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From the Commonfund, these white papers on investment policy statements, spending policy, board governance and risk tolerance, together with their most recent studies of investments at private and community foundations, operating charities and nonprofit healthcare organizations are made available though CNJG's Investment Forum for Foundations and Endowments.

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.

Webinar Video

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.

A CNJG member queried our listserves on policies regarding: 1) number of vacation days for new full-time employees; 2) paid time off (PTO); and 3) working remotely. CNJG compiled the answers from responding members.

A key objective of the Scaling What Works initiative has been to translate insight and learning from grantmaker intermediaries involved with the Social Innovation Fund and share them with the broader philanthropic community. The fifth guide in the Lessons Learned series presents the benefits and challenges of partnerships between local and national funders, and highlights key considerations for both kinds of funders to foster success in their collaboration.

The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers joins the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation’s Funders Census Initiative, the United Philanthropy Forum, and philanthropy-serving organizations around the country in asking our members to commit to supporting and encouraging a fair and accurate census.

“Census Day,” April 1, 2020, is here and the time to act is now.

More than $800 billion annually in federal assistance to states, localities and families is distributed based on census data; yet historically, the census has missed disproportionate numbers of people of color, young children and the rural and urban poor, leading to inequality in political power and inaccessibility to public funding and private investment for these communities. Going into 2020, additional communities, including immigrants, refugees, unmarried women and the LGBTQ community are at risk of being missed.

Of that $800 billion, $17.56 billion distributed to our state is based on census data. Furthermore, in the 2010 census, return rates for New Jersey’s cities were very low: 55% in Newark, 50% in Irvington, 55% in Orange, 55% in Atlantic City, 56% in New Brunswick, 59% in Trenton, 60% in Paterson, and 61% in Camden. These communities are among those labeled Hard-to-Count (HTC). Being hard-to-count can lead to unequal political representation and unequal access to vital public and private resources for these groups and their communities. Our state has so much at stake, and we need to ensure a full, fair and accurate census. Without accurate census data, the communities you care about could see less investment in their vital public and private resources.

The Fund for New Jersey has created a website, which includes interactive maps to find Hard to Count areas, resources, and news. The Fund reminds us that almost everything we know about our communities comes from information collected during the census and its related surveys. Read The Fund for New Jersey’s policy paper, Toward a Fair and Accurate Census 2020 and a Timeline for Philanthropy, and download their checklist for outlining a number of ways philanthropy can support Census 2020.

The 2020 Census is facing unprecedented challenges, including years of underfunding, a climate of fear, and the challenges of the first “high tech” census.

Ways to Help

1. Review the Funder Menu of Options created in partnership by United Philanthropy Forum and the Funders Census Initiative (FCI 2020) to help funders identify what they can to do.
2. Join the Funders Census Initiative Working Group. As a working group member, you’ll have access to the core listserv for funders to connect on their work at the national, state and local levels. There is no cost, and you don’t need to be a FCCP member to join.
3. Sign up to get ongoing updates from the Census Bureau, including America Counts: Stories Behind the Numbers, the latest news, Tip sheets, and Stats for Stories. You can also partner with our Census Regional Office.
4. Talk to your grantees about the importance of a full and accurate 2020 Census, and what it means for their community and their work. Encourage them to get involved by sending them this message, and sharing this write up for use in their e-communications.
5. Advocate for a fair and accurate census, and for the resources to support a complete count in your community and statewide.
6. Share information on your website; via mailings, e-blasts and social media; and at your board and staff meetings to inform people why the census matters to your community and your grantees.
7. Join the Census 2020 NJ Coalition, a statewide outreach and awareness campaign to coordinate nonprofit and community-based efforts to ensure an accurate 2020 Census count in New Jersey. The Coalition is working together with the State of New Jersey Complete Count Commission and the U.S. Census Bureau to make sure the public has clear, accurate information about the importance of the upcoming Census.
8. Keep the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers up to date on what you are doing. Please contact Theresa Jacks, Deputy Director for more information.  

It is difficult to overstate the importance of a fair census count. When census information is not accurate, it threatens to muffle the voices of undercounted groups and regions, and undermine the basic political equality that is central to our democracy. Institutions across the country, including local and state governments, businesses, nonprofits and foundations, routinely rely on data from the census to allocate funding, define where services are delivered, and promote economic development. Thank you for your commitment to making sure that everyone counts!

Websites to Visit

• The Census Project
  A broad-based network of national, state, and local organizations that supports a fair and accurate 2020 Census and comprehensive American Community Survey (ACS — the modern version of the census “long form”). Participating stakeholders represent a diverse range of American sectors that rely on objective data for decision-making and promote civic engagement: business and industry; civil rights advocates; state and local governments; social service agencies; researchers and scientific associations; planners; foundations; and nonprofits focused on housing, child and family welfare, education, transportation, and other vital services.
• Funders Census Initiative
  A project of the Funders Committee for Civic Participation, a philanthropy-serving organization spearheading Census-related work and information for funders.
• United Philanthropy Forum
  The largest network serving philanthropy in America, consisting of regional and national philanthropy-serving organizations (PSOs). Through the Census 2020 Project, the Forum is working with members to mobilize regional funders to advocate for policy improvements for the 2020 census, and to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of a fair and accurate census count to philanthropy. CNJG is a member of the Forum.
• United States Census Bureau
  The Bureau's mission is to serve as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy and is the federal government’s largest statistical agency. The Decennial Census is the once-a-decade population and housing count of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas as required by the U.S. Constitution. The results of the decennial census determine the number of seats for each state in the U.S. House of Representatives and are used to draw congressional and state legislative districts and to distribute more than $675 billion in federal funds each year.
• NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development
  NJ's governmental department that works with the Census Bureau to conduct the census in New Jersey.
• Advocates for Children of New Jersey – Census 2020 NJ
• The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights – 2020 Census

Resources to Use

• 2017 CNJG Conference – Luncheon Keynote: The Linchpin – Why the 2020 Census Matters
• Mapping Hard to Count (HTC) Communities for a Fair and Accurate 2020 Census
• The Census Project: Fact Sheets and Reports
• The Census Project: Monthly Updates
• The Census Project: Recent Media
• Census.gov: Community Outreach Toolkit
• NJ Complete Count Commission
• 2020 Census Operational Timeline
• Response Outreach Area Mapper
• Census Solutions Workshop Toolkit
• Map Showing Contact Strategies for Hard to Count Communities
• 2020 Census Complete Count Committees
• Get Out the Count Toolkit

Webinars to Watch

• What Funders Need to Know About Census 2020 Operations
• Johnson Center Podcast: This One Counts
• Brennan Center for Justice: The 2020 Census: What's at Stake
• Census Day 2019 Press Briefing (4/1/2019)
• FCI Briefing Series: Census 2020 Messaging Testing Results – presented by Color of Change
• FCI Briefing Series: Census 2020 Messaging Testing Results – presented by National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
• FCI Briefing Series: Census 2020 Messaging Testing Results – presented by Asian Americans Advancing Justice
• FCI Briefing Series: Census 2020 Messaging Testing Results – presented on Messaging Studies with the Census Bureau
• FCI Briefing Series: Census 2020 Messaging Testing Results – presented by National Congress of American Indians
• FCI Briefing Series: Census 2020 Messaging Testing Results – presented by the Arab American Institute and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
• FCI Briefing Series: Census 2020 Messaging Testing Results – presented by San Joaquin Valley Health Fund: Census Research Project

Articles to Read

• CityLab: Ex-Census Director: Citizenship Question Is 'a Tremendous Risk' (2/27/2018)
• ProPublica: The Trump Appointee Behind the Move to Add a Citizenship Question to the Census (3/7/2018)
• FiveThirtyEight: A Million Children Didn’t Show Up In The 2010 Census. How Many Will Be Missing In 2020? (3/19/2018)
• Governing: A Census Citizenship Question Wouldn't Just Impact Blue States (3/28/2018)
• ScienceMag: 2020 census gets huge budget boost, but addition of citizenship question worries critics (3/27/2018)
• Governing: A Census Citizenship Question Wouldn't Just Impact Blue States (3/28/2018)
• TheIntercept: COUNT DOWN: How the Trump Administration Is Botching Its Only Trial Run for the 2020 Census (3/31/2018)
• ScienceMag: Trump officials claim they can avoid 2020 census problems caused by controversial citizenship question (4/13/2018)
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Foundations Push Census Turnout in Worrisome Times (5/7/2018)
• ScienceMag: More money, more worries: 2020 census plans continue to generate controversy (5/15/2018)
• The Census Project: Senate Appropriators Strongly Urged to Support House Level of Funding for 2020 Census in FY19 Appropriations (6/5/2018)
• The NonpPofit Times: Nonprofits Already Eyeing 2020 Census, $800 Billion At Stake 6/6/2018)
• NPR: Documents Shed Light On Decision To Add Census Citizenship Question (6/10/2018)
• The Census Project: June 2018 Census Project Update (7/10/2018)
• City Lab: A Visual History of the U.S. Census (7/29/2018)
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Every Person Counts: Why the Census Must Be Rescued (7/31/2018) - Subscription access
• Inside Philanthropy: Census 2020: How Is Philanthropy Responding to the Citizenship Question? (8/2/2018)
• The New York Times: Why the Government Wants to Know Your Citizenship Status (8/4/2018)
• Insider NJ: Rice Bill to Create NJ Complete Count Commission for 2020 Census Signed into Law (8/25/2018)
• Pacific Standard Magazine: Census Bureau Economists Provide More Evidence Against the Citizenship Question (8/31/2018)
• NJ Spotlight: State's Complete Count Commission Knows NJ Can't Afford a Sloppy Census (9/6/2018)
• NorthJersey.com: Paterson looks to ease immigrants’ fears that could depress its Census count. (9/19/2018)
• Governing: With 2020 Census Looming, Governments Face Many Unknowns (11/2018)
• City Lab: Would Top Census Officials Hand Over Citizenship Status Data? (11/20/2018)
• The Washington Post: Senate confirms new Census Bureau director as 2020 survey approaches (1/3/2019)
• NPR: Senate Confirms Trump's Census Bureau Director Nominee Steven Dillingham (1/9/2019)
• Press of Atlantic City: Census Complete Count Commission holds first meeting (1/10/2019)
• NPR: Judge Orders Trump Administration To Remove 2020 Census Citizenship Question (1/15/2019)
• GW Institute of Public Policy: Counting for Dollars 2020: The Role of the Decennial Census in the Geographic Distribution of Federal Funds (2/13/2019)
• The Census Project: Census Experts Commend Updated Study Showing Almost $9 Trillion Next Decade from Feds to States Depends on 2020 Census (3/8/2019)
• Nonprofit Quarterly: 3rd Judge Rejects Census Citizenship Question as US Supreme Court Date Looms (3/8/2019)
• NJ TV Online: NJ commission works toward ‘complete count’ for 2020 census (3/22/2019)
• NPR: What You Need To Know About The 2020 Census (3/31/2019)
• NJ Spotlight: NJ Urged to Put More Money and Speed into 2020 Census Preparations (4/1/2019)
• Inside Philanthropy: Census 2020: Inside Efforts to Make Sure Rural Communities Count (4/4/2019)
• Governing: In the Trump Era, Muslim Immigrants Distrust the Census (4/8/2019)
• Brookings : A year before the 2020 census, experts share four key insights (4/23/2019)
• NextCity: How Cities Plan to Save the Census (4/26/2019)
• Nonprofit Quarterly: Who Will Be Counted in the US Census? (4/29/2019)
• NJ Spotlight: Is NJ Prepared to Spend $9M - $1 per Person - to Ensure Accurate Census Count? (4/30/2019)
• Nonprofit Quarterly: Legal Advocates Speak Out about the Dangers of Weaponizing the Census (5/1/2019)
• NJ Spotlight: Census 2020: Innovation Could Boost Participation - But it Won't Come Cheap (6/11/2019)
• Science: In killing citizenship question, Trump adopts Census Bureau’s preferred solution to a thorny problem (7/11/2019)
• Governing: Citizenship Question Permanently Blocked From 2020 Census (7/17/2019)
• Federal Times: Why the 2020 census will have fewer personnel and offices (7/19/2019)
• CNBC: Experts are worried the census will once again undercount kids younger than 5 (7/29/2019)
• American Library Association: Libraries and the 2020 Census (8/1/2019)
• NJ Spotlight: Relief that $125M for upgrades to NJ libraries finally on the horizon (8/6/2019)
• NJ.gov: The State of New Jersey announces a grant program to support efforts to make sure that everyone in New Jersey is counted (9/6/2019)
• Nextgov: Census is Asking the Public to Help Fight Misinformation Ahead of 2020 (9/11/2019)
• US News: How Cities Can Make the 2020 Census a Success (9/12/2019)
• Federal News Network: Census Bureau stands up ‘fusion center’ to combat misinformation during 2020 count (9/12/2019)
• NPR: Census Bureau Fights To Prevent Spread Of Misinformation (9/13/2019)
• Reddit: Everything you wanted to know about the 2020 census (but didn't know who to ask) (10/13/2019)
• NJ Spotlight: Efforts Underway to Maximize Census Count in New Jersey (10/18/2019)
• NJ Spotlight: Census Bureau Needs 45K Temporary Workers in NJ for 2020 Count (10/23/2019)
• NJ Spotlight: Working to Overcome Census Limitations to Make New Jersey’s Count Count (12/12/2019)