with Resources to Navigate Uncertainty).
• Fund advocacy.
• If possible, please increase your payout.

These recommendations align with Doing Good Better and so much of what we’re hearing from CNJG members and the broader philanthropic sector. 

As foundation leaders dedicated to our New Jersey communities, please consider the full range of strategies your organizations can employ during these truly unprecedented times. Manager of Communications Shakirat Odunsi will collect stories from you, our members, about how you are changing/adapting your grantmaking and work in the face of the dramatic policy shifts that are happening in the executive branch. I also encourage you to share those stories directly with your CNJG colleagues via the listservs.

My colleague Linda ended the webinar with, “We are not alone. We can do this together!” And I’ll add - in fact, we must do this together.

In solidarity,

Theresa Jacks, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers

The Grunin Foundation, in partnership with CNJG, invites you to join the next Monmouth & Ocean County funder roundtable. The conversation will continue around what we can to do together to move to action and create greater impact in our communities. The roundtable will be held from 10:00am - 12:00pm with an optional lunch following, from 12:00pm - 1:00pm. To help with planning, please indicate during the registration process if you will be staying for the lunch.

Cost: Free for CNJG Members and Non Member Grantmakers
This program is open to grantmakers only and is geared towards those who fund in Monmouth & Ocean Counties.

The Grunin Foundation, in partnership with CNJG, invites you to the first in-person Monmouth & Ocean County Funder Roundtable of 2024. The conversation will continue around what we can do together to move to action and create greater impact in our communities. The roundtable will be held from 10:00AM - 12:00PM with an optional lunch following, from 12:00PM - 1:00PM. To help with planning, please indicate during the registration process if you will be staying for the lunch.

Cost: Free for CNJG Members and Non-Member Grantmakers
This program is open to grantmakers only and is geared towards those who fund in Monmouth & Ocean Counties.