Site Search
- resource provided by the Forum Network Knowledgebase.
Search Tip: Search with " " to find exact matches.
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers’ 2023 – 2027 Strategic Plan reimagines the future for CNJG. As a result of the extensive strategy development process, the plan includes a renewed vision, mission, core values, and goals. The work is informed by previous efforts, and current issues and trends impacting philanthropy and society.
The 2023 - 2027 Strategic Plan is a roadmap for the next five years, built upon CNJG's past strategic plans and learnings. We look forward to executing this plan, the additional learnings and opportunities it will bring, and delivering on these goals to move us into the future.
A CNJG member queried our listserves on what online grants management system members use and would recommend for a small foundation. CNJG compiled these responses, and listed the different systems that members do use.
These resources are from CNJG's 2016 Annual Meeting & Holiday Luncheon where the topic of shifting demographics was explored. Research by the Pew Research Center shows that New Jersey, and the nation, is experiencing the most striking social, racial, economic, and demographic shifts that have not been seen in more than a century. Funders will need to address the new challenges this “next America” will face, including an increasing aging population, greater racial tapestry, the influence of religion and technology, and more.
Many of your organization's key priorities — innovative grantmaking, sound management and governance, strategic partnerships — are of paramount concern to other New Jersey philanthropies as well. CNJG is the go-to center for information, connection, and leadership among a growing network of grantmakers and philanthropic organizations throughout New Jersey. Members have access to exclusive benefits and services and a powerful link to fellow funders who share a commitment to addressing critical issues affecting citizens and communities across the state.
Memberships are for the entire organization, so your entire philanthropic team (staff, trustees, and more) can access these benefits:
Show your support of CNJG by adding a Proud Member of CNJG Logo to your website.
CNJG offers quarterly New Member Orientations either via Zoom or in person for any new member organization, or new staff or new Trustees at your organization. In the interim times, CNJG can come to your office or lead a virtual orientation just for your organization.
Invite CNJG staff to present at your board meeting on a variety of topics: benefits of CNJG membership; trends in philanthropy; policy issues affecting philanthropy, or another topic of interest to you and your organization. Please contact us to arrange.
CNJG Programs
CNJG offers over 80 programs per year that focus on peer learning, best practices, professional development, networking, and updates on certain topics that affect and influence your work. Most are free for members, and members receive a significant discount to any programs with a fee, including our signature events: Spring Colloquium, Spring Conference, and Annual Meeting of Members. Read about the different events and programs we offer.
Highlights of CNJG.org Website
Online Resources - hundreds of resources, tools, documents, templates and more to assist you in your work.
Leverage the New Jersey Principles for Philanthropy to promote continuous learning and reflection at your organization.
Take action to decrease the power imbalance between philanthropy and nonprofits through our joint initiative with the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, Doing Good Better.
Read through a plethora of information on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion work; philanthropy's disaster response, including COVID; and past CNJG work.
Find and connect to your peers using our online member directory. Only logged-in CNJG members can see full contact information for member organizations and their staff and/or trustees.
Benchmark the benefits you offer your staff and trustees, and compare salary rates for staff using our triennial Philanthropy Benefits and Salary Survey. Last published in 2023, we’ll be asking for your information in 2026. The salary data is gathered by the Council on Foundations through their annual Grantmaker Salary and Benefits survey.
Discover peers funding in similar areas through Affinity Groups and corresponding listserves.
Post any available philanthropic jobs at your organizations for free on our job board.
Save on administrative costs through several different discounts on a variety of products and services for grantmaking organizations.
Through the website and our member newsletters, CNJG can share your grant award announcements, personnel changes, and articles or announcements from your organization with our membership, informing them of your activities. Please email CNJG’s Manager of Communications Shakirat Odunsi with links to the announcement on your website, so we can include in our own communications.
Public Policy Updates and Advocacy
CNJG keeps its members informed of public policies that affect grantmaking institutions and their non-profit partners. Members can attend Foundations on the Hill (a joint program of the United Philanthropy Forum, the Council on Foundations, and Independent Sector), or read about CNJG’s work on the 2020 Census. We plan on revisiting this work for the upcoming 2030 Census.
Read through CNJG’s Policy Agenda, that guides our policy work on behalf of all the CNJG membership, under the direction of CNJG’s Policy Committee of the Board.
CNJG though our membership with the United Philanthropy Forum, we share programs and information from our fellow ‘philanthropy-supporting organizations’ from across the country that offer insights and policy strategies for philanthropy.
Newark Philanthropic Liaison
A model for the country, CNJG’s Newark Philanthropic Liaison, in collaboration with Newark’s Office of the Mayor, harnesses interest, attracts resources, and fosters greater effectiveness towards policy and programmatic areas affecting Newark’s residents.
Newsletters
CNJG News: Emailed at the start of each month, CNJG News provides timely information on members, member benefits, job announcements, and more. Please share your grants news, personnel changes, and announcements with us to include!
Grantmaker Learning Calendar: Bi-monthly emails describing upcoming programs for members.
Corporate Philanthropy Brief: Distributed monthly to the contacts of all CNJG’s corporate members, the Brief offers links to articles that help you learn more about CSR and how to get the best results from your giving.
Family Ties: A monthly e-publication specifically for CNJG’s family foundation members offers helpful articles, news, and tips for managing the unique needs of this brand of philanthropy.
You can also follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Publications
2023 New Jersey Philanthropy Benefits & Salary Summary Report: Produced every three years, this detailed benchmarking report looks at the benefits offered by philanthropic organizations to your staff and trustees. Salary information is provided by the Council on Foundations’ annual salary survey.
Disaster Philanthropy Playbook: A partnership with the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, in association with the United Philanthropy Forum, the Disaster Philanthropy Playbook website, created in response to Superstorm Sandy, brings together a meaningful compilation of early stage response ideas, tested models and innovative strategies employed by funders throughout the world after any natural or human-created disaster.
What Every Grantmaker Should Know & Frequently Asked Legal Questions: an “oldie but a goodie” guide to help the state’s philanthropic community understand what the ethical, legal, and fiduciary requirements and obligations are for grantmaking organizations, no matter the size of grants.
Add Your Leadership Voice to a CNJG committee
Membership in the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers offers grantmakers the opportunity to deepen their experience with the organization by serving on a Board committee, co-chairing an affinity group, or serving on CNJG’s board of trustees. Committee members lead, recommend and develop policies that help us shape our organization. Affinity Group co-chairs work with CNJG staff to develop programs for the members. The Board offers fiduciary and governance responsibilities for the entire organization.
Unique Benefits for Specific Members
For Family Foundations:
Family Ties newsletter
Family Philanthropy Online webinars with National Center for Family Philanthropy; offered every month
Family Foundation listserve
Family foundation members can access family foundation resources in the National Center for Family Philanthropy’s Knowledge Center.
For Corporate Members:
Corporate Philanthropy Brief newsletter
A New Jersey Corporate Philanthropy Network Affinity Group
Corporate Funders listserve
For Community Foundation Members:
DAF holders and component funds, like Impact 100 groups, can attend CNJG programs at the member rate. Please share relevant programs with interested DAF holders.
DAF holders can also receive CNJG News and our calendar emails should they choose
CNJG staff can introduce CNJG to your DAF holders at any of your gatherings
Community Foundation CEO listserve, which connects to a national listserve of Community Foundation CEOs from across the country.
To learn more about CNJG membership, contact Craig Weinrich.
A sample conflict of interest form for independent private foundations.
Sample board committee descriptions, including roles and responsibilities of committee members
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.
Like many cities and towns across New Jersey, and America, Newark is plagued by aging infrastructure. This includes approximately 18,000 privately-owned lead service lines that connect city water into homes. In 2018, Newark received an official finding that the corrosion control introduced into the water to keep lead from flaking off of lead service lines was no longer effective in one of its reservoirs – the Pequannock. This impacts roughly 15,000 households in the City.
There is a short, mid, and long-term plan of action that the City has been following since 2018:
In the short-term, 38,000 Pur water filters were distributed free of charge to residents in October 2018. In August 2019, the City and the Department of Environmental Protection conducted testing and found that in two of three homes, the Pur water filters were not removing lead from the water. While this was too small of a sample size to make a definitive conclusion about whether or not the filters are effective, in an abundance of caution, the City started to provide all potentially impacted residents with bottled water and established four distribution sites.
In the mid-term, a new corrosion control treatment was introduced into the Pequannock in Spring 2019, and will take up to 8 months to fully optimize.
For the long-term, the City of Newark created a Lead Service Line Replacement Program in partnership with the State of New Jersey and the Essex County Improvement Authority that will replace every lead service line in the city at no charge to residents within three years.
The Newark community is working in collaboration to support impacted residents throughout this process.
Ways to Help
While there is a clear plan to fix this issue over time, and as the City works aggressively with State and Federal officials on our water quality, there are immediate needs. Here are some ways to help:
- Contribute money to support impacted residents – The City of Newark partnered with the United Way of Essex West Hudson (UWEWH) to create a Water Fund. 100% of funds raised from individuals, corporations, and foundations is being used to address community needs during Newark’s water challenge.
- Make a direct donation of water – The Community Food Bank of New Jersey is accepting direct contributions of water on behalf of the City.
- Volunteer time and resources – The City is creating opportunities for volunteers to support its outreach to residents. Access to wraparound resources like lead testing and healthy food are also needed.
- Support for communications – It is important that residents, small business owners, and the whole Newark stakeholder community have the right facts related to Newark water. Community education is important now and well into the future.
To support these efforts, please contact Kevin Callaghan, Office of Newark Philanthropic Liaison, a partnership between the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and the City of Newark.
To learn more about impacted households and the service line replacement program, please visit the City of Newark’s Lead Service Line Replacement Program website.
As a reminder for funders, CNJG and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy co-created the Disaster Philanthropy Playbook to help funders be more strategic in their investments helping with recovery for different aspects of your affected community.
Articles to Read
- NJ.com: Bottled water distribution continues in Newark (8/19/2010)
- NJ.com: Newark creates fund for donations to buy bottled water (8/19/2019)
- New York Amsterdam News: Newark water crisis prompts activists to step in, state of emergency requested (8/22/2019)
- Insider NJ: NJLOM: Taking Action to Solve Newark’s Drinking Water (8/26/2019)
- NJTV News: Officials announce $120M deal to speed up replacement of Newark’s lead service lines (8/26/2019)
- Insider NJ: AT&T Launches Text-To-Give Campaign to Support Newark Families with Lead Service Lines (8/29/2019)
- Patch: Newark Sees Outpouring Of Donations, Love During Water Crisis (8/30/2019)
- New York Amsterdam News: Donations pour in to help those impacted by Newark water crisis (9/12/2019)
Thank you to all that attended CNJG’s 2023 Annual Meeting & Holiday Gathering - Philanthropic Collaboratives: Driving Impact and Opportunity on December 14.
Both our fireside chat speakers, Nidhi Sahni, Bridgespan, and Lucy Vandenberg, Schumann Fund for New Jersey, and pre-meeting workshop facilitators John Harper, Chirlie Felix, and Waheera Mardah from FSG, helped us to gain a better understanding of the nuance and benefits of collaboration. Please check out the program book, and you’ll find additional information on the Annual Meeting Resources page.
We elected two new Board trustees for their first 3-year term: Jasmyne Beckford, Prudential Foundation, and Paul DiLorenzo, Salem Health and Wellness Foundation, as well as re-electing several trustees for another term. We also said goodbye to 3 trustees rotating off, including 2023 Board Chair, Jeff Vega. Thank you, Jeff, for your leadership and commitment to CNJG. Following the annual meeting of members, the Board elected their officers for 2024: Craig Drinkard, Chair, (Victoria Foundation), Christine Healey, 1st Vice Chair, (The Healey Education Foundation), Justin Kiczek, 2nd Vice Chair, (F. M. Kirby Foundation), Maisha Simmons, Secretary, (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), and Catherine Wilson, Treasurer, (United Way Greater Newark). Congratulations!
Approved by the Board in October, we were thrilled to introduce CNJG’s first-ever policy agenda to the membership (see pages 9 – 11 of the program book). Among the policy agenda’s priorities are advancing racial equity and justice, a well-resourced nonprofit sector, civic engagement, and a healthy democracy.
Also adopted at the October Board meeting, we shared the New Jersey Principles for Philanthropy, our equity principles, with the membership (see pages 12 – 15 of the program book). CNJG’s last revision of Guiding Beliefs and Principles was in 2007. These revised Principles use a developmental framework and understand that each organization has its own starting point. Next year we’ll create tools and resources to help members on their own equity journeys.
Both of these important items are included as part of our 2023 – 2025 Strategic Plan, unveiled to the membership at last year’s Annual Meeting. CNJG envisions a healthy, thriving, and civically engaged NJ where people of all places, racial identities, socio-economic backgrounds, abilities, and identity expressions are valued for their gifts and talents, and we all can reach our full potential and participate generously in the common good. Our mission supports and elevates New Jersey’s philanthropic community through shared learning, collaborative and trusting relationships, network building, and leadership.
We also highlighted the importance of committee participation to drive CNJG’s work. Committees focus on a specific function or assignment. Our committees include: Audit, Finance, Governance, Member Engagement, Policy, Racial Equity, Signature Programs, and Strategic Plan Implementation. Thank you to everyone that submitted a committee interest card. If you are interested in serving on a committee, please email me. This is an exciting time to be involved in committee work.
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers thanks our Annual Meeting sponsors for their generous support: Signature Sponsor – Prudential; Collaborating Sponsor – Victoria Foundation; Contributing Sponsors – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Devils Youth Foundation; and Supporting Sponsors – Grunin Foundation, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Princeton Area Community Foundation, and WSFS Bank. Thank you also to NJM Insurance Group for an additional donation to support the event.
The CNJG offices will be closed from December 25, 2023 to January 1, 2024.
2023 was a terrific year – thank you to the Council membership for making it so. Our membership is truly an exceptional group of leaders that care deeply about the communities they serve, and their nonprofit partners. On behalf of the entire CNJG team, we wish you happy holidays and a joyful new year! We look forward to seeing you in 2024!
With Gratitude,
Theresa Jacks, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers
CNJG's Storify content from their Signature Events.
This publication from Grantmakers for Effective Organizations offers a framework for thinking about how to measure progress and results in place-based and community change initiatives.
This case study of the Council of Michigan Foundations' Peer Action Learning Network (PALN) is one of six examined in a report from New York University's Wagner Research Center for Leadership in Action, commissioned by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations. The PALN case study, along with the other five, explores the power of learning communities to build connections and knowledge to increase organizations’ community impact. It explains ways grantmakers can strategically support these efforts as well as key elements for designing learning communities, executing for success and extending the learning.