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In response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other Black individuals, we have seen a call to end systemic racism, police brutality, and injustice. To explore philanthropy's role in fighting against racism and injustice, CNJG is sharing information about upcoming programs that we and our Philanthropy-Serving Organizations are presenting and other resources below. While some programs or resources have been organized in direct response to recent protests and calls for action, all are part of a longer conversation on racism in our country and within our sector. As CNJG weaves equity into all of our work, we look forward to continuing these conversations with you.
We realize this is not a comprehensive list, and we are posting items that CNJG staff sees, which is not nearly enough. We ask that our members, especially those who are black and brown, to help us find articles written by, resources created by, and programs led by people of color. Share those resources by emailing us. This page is just a part of our work in equity. We created this page as one starting point for New Jersey’s philanthropic community to engage in conversations, do background reading, attend programs, learn, and take action.
For those members interested in continuing the conversations, we invite you to join our Racial Equity listserve, by emailing Craig Weinrich. On that listserve, members can share information, resources, and opportunities that are helpful to the funding community.
Visit these Websites
Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) Resource Directory
This Supporting API Communities Resource Directory was developed to mobilize the philanthropic sector towards meaningful action in the midst of heightened violence and hate targeting Asian American communities.
Participatory Grantmaking
A curated list of resources and articles from Candid on the movement of participatory grantmaking that engages the community in the grantmaking process.
The Power of Asset Framing: A Conversation with Trabian Shorters
This blog post by the Skillman Foundation contains a series of short videos by Trabian Shorters, founder and CEO of BMe Community, who describes shifts in narrative that all philanthropy should consider.
Putting Racism on the Table
This site created by the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers is the inspiration for CNJG’s Race, Racism and the Ramifications for Philanthropy Series.
Race to Lead Series
A site with reports and surveys on the racial leadership gap in the nonprofit sector.
Stanford Social Innovation Review
The Struggle to Overcome Racism, a list of resources to help leaders of social change and activists.
Trust-Based Philanthropy Project
A peer-to-peer learning and advocacy initiative to make philanthropy more based on trust.
Please join the Environmental Funders Affinity Group and the Health Funders Affinity Group for a virtual lunchtime discussion with the NJ Department of Environmental Protection's Chief Strategy Officer, Kati Angarone and Manager NJDEP’s Office of Environmental and Public Health, Christine Schell. This session is designed to explore the connections between the environment and health with emphasis on climate change, environmental justice, and water to educate the philanthropic community on the ways that NJ government is addressing these challenges. The discussion will highlight NJDEP’s efforts to address the impact of these intersecting issues on diverse NJ communities and explore philanthropic opportunities to support local and statewide solutions.
Kati Angarone has worked for NJDEP for over twenty-five years. In her current role, she works to advance strategic initiatives, including expanding public access to environmental information, increasing the visibility of DEP programs and services, cultivating external partnerships, and coordinating strategic planning on cross-media issues. She also oversees the efforts of NJDEP’s Office of Legislative Affairs and our Office of Environmental and Public Health Analysis.
Christine Schell is a 30+ year veteran of the NJDEP and currently manages the NJDEP’s Office of Environmental and Public Health Analysis. In partnership with the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH), Christine jointly coordinates New Jersey’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Program through a CDC grant, and oversees the development, implementation, and dissemination of data analyses and visualization tools designed to integrate public health concerns into local and state decision making, planning, and the implementation of meaning actions on a broad array of issues, including environmental justice, climate resilience, and sustainability.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $75 for Non Member Grantmakers
Webinar Video
Links and Resources:
Healthy Community Planning NJ
Potential Lead Exposure Mapping
Heat Hub NJ
Environmental Justice Mapping, Assessment, and Protection
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
One Health
Climate Change
Climate Change in New Jersey Storymap
Healthy Community Planning
New Jersey Protecting Against Climate Threats
Inland Flood Protection Rule
Resilient Environments and Landscapes
Chill Out NJ
Small BIPOC organizations and/or historically excluded/led
organizations have greater access to funding.
Affirmation: We must center the most marginalized, underfunded, and impactful organizations.
BIPOC, grassroots, and/or historically excluded1 leaders are the most proximate to the populations and communities that face the most pressing social issues and should be central to designing solutions and funded; yet they are often overlooked or ignored as real change-makers.
They are underinvested in by major funders and are often left to struggle on their own; and when they are funded, grants are small and often highly restricted.
Some funders have artificially high budget requirements, require collaboration with larger “more sophisticated” organizations, won’t fund fiscally sponsored groups, or emphasize leadership requirements that are increasingly out of date or exclude vital lived experience.
Community organizations are exploring innovative and egalitarian management structures, such as co-directorships, collectives, and collaboratives, that do not resemble the constructs of the past.
Leadership comes in all structures, sizes, and identities; funders must seek to recognize and fund those who are doing effective work and re-evaluate their views of accepted leadership patterns. For BIPOC, grassroots, and/or historically excluded leaders to succeed, we must provide flexible resources and professional development support while they are leading.
Activities
Below are activities your organization can engage in that will advance your equity focus
• Agree as a community of practice to a shared definition of BIPOC, grassroots, and/or historically excluded-led organizations to foster a common frame of reference to help guide this work.
• Create networking and referral opportunities for BIPOC, grassroots, and/or historically excluded leaders to expand their access to funding and opportunities similar to that of larger, mainstream groups.
• Invest in the development and pipeline of BIPOC, grassroots, and/or historically excluded leaders.
• Remove funding barriers for small BIPOC, grassroots, and/or historically excluded organizations that have traditionally been precluded from funding because of budget size, leadership structure, auditing requirements, and similar obstacles.
• Actively partner with BIPOC, grassroots, and historically excluded organizations to make funding decisions on issues closest to their communities.
• Provide significant, multi-year, general operating funding to organizations and movements led by BIPOC, grassroots, and/or historically excluded communities.
Short-term Outcomes
• Progress is tracked into addressing the barriers to funding BIPOC, grassroots, and historically excluded-led organizations in NJ.
• A greater number of BIPOC, grassroots, and/or historically excluded-led organizations are funded than before, by new and existing funders.
• Professional development and capacity building as requested by BIPOC, grassroots, and/or historically excluded leaders is funded.
Long-term Outcomes
• BIPOC, grassroots, and/or historically excluded leaders can access funding and opportunities similar to that of larger, mainstream groups.
• A greater percentage of support to organizations and movements led by BIPOC, grassroots, and historically excluded communities is provided as significant, multi-year, general operating funding. In this context, “significant” can refer to both the quantity, size or percentage of grants awarded by the funder in any given year.
How to Begin Doing Good Better on Equity
Learning opportunities
• Which criteria and practices are creating, perpetuating or exacerbating exclusion of BIPOC, grassroots, and or historically excluded-led organizations?
• For funders that exclude or limit funding to small organizations, why are these barriers in place? What biases or missed opportunities are resulting from these obstacles?
• When funders are actively prioritizing BIPOC, grassroots, and historically excluded -led organizations in their philanthropic partnerships, what definitions, outreach, and partnership strategies are being used? How has this evolved based on lessons learned?
Pre-Work
• Funders should become educated about how traditional ways of identifying grantees and other criteria often excludes BIPOC, grassroots, and/or historically excluded-led organizations.
• Actively seek and share ways to center, identify, fund, and partner with applicants or community-based partners to create solutions in all efforts.
• Identify forums or protocols for introductions, dialogue, and relationship-building between funding community and BIPOC, grassroots and/or historically excluded-led organizations to pave the way for ongoing or stronger partnerships.
General Operating Support or General Project Support
Affirmation: Funds with the least restrictions are the most valuable
Nonprofits maintain and strengthen their organizations when their funds are unrestricted. Data shows flexible and reliable funding increases impact when nonprofit leaders have control over how funds flow to meet the needs of their constituents and internal operations, as demonstrated during the pandemic when funders released previously restricted funding. General operating support (GOS) funding signals trust in our partners and can open more honest dialogue about meeting the mutual goals of the funder and nonprofit. Funders who make project or program grants should trust the organization and provide flexible funding within a specific program.
Activities
• Over the short term, funders aim to shift their GOS activity by 30%. (30% more grants shift from program to GOS, or from fully restricted to negotiated GOS.)
• Provide grants as unrestricted organizational general operating support. The long-term ideal is for most, if not all, grants to be 100% GOS, unless a funder is legally precluded from doing otherwise.
• For project/program grants, 100% of the grant awarded is unrestricted (negotiated GOS), applying mission-based and mutually negotiated outcomes.
• Nonprofits articulate their organizational vision, strategies and intended outcomes to funders; funders understand the models of their grantee partners and learn from them how the grantee partner's work will lead to change.
• Trust nonprofit partners to know how to best apply their funding.
• Create a shared understanding of the meaning and importance of full-cost budgeting and real-cost funding.
Short-term Outcomes
• 70% of funders are shifting some of their distribution to making general operating support grants.
• 100% of program/project grants are designated unrestricted.
Long-term Outcomes
• 100% of all grants are made without restrictions, unless limited by covenant or donor wishes in the case of community foundations.
• All nonprofits can clearly articulate their vision, strategies, outcomes, and business models to funders; and funders understand them and trust them to know how best to use their funds.
How to Begin Doing Good Better on Flexibility Learning Opportunities
• Why aren’t some funders planning to award GOS or negotiate GOS?
• Ask funders: If you participated in CNJG’s 2022 funder survey and indicated that you planned to initiate GOS, have you done so? • Why are some grants restricted?
• What would it take for funders to change?
Pre-Work
• Seek and share learning opportunities for funders, prioritizing education of foundation boards, to address the barriers to awarding GOS and understand how restricted funding undermines financial sustainability.
• For funders who already regularly provide GOS funding, educate/advocate for others to do the same.
• Learn how GOS/negotiated GOS strengthens grantee partners and the multiple ways they can use and evaluate GOS. Actively seek insights from nonprofits to reinforce the message about GOS in their funding partnerships.
• As an incremental step for funders that are not receptive to GOS, provide education about negotiated general programming support (flexible funding within a mutually agreed-upon program area, as opposed to organization-wide GOS).
• Share promising practices on evaluation of GOS and negotiated GO
Right Size Applications; Simplify Reporting
Affirmation: Paperwork hinders us all.
Duplicative or complex proposal and reporting requirements divert time and resources for both nonprofits and philanthropy, needlessly burdens nonprofit partners and siphons scarce resources away from where they are most needed. Funders can lessen the burden on grantee partners by streamlining the application and reporting processes, especially for repeat grantee partners; decreasing the required data to only the most necessary for decision-making; taking on some of the burden of data collection by gathering data from central repositories such as Candid (formerly GuideStar) and the IRS; and retain and use data already collected from repeat grantees. Funders should require updated information such as annual budget, staffing, board member changes, etc., in their grant applications only when the nonprofit is the only source for this information. Collaborate with other local funders and agree to common GOS application questions and budget templates; streamline tools through technology and offer innovative ways for organizations to apply for and report out on grants; limit written requirements to information that is relevant to the request, and which moves the needle on critical social issues.
Activities
• Reduce rigidity and increase the flexibility of what nonprofits must submit for their applications in creative, egalitarian, and less burdensome ways.
• All funders right-size their application and report requirements relative to the grant amount.
• Shift from reports to conversations or other lower time-intensive means.
• Develop agreed-upon common questions for use across the philanthropy sector for general operating support grant applications.
• Explore the efficacy of using common applications for general operating support grants.
• Change site visits for compliance to goals of learning.
• Consider developing a central data repository for New Jersey nonprofits and funders, where applicants can submit and update basic information once a year, and funders can access the necessary information.
Outcomes
• 75% of funders begin to reduce the size of applications and reports relative to the size of the grant.
• 75% of funders shift from reports to conversations or other lower time-intensive means, like site visits geared to learning and relationship building.
• 50% of funders making general operating support grants accept creative, egalitarian, less burdensome applications including other funders proposals.
• Nonprofits have increased capacity to dedicate time to other activities and efforts.
How to Begin Doing Good Better on Reducing Burden
Learning opportunities
• For funders who do not right-size their applications, what are the barriers to reducing paperwork?
• Who is making the decisions about the application and reporting requirements, and how can they be reached to encourage change? How can we involve more board members of funders in this effort?
• For funders who require reports, determine what is “nice to have” vs. what is needed and used and consider eliminating the rest; what are expeditious ways to collect data including accepting other funders’ reports?
• Which funders who make multi-year grants require a full application for the first year and updates for subsequent years?
Pre-Work
• For funders who already report tailoring their applications, consider how to further simplify processes for grantees; share these practices with other colleagues in philanthropy.
• Learn how information is collected without burdening the applicant.
• Review and implement recommendations already provided by nonprofit networks and philanthropy-serving organizations for concrete examples such as centralized document repositories; allowing nonprofit partners to re-use other proposals and reports; holding check-in meetings in lieu of written reports; and other helpful practices.
• Seek promising practices of funders who use site visits as opportunities to build trust and understand the programs and organizations they support instead of as compliance reviews.
Notes:
See, for example, SMU DataArts (formerly the Cultural Data Project), https://culturaldata.org, a nationwide research and data repository for the arts and cultural community. DataArts serves as a collector and clearinghouse for a wide array of data, which funders can access instead of requiring nonprofits to provide it separately.
Who We Are
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers is a community of practice for philanthropic professionals who are dedicated to improving New Jersey’s communities. As the center for philanthropy in the state, CNJG supports the philanthropic sector through shared learning, collaborative and trusting relationships within philanthropy and with nonprofit partners, thought leadership, and advocacy efforts. Since 1990 when CNJG became a project under the Community Foundation of New Jersey, then an independent 501(c)3 organization in 1997, CNJG operates on the principle that philanthropy is more effective through connection, collaboration, information exchange, and continuing education.
By joining CNJG as a member, your philanthropy is connected to dozens of other philanthropic organizations across the state, and you support the work that, in turn, benefits you and the entire philanthropic sector.
Access the myriad of benefits that CNJG membership provides.
How to Join
Joining CNJG is simple. Just complete and submit the appropriate application for your organization:
Soon after you submit the completed application, CNJG will review it, and then email you an invoice from which you can use to submit your membership payment by EFT, check, credit card (CNJG adds a 3% fee for credit card membership payments.
Though subject to the board’s approval, we typically activate membership within 2-3 working days, and you’ll become a member with full access to the unique value CNJG provides. See all of the benefits of CNJG membership under our Member Benefits page.
The membership period begins January 1st and runs through December 31. Organizations joining after July 1 will have their first year dues prorated. Organizations who choose to do so may calculate their membership dues by using an average of their annual grantmaking over the past three years. Some members choose to make all or a portion of their dues in the form of a grant. For tax purposes, all dues in excess of $770 may be reasonably reported as a grant.
CNJG reserves the right to determine an organization’s eligibility for membership.
Membership Criteria
All members must meet the following membership criteria:
“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
- A prospective member’s core interest in joining CNJG is a desire to improve the quality of its own grantmaking and to work with other members to improve the field of grantmaking and support the people, communities and nonprofits of New Jersey.
- The primary function of a prospective member is making charitable grants. Exceptions to this policy include federated funds, public foundations and Associate members.
- It is expected that the substantial amount of the organization’s activities should be centered on grantmaking. For corporate giving programs, the term “organization” refers to the corporate giving unit, not the entire corporation. Exceptions to this standard, noted above, include public foundations, private operating foundations, Federated Funds, individual members, and Associate members.
- The prospective member’s grant distributions are made primarily on a discretionary basis to multiple (two or more) nonprofit organizations that are not subsidiary or otherwise directly related to the prospective member. No more than 60% of the grants given should be directed to one organization (including subsidiaries).
- Organizations applying for membership must complete and submit the appropriate membership application form (above).
- Each member adheres to our non-solicitation policy (below).
Membership Policies
- The annual membership period is from January 1 to December 31. After July, we pro-rate new memberships for the remainder of the year.
- Grantmaking member dues for 2025 are based on an organization’s total annual grantmaking. Please calculate your dues using either option:
Your 2024 giving, or
An average of the past three years of giving (2022, 2023, and 2024) - Organizations headquartered or based within New Jersey base their dues on the organization’s total giving. Organizations headquartered outside of New Jersey base their dues on their giving in New Jersey only.
- Dues for government agencies are based on a percentage (0.2%) of the Agency/Division administrative allocation/budget. If the agency does not have an administrative budget, dues will be based on the level of grants made each year (see dues structure below).
- For foundations that are sunsetting, dues are based on 5% of the assets, rather than the annual grantmaking. Board minutes confirming the decision to sunset are required when joining.
- For United Way organizations that give grants, please base dues on your discretionary grantmaking only. Do not include your pass-through dollars.
- For Community Foundations, please base dues on all your grantmaking, including donor advised funds. Your DAF holders are most welcome to attend our programs as members. Please do not, however, include any nonprofit endowment funds that you might manage.
- Memberships are considered lapsed if, by July 1 of the membership year, CNJG has not received a pledge to pay.
- If a non-member grantmaker attends three events/meetings, CNJG expects them to join the organization.
- CNJG’s Board of Trustees retains final discretion on all matters concerning membership. If you are unsure of your organization’s eligibility, please contact CNJG.
Membership Categories
Grantmaking organizations eligible for CNJG membership include:
- Community Foundations: A community foundation is a tax-exempt, nonprofit, autonomous, publicly supported, philanthropic institution composed primarily of permanent funds established by many separate donors for the long-term diverse, charitable benefit of the residents of a defined geographic area. Community foundations provide an array of services to donors who wish to establish endowed and non-endowed funds without incurring the administrative and legal costs of starting independent foundations. A community foundation’s donor-advised funds are included in the membership, and any and all of the fundholders are invited to participate in CNJG programs and services. Because the community foundation has the established relationship with its fundholders, CNJG relies on the community foundation to invite its fundholders to participate in CNJG programs and services.
- Corporate Foundations: A corporate (company-sponsored) foundation is a private foundation that derives its grantmaking funds primarily from the contributions of a profit-making business. The company-sponsored foundation often maintains close ties with the donor company, but it is a separate, legal organization, sometimes with its own endowment, and is subject to the same rules and regulations as other private foundations.
- Corporate Giving Programs: A corporate giving (direct giving) program is a grantmaking program established and administered within a profit-making company. Gifts or grants go directly to charitable organizations from the corporation. Corporate giving programs do not have a separate endowment; their expense is planned as part of the company's annual budgeting process and usually is funded with pre-tax income. Generally, staff that operate the corporate giving program are the main users of CNJG programs and services.
- Donor Advised Funds: A fund may be classified as donor advised if it has at least three characteristics: (1) a donor or person appointed or designated by the donor has, or reasonably expects to have, advisory privileges with respect to the fund’s distributions or investments, (2) the fund is separately identified by reference to contributions of the donor(s), and (3) the fund is owned and controlled by a sponsoring organization, such as a community foundation. A fund possessing these characteristics may be exempt from the donor advised fund classification if it grants to one single public charity or government unit or if the fund meets certain requirements applicable to scholarship funds. Typically, Donor Advised Funds are held at a community foundation, or a commercial entity, which may have a membership with CNJG already. Should a fund want to receive communications directly from CNJG without the intervention of the community foundation or commercial entity, please contact CNJG. Donor Advised Fund members are reminded that CNJG membership cannot be paid from the DAF, and must come from a different account, according to IRS regulations.
- Family Foundations: A foundation whose funds are derived from members of a single family. At least one family member must continue to serve as an officer or board member of the foundation and they or their relatives play a significant role in governing and/or managing the foundation throughout its life. Most family foundations concentrate their giving locally, in their communities. “Family Foundation,” however, is not a legal term.
- Federated Funds: A centralized campaign, most commonly a United Way organization, whereby an organization raises money for its member agencies. These annual workplace giving campaigns raise millions of dollars for distribution to local, state, and national nonprofit organizations.
- Giving Circles: A collaborative philanthropy in which individual donors pool their money and other resources, and decide together how and where to give them away. In New Jersey, many giving circles are a component fund of a community foundation, which may have a CNJG membership already.
- Government Grantmakers: A government agency that provides grants to 501(c)(3) organizations. Note: dues for Government Grantmakers are calculated differently: dues are based on a percentage (0.2%) of the Agency/Division administrative allocation/budget. If the agency does not have an administrative budget, dues will be based on the level of grants made each year (see standard dues structure on the membership application).
- Independent Foundations: An individual usually founds these private foundations, sometimes by bequest. Sometimes individuals or groups of people, such as family members, form a foundation while the donors are still living. Many large independent foundations are no longer governed by members of the original donor's family, but are run by boards made up of community, business and academic leaders. They are occasionally termed “nonoperating” because they do not run their own programs.
- Private Operating Foundations: Private operating foundations derive their annual budget from an endowment or from a sole donor or some other reliable source of income for which the foundation does not need to fundraise or solicit. If, however, a private operating foundation primary function is to be a fundraising arm for a nonprofit, and does not support two or more unrelated external organizations, similar to supporting foundations, it is not eligible for membership with CNJG.
- Public Foundations: Also known as public grantmaking charities. Public foundations, along with community foundations, are recognized as public charities by the IRS. Although they may provide direct charitable services to the public and receive donations from the public as other nonprofits do, their primary focus is on grantmaking. To qualify for CNJG membership, a public foundation must spend the substantial amount of time and effort on grantmaking and no more than 60% of its grants should be directed to one organization.
- Family Offices with Philanthropic Advisors: Not a formally-created foundation, but an office that should do, at least, half of the following:
- Help the principals to develop their grantmaking priorities
- Develop strategies for specific grantmaking program areas
- Craft or manage grant application procedures
- Research and/or forge relationships with prospective grantees
- Manage relationships with existing grantees
- Coordinate the grant evaluation process, including the creation of proposal dockets for board review
- Manage the disbursement of funds to grantees
- Develop and coordinate evaluation of grant outcomes
- Philanthropic Individuals committed to sustained, strategic philanthropy and who are giving more than $20,000 annually to a variety of nonprofit organizations.
Non-grantmaking entities that support grantmaking can join as Associate Members of CNJG. The following are eligible for CNJG Associate Membership:
- Philanthropic Advisors: Consultants engaged to advise individuals or companies on their grantmaking, and who are not working on an on-going basis for a specific foundation or family office, can join as a single individual. If a firm is interested in joining, thereby paying for all advisors to join, please contact CNJG to discuss. Philanthropic Advisors must conform to CNJG’s non-solicitation policy.
- Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs): Private financial institutions that are fully dedicated to delivering responsible, affordable lending to help low-income, low-wealth, and other disadvantaged people and communities join the economic mainstream. CDFIs that have any size of grantmaking portfolio should join as a Grantmaker member as a public Grantmaker. CDFIs that do not have a grantmaking portfolio, but are giving low-interest loans or making an impact through such vehicles can join as an Associate member.
Organizations that are typically not eligible for membership are:
- Supporting Foundations: A supporting organization is a section 501(c)(3) organization that qualifies as a public charity (and not a private foundation) because it has a close relationship with another publicly supported section 501(c)(3) organization. Most often, these are hospital or university foundations. A supporting foundation acting as the fundraising arm for the hospital or university, is not eligible for membership because it does not meet the Council’s membership criteria to provide charitable support to two or more unrelated external organizations on an annual basis.
- 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organizations: Nonprofit organizations that are seeking funds are not eligible to join. If however, within their scope of work there is a grantmaking component (most often a regranting organization) without a formal and separate foundation create, please contact CNJG to discuss eligibility.
Non-Solicitation Policy
CNJG strives to create a community of practice characterized by mutual respect and trust for philanthropy of all shapes and sizes to connect with each other thereby improving grantmaking in New Jersey.
In order to foster a safe, brave, and collegial place where members can share best practices and lessons learned, no fundraising is allowed at CNJG events. Collaborative grantmaking, however, is encouraged.
By joining CNJG, members agree to the following non-solicitation policy:
- Soliciting funds, contracts, and consulting clients is strictly prohibited at all CNJG events (with the exception of sponsors and exhibitors for our signature events) and on our digital listservs and platforms.
- For organizations that both raise funds and make grants, your participation in CNJG activities is as a grantmaker only. Staff whose functions are primarily fundraising (e.g., development staff) within institutions that are both grantseeking and grantmaking are not eligible for participation in CNJG activities, with the exception of our Spring Conference/Colloquium for the Social Sector.
- Contact information on CNJG’s Member Directory and other lists is for networking purposes only. Please do not add contact information to your mailing list without an individual’s explicit permission. Please do not use email addresses, phone numbers, or other contact information for soliciting funds, business, or contracts. Please do not forward other members' contact information to grantseekers without their permission.
- CNJG reserves the right to restrict the participation of individuals or organizations whose behavior contravenes the letter or spirit of our non-solicitation policy.
Membership Dues
Membership dues for grantmaking members follow the schedule below. Please refer to the Membership Policies section for additional specific guidelines for dues calculations.
| Annual Giving Level | 2025 CNJG Dues |
| $ 0 to $ 100,000 | $ 770 |
| $ 100,001 to $ 250,000 | $ 925 |
| $ 250,001 to $ 500,000 | $ 1,440 |
| $ 500,001 to $ 750,000 | $ 1,850 |
| $ 750,001 to $ 1 million | $ 2,575 |
| $ 1 million to $ 2 million | $ 3,580 |
| $ 2 million to $ 3 million | $ 5,715 |
| $ 3 million to $ 5 million | $ 8,240 |
| $ 5 million to $7.5 million | $ 10,400 |
| $ 7.5 million to $10 million | $ 10,750 |
| $ 10 million to $15 million | $12,875 |
| $ 15 million to $20 million | $15,750 |
| $ 20 million to $30 million | $23,000 |
| $ 30 million to $50 million | $25,750 |
| $ 50 million to $75 million | $35,800 |
| $ 75 million and above | $41,700 |
Membership dues for Associate Members:
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI’s) without grantmaking portfolios dues are $1,630 for the organization. A CDFI that has a grantmaking portfolio should base dues on that grantmaking portfolio according to the dues schedule above. As with our grantmaking members that are both grant seekers and grantmakers, please do not include any fundraising staff as part of the membership. For clarifications, please contact CNJG.
Dues for an individual philanthropic advisor are $1,630. If a firm is interested in joining to have more than one advisor on staff join, please contact CNJG to discuss.
Leadership Gifts
Some members include an additional gift to help cover the costs of CNJG’s operations. Membership dues cover about 40% of our operations. These welcomed and unrestricted funds help underwrite the many programs and services that CNJG provides to our members and the philanthropic sector.
Sponsorships
In addition to membership, CNJG offers companies and foundations the opportunity to sponsor events, programs, and services. Please contact Theresa Jacks for more information.
For any other questions or to learn more about CNJG membership, contact Craig Weinrich.
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.
A CNJG member received an application from a school district, and wanted to know if others granted funds to a school district, and what other funders learned from granting to a district.
A CNJG member queried the Health & Aging listserves asking for sample letters of inquiry. This document includes a few responses from fellow members. If you would like to add yours to this list, please email us.
Two different CNJG members queried the CEO listserve on how/when/how to return to the office following the COVID-19 pandemic. CNJG staff compiled the answers from the responding members removing identifying information of the respondents.
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.
In this briefing on housing and homeless, you will hear about the changes of federal policy on housing and their impact in New Jersey, you will hear from a panel who will discuss the potential effects of state policy changes on homelessness and housing, including the administration of housing choice vouchers. Potential funding cuts can lead to staffing reductions on housing and homeless services. The uncertainty faced by agencies regarding their funding and the need for legal support can create fear and confusion among agencies in New Jersey. Panelists will discuss what funding strategies and ways to support grantees. At the state and local levels, there is also a need for funders to support policy advocacy and legal assistance.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $75 for Non Member Grantmakers
This program is only open to staff and trustees from grantmaking organizations.
Adam Gordon, Executive Director, Fair Share Housing Center, coordinated strategy of organizing, litigation, and policy development to advance racial, economic, and social integration throughout New Jersey and the United States. Since joining the organization in 2006, he has worked to implement New Jersey’s Mount Laurel Doctrine, which has created over 70,000 affordable homes in historically exclusionary communities. He also litigated the largest federal fair housing case in U.S. history and has worked to make federal disaster recovery policy more equitable. Under Gordon’s leadership, FSHC secured passage of the first statewide Fair Chance in Housing Act to limit discriminatory tenant screening policies, a landmark $305 million fund to accelerate affordable housing development, and major legislation to strengthen enforcement of the Mount Laurel Doctrine. Gordon is a co-founder and former Board Chair of Next City.
Elisa Harrigan is the Policy Strategist for the Fund for Housing and Opportunity. She is a disrupter, change agent, and bridge-builder in the philanthropic space. She has an extensive track record centering impacted communities and applying an intersectional equity lens to her work. Elisa brings almost 20 years of experience and expertise to FHO as an influential voice for housing justice in governmental, philanthropic, and nonprofit arenas. The Fund for Housing and Opportunity is a nationwide collaborative working to protect renters and prevent homelessness. FHO brings funders together from across sectors and perspectives to support organizations on the frontlines of housing justice.
Taiisa Kelly, CEO, Monarch Housing Associates, has experience in housing development working with federal, state and local funding sources to secure financing for special needs housing projects. Mrs. Kelly is a dedicated advocate for social justice who has assisted Monarch in expanding services to include strategic planning, grant writing, system oversight, project monitoring, grant administration, innovative program development, and data analysis. Since becoming CEO in 2019, Ms. Kelly has worked to expand and innovate the housing development focus of the agency. Monarch is developing new partnerships to support the creation of housing for marginalized communities with an eye towards innovations in development. Under Ms. Kelly’s leadership Monarch is focused on integrating racial equity into all aspects of homeless planning and housing development with the intent of ending homelessness in New Jersey. Ms. Kelly was inducted into the NJ Housing and Economic Development Hall of Fame in 2023, and was named as one of the 2021 Best 50 Women in Business by NJBIZ Magazine. Mrs. Kelly serves on the Boards of Directors for Nourish.NJ and for the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey (HCDNNJ). She is a Member of United Black Agenda Committee and of the Enterprise Community Leadership Council and Enterprise Community Loan Fund Board, as well as a Commissioner on the Newark Commission on Homelessness. She additionally serves on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation JEGNA Council, the New Jersey State of Affordable Housing (NJSOARH) Advisory Committee.
Lucy Vandenberg is the Executive Director of the Schumann Fund for New Jersey. She leads the Fund’s mission to empower low-income children and families of color to thrive. Lucy ensures that Schumann Fund’s investments positively impact opportunities for affordable homes and healthy communities, early childhood and education, and child welfare and youth justice in Essex County and statewide. From 2013 through 2021, Lucy served as Senior Program Officer for The Fund for New Jersey and managed a $3 million grant portfolio that included lead poisoning prevention, public education, public media, racial justice, immigration, and the environment. Previously, Lucy served as Executive Director of the New Jersey State Council on Affordable Housing. She worked with municipalities to provide their fair share of affordable housing resulting from New Jersey’s landmark Mt. Laurel Supreme Court decisions. Earlier in her career, Lucy served as Senior Policy Advisor for Housing and Urban Revitalization in Governor James E. McGreevey’s administration, and as the Associate Director of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey.
Janel Winter, Assistant Commissioner leads the Division of Housing and Community Affairs, which includes the State’s public housing authority serving more than 40,000 households annually; home energy assistance programs serving more than 200,000 families annually; affordable housing production programs; the Office of Homelessness Prevention; the Office of Eviction Prevention; weatherization and lead remediation and abatement programs; neighborhood revitalization programs; and a variety of other community of other community development initiatives. She has managed the distribution of $2 Billion in federal Covid-related funds to address rental and utility arrears and community revitalization and development throughout the State. Prior to joining DCA, Janel led the Office of Housing at the NJ Department of Human Services and served as Associate Director at the Corporation for Supportive Housing/CSH. Before returning to her home state of NJ, Janel worked at various direct service homelessness and housing agencies in Chicago.
Webinar Video
Programs in this Series:
March 13: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Immigration
March 20: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Health
March 27: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Environment
April 3: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Education
April 10: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Housing
April 17: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Media & Journalism
April 24: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Arts
In this arts briefing, Nadia Elokdah, Vice President and Program Director for Grantmakers in the Arts, will discuss the unique opportunity for arts grantmakers to support advocacy and influence policy through their funding decisions and why the arts should be included in decision-making processes. She will also cover the importance of arts funding in building narrative power and driving cultural change. Vanessa Ramalho, Director of External Relations of ArtPride New Jersey, will highlight the challenges faced by arts and cultural organizations in New Jersey and their intersections with community issues relating to the ongoing changes in federal policy. She will also share how ArtPride New Jersey is leveraging its statewide reach to develop collaborative advocacy strategies to influence and help shape policies informed by the needs and voices of the arts sector and the communities they serve. Vanessa will explore ways that funders might shift their focus and priorities to better meet the needs of organizations that are navigating increasing financial uncertainty as a result of federal policy changes.
Nadia Elokdah is an urbanist and design strategist with more than a decade working at the intersection of public systems and cultural practice. She currently serves as Vice President & Director of Programs at GIA. Most recently she served as special projects manager with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs coordinating the City’s monuments commission. Prior, she served as coordinator in the development of the City’s first cultural plan, CreateNYC, in which she coordinated and led hundreds of engagements with a broad cross-section of the public, as well collaborating in the writing and production of the plan. She is devoted to civic engagement through culturally responsible, inclusive, and equitable design practice, exemplified in collaborations with the International Design Clinic, in.site collaborative, and Monuments Lab. Nadia is a trained architect and designer, researcher, professor, and published author, including Identity Crisis, a cultural exploration of urban planning through the hammam. She currently serves as steering committee member of the Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA) Non-Black POC Solidarity! into Action Committee, National Coalition for Arts Preparedness & Emergency Response (NCAPER) Programming Working Group, and an advisory board member for Unsettled.
Vanessa Ramalho, Director of External Relations, supports ArtPride’s advocacy and government affairs work, leading efforts to move forward legislative priorities that support the sustainability of the arts in New Jersey. Vanessa also builds relationships with constituents throughout the state — from community members to arts organizations, and local and state representatives — to support the cultivation of a thriving arts ecosystem. With nearly 20 years of experience in the nonprofit arts & cultural sector, Vanessa has led community education, fundraising, and grassroots advocacy projects across a range of organizations, including the Sadie Nash Leadership Project, the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA), Project KISS of New York Presbyterian Hospital, The Princeton Ballet School, the Asian Arts Initiative, and the Center for Babaylan Studies.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $75 for Non Member Grantmakers
This program is only open to staff and trustees from grantmaking organizations.
Programs in this Series:
March 13: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Immigration
March 20: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Health
March 27: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Environment
April 3: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Education
April 10: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Housing
April 17: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Media & Journalism
April 24: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Arts
Webinar Video
Novartis benchmarked Employee Crisis Programs, and asked fellow corporate funders via the corporate funders listserve to answer the questions below.
- If you have an Employee Crisis Program, what is the name
- Do you manage the program internally or thru a 3rd party? If you use a 3rd party, can you share their name/website and any good/bad experiences.
- Do you only support disasters or other hardships as well?
- What is the average percentage of your employees that apply for aid?
- What is your minimum and maximum funding?
- What is the average amount of aid?
- Do you provide aid directly to the employee and/or vendors?
- Do you allow employees to donate to your fund? If so, how do you promote awareness and what is the employee donation participation rate? Do you match these donations?
- Where does the program reside (CSR, Foundation, HR)?
- Please share guidelines and applications, if possible.
- Please share any other insights.
Joint Statement from CNJG and the Center for Non-Profits
This statement also appeared on NJ Spotlight.
A conversation between two customers in line at a New Jersey supermarket turned ugly when one man denigrated the other with a racial slur and blamed the fellow shopper for the coronavirus pandemic.
With so much else going on these days, it would be so easy to react to such a seemingly minor incident by saying, oh well, these things happen. Times are tough; tempers are short.
But shrugging our shoulders is not an option. Doing so is complicity in a wrongful acts that too often are repeated, over and over. Our silence merely emboldens those who would tear apart the fabric of our society, whether through hate or ignorance – or the extremely volatile mix of the two.
It’s not difficult to connect the dots between “little” incidents and the systemic racism that leads to tragedies like the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. When we ignore or accept any examples of people being demeaned over what they look like or where they (or their ancestors) came from, we only open the door for massive abuses and the wrenching reckoning that follows them.
We mustn’t be cowed by fear of being seen as overly sensitive or labeled “politically correct.” This is about being morally and ethically correct in the face of bias and hatred – and that shouldn’t be too much to ask of Americans, regardless of their political party or ideology.
As state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said recently, “COVID-19 is no excuse for racism, xenophobia, or hate. Discrimination and harassment in violation of New Jersey law remains illegal even if it occurs against the backdrop of a global pandemic." It’s gratifying to live in a state where the top law enforcement officer speaks out this way.
Unfortunately, it also is a state where reported hate crimes are up in recent years. We can’t tolerate such behavior, whether by police, elected officials or “average people.” There is too much at stake for bias to become the new normal.
As the leaders of the major philanthropic and non-profit membership organizations in New Jersey, representing both the wide range of non-profit groups and the multi-faceted funders of those groups, we feel compelled to speak out against the hateful responses we and our members have witnessed in reaction to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Our country has seen countless examples of selfless sacrifice and good works over the past weeks, both on individual and institutional levels. We are proud that the members our organizations have been leaders in responding to the needs of our community.
But to our distress, some individuals are using the pandemic to put forward their bias and hatred toward their fellow citizens.
Times of crisis bring to the surface, on the part of some people, the need to scapegoat. Often, this takes the form of lashing out at particular groups, stirred up by inflamed rhetoric or more subtle code words or phrases, having no relationship to facts. In this time, there have been verbal and physical attacks against people of Asian and Pacific Islander background, as there were against Muslims after September 11 and against African-Americans and Latinos in countless other instances. This hatred and these attacks must stop.
The non-profit sector is the backbone of our communities, providing assistance and education to a wide range of people, in good times and especially in challenging times. Many of these services are a lifeline to people of all backgrounds, religions, ethnicities and statuses in life.
Non-profit organizations are the vehicle through which people can work together to selflessly assist others. People around the world view the United States as being unique in the breadth and depth of its charitable and philanthropic work, engaging the talents of all individuals, regardless of their economic or social status.
We call upon all people of good conscience in their good work to be alert for hateful words and actions and – always -- to speak out against them, both as individuals and as organizations.
Our language and our actions do matter.
Everyone, and especially people in positions of public trust or prominence, has the obligation to use our works and our lives to assist all in need and to honor the dignity and potential of all those we meet.
We call on not only our own members, but everyone who serves and volunteers in our sector to join us in this effort to speak out against racism and hatred and to exemplify all the best that we know our country is.
Maria Vizcarrondo
CNJG CEO and President
Linda Czipo
Center for Non-Profits CEO and President
William V. Engel
CNJG Board Chair
Gina M. Plotino
Center for Non-Profits Board Chair
CNJG's special programming, “Race, Racism and Ramifications for Philanthropy” is a multifaceted, multi-layered learning journey that included a two-part workshop from the Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) on diversity, equity, and inclusion, four cultural experiences, and a funders briefing from the Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey. The series also included four facilitated salon-style conversations focusing on health disparities, implicit bias and white privilege, livable moments, and structural racism. Additionally, the CNJG Annual Meeting in both 2016 and 2017 addressed diversity and its value providing an overarching vision.
Our broader objectives for this series were to:
- offer a range of different ways to enlighten, engage and educate Council members about structural racism and implicit bias;
- provide a deeper understanding of the language, definitions and constructs of racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion;
- explore and uncover the long-term effects of institutional and structural racism, and discriminatory policy;
- give funders real and effective tools that they can implement in their day-to-day work to combat and mitigate the impact of racism and bias in our communities and neighborhoods;
- provide a “safe space” for grantmakers to consider and fully unpack these difficult issues.
CNJG worked directly with a number of well-respected and informed partners and facilitators to provide specific content, expertise, experiences, and lead discussion. This included ABFE: A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities and its leader Susan Taylor Batten, Dr. Denise Rodgers of Rutgers, Aljira Arts, consultants Tanya Odom and Inca Mohamed, Bethany Baptist Church Rev. Timothy Levi-Jones, and leaders from the Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey.
Throughout the journey we tried to be deliberate in meeting CNJG members “where they are” given their varying degrees of experience and sophistication on this topic. Since this learning journey started in late 2016, there are many more regular conversations and exchanges among CNJG members on the issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers has been pleased to bring to our members a variety exceptional thought leaders, tools, facilitators, and resources to assist them as they consider the ramifications of racism in their work.
The Race, Racism and Ramifications for Philanthropy Learning Journey Includes:
Events
CNJG 2016 Annual Meeting and Luncheon PreMeeting Workshop - A Framework for Effective and Responsive Philanthropy – How to Navigate Racial Dynamics within the Communities We Serve on December 9, 2016
Phillips Collection Field Trip – People on the Move: Beauty and Struggle in Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series on December 15, 2016
Workshops: A Deeper Dive Into Navigating Racial Dynamics – Part 1 on February 13, 2017 and Part 2 on March 6, 2017
Cultural Experience and Field Trip – “American Son” at the George Street Playhouse on February 23, 2017
Funders Briefing from the Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey - The Uncomfortable Truth: Racism, Injustice and Poverty in New Jersey on October 3, 2017
Cultural Experience: Pre-Opening Reception – “The Missing” at Aljira on October 12, 2017
Lunch and Conversation: Health Disparities on November 1, 2017
Lunch and Conversation: Implicit Bias & White Privilege on November 29, 2017
CNJG Annual Meeting - Our Compelling Interests: The Value of Diversity for Democracy and a Prosperous Society on December 15, 2017
Lunch and Conversation: Structural Racism on January 18, 2018
Cultural Experience and Field Trip<- “Back to Real” at Crossroads Theatre on May 17, 2018
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers thanks The Fund for New Jersey and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for its support of our Race, Racism and the Ramifications for Philanthropy programming.
Articles & Resources
The Atlantic: The Case for Reparations
NY Times Essay: White Debt
National Center for Family Philanthropy: You Can't Fund Equity Without Sweat Equity
Harvard Business Review: Emotional Agility
Letter from Nina Stack: Conversation and Educational Program on Structural Racism (2/07/2018)
Letter from Nina Stack: CNJG's Unique Programming (10/05/2017)
Letter from Nina Stack: Race, Racism and the Ramifications for Philanthropy Launch (12/08/2016)
CNJG: Implicit Bias & White Privilege Presentation
CNJG: 2017 Implicit Bias Review
Medium: A Day in the Life: How Racism Impacts Families of Color
The Good Men Project: White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism
Race to Lean: The Race to Lead Series
Virginia Commonwealth University: Mapping Life Expectancy-Zipcode and Health
Website: The Equality of Opportunity Project
Project Implicit: Implicit Association Test
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Eliminating Implicit Bias in Grantmaking Practice
Grantcraft: Grantmaking with a Racial Equity Lens
Videos
TedTalk: Dr. David Williams “How Racism Makes Us Sick”
The Race Card Project: In Conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates at AtlanticLive New York Ideas 2015
NY Times: Implicit Bias Videos
NJTV News: Police and Teachers Undergo Trauma Training
The Colloquium heard from an extraordinary line-up of morning and afternoon speakers, including Dave Cole, NJ Chief Innovation Officer. Clearly, the government is – and must be - on the front lines to ensure that AI ethically and responsibly benefits society. Having Dave join the panel served yet another function - introducing NJ’s philanthropic sector to the NJ Office of Innovation. One of CNJG’s important roles is connecting members with potential partners in government.
And while we’ve been deep in planning for the Colloquium, that’s not all we’ve been focused on. Over the past few months, CNJG has been at the forefront of fostering crucial dialogues between the philanthropic sector and state government, exploring philanthropy's role in civic engagement and democracy, and organizing a new convening for NJ’s nonprofit and philanthropic sector to engage in public policy collectively.
In partnership with the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, we hosted two informational sessions for the Office of Legislative Services. In April, Center president and CEO Linda Czipo and I presented “Understanding NJ’s Nonprofit and Philanthropic Community: Role, Impact, Myths and Facts” to OLS staffers. Educating government officials and staffers about the social sector provides a grounding for future collaboration and potential partnerships. Additionally, because OLS is charged with drafting bills and conducting analysis on the impact of legislation, it is particularly important to have a good understanding of the charitable sector’s role in nurturing thriving communities. We hosted a second session in May focused on “Nonprofit Startup and Compliance Issues: A Legal Review.” Attendees came away with a working knowledge of the 501c3 family, state, and federal reporting requirements, tax rules, and an overview of the Center’s efforts to convene expert practitioners to recommend updates to the NJ Nonprofit Corporation Act in line with the modernization already done on the NJ Business Corporation Act. Attendees received continuing legal education units for session 2. Special thanks to William Engel, CNJG Policy Committee co-chair and president of the Union Foundation, and Frances A. McElhill, Archer & Greiner, long-time champion for the nonprofit sector, for joining Linda and me to present this session.
In June, we brought back one of our signature programs - Conversations with the Cabinet. Nearly 25 funders met with Commissioner Jacquelyn Suárez, NJ Department of Community Affairs, at their Trenton office to discuss current priority areas and possible opportunities for NJ’s philanthropic community to partner with state government on areas of mutual concern. We’re grateful to Commissioner Suarez and Assistant Commissioner/Director of Housing and Community Resources Janel Winter for their comprehensive presentation. As part of our discussion, we asked our friends at DCA to share examples of how philanthropy might leverage funding. One of the examples that Assistant Commissioner Winter shared was considering philanthropic investment in approved projects through the Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit (NRTC) program, which, while highly rated, does not receive funding due to a lack of corporate investment. If you could not attend the meeting and would like to learn more about these approved projects and other DCA programs, please get in touch with DCA Special Policy Advisor Renee Koubiadis. I’m also happy to provide an e-introduction to Renee.
On June 24, I was pleased to join several CNJG members at a funders’ briefing hosted by the Community Foundation of New Jersey and the NJ Civic Information Consortium. The Consortium provides grants to “foster increased civic engagement to organizations building and supporting local news and information in communities” in our state. During the briefing, we were introduced to Press Forward, a national movement led by inaugural director Dale Anglin to “strengthen our democracy by revitalizing local news and information.” Dale has deep roots in NJ, having served as Associate Director of Programs at the Victoria Foundation and co-chair of the Newark Funders Education Affinity Group for many years.
Looking ahead, don’t miss our first-ever Summer Joint Policy Forum – Nonprofit and Philanthropic Champions for New Jersey, on August 13, hosted by CNJG and the Center. The nonprofit and philanthropic communities are important contributors to well-informed policies for all residents of our state. This inaugural policy forum convening of nonprofit and philanthropic leaders and allies will discuss current and emerging nonprofit and philanthropic policy issues, voter engagement, and ways we can all become more involved.
As we look ahead, it has never been more important that philanthropy seeks out opportunities to partner with government, promotes civic engagement, and contributes to a healthy democracy. Among CNJG’s six policy priorities outlined in our policy agenda, we support a healthy democracy, engaged communities, and a collaborative environment between nonprofits, government, and philanthropy to move forward with this work. The connections forged during these – and future – engagements will serve as a foundation for an even more significant impact.
Sincerely,
Theresa Jacks, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers
Already, 2025 has been a year unlike any other. The changes in federal policy are coming at a pace we’ve not experienced before. Not even a month in, the new administration immediately issued several significant Executive Orders (EOs), creating uncertainty across the social sector. From attempts to freeze Congressionally approved funding, to efforts banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and questionable tactics to slash the federal workforce; funders and nonprofit partners are gravely concerned about how the fabric of our democracy and the systems of constitutionally mandated checks and balances are fraying right before our eyes. To help you cut through the noise, the National Council of Nonprofits is tracking and continuously updating its analysis of the impact of these EOs on nonprofit organizations in real time.
This is the time to shore up relationships with colleagues and nonprofit partners. I’m grateful that in New Jersey, we have a strong partnership with the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits. Advocacy and policy are at the heart of the Center’s mission. They have been at the forefront of keeping us informed about the Office of Mangement and Budget's (OMB) freezing of federal grants and loans. I encourage you to:
- Sign up for the Center’s email list for up-to-date, reliable information.
- Ask your grantees and nonprofit partners to complete the annual NJ Trends and Outlook survey, launched today. This year, the survey is also collecting stories about how executive actions are impacting nonprofit organizations.
On behalf of philanthropy-supporting organizations, United Philanthropy Forum is also mobilizing to serve as a key source for accurate, reliable information with their newly created resource page, “Executive Actions Impacting the Philanthropic & Nonprofit Sectors."
Funders across the country are asking what they can do immediately. As I noted above, leveraging your partnerships and strengthening your relationships is key. Echoing sage recommendations from the Council on Foundations and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, here are other strategies for your consideration:
- Reach out to your grantees and nonprofit partners – don’t wait for them to reach out to you. They need to hear from you and know that you are championing their often-thankless work.
- Offer flexible funding and move funding quickly. Allow your grantees to repurpose their current grant funding to meet the needs of their organization and those they serve. Giving nonprofits every resource and tool they need to be nimble is critical.
- Share your funding opportunities with the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits to post on their revamped funding page.
- Get comfortable introducing your grantees to new partners, other grantees, and potential funders. This is how we build strong, resilient communities of practice and service.
We’re embarking upon untested times. As we celebrate Black History Month and Women’s History in March, it is important to remember that meaningful change starts and ends with partnership, collaboration, and advocacy. Philanthropy has a critical role to play in this equation.
To help you better understand the federal policy landscape, we’re hosting an eight-part Funder Briefing Series: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for
New Jersey, beginning in March. This series will provide an overview of key issues that directly impact philanthropy, and more broadly, the charitable sector. The first session, on March 13 at 4:00 pm., will focus on immigration.
In addition, we will be launching a web page with information and resources to help inform your decision-making, as well as reintroducing our policy infused e-newsletter, CNJG ...for the field. Covering both big 'P' and little 'p' policy issues, the first edition will land in your inbox later this month, providing key updates and relevant articles.
I want to end with some exciting news — Craig Weinrich has been
promoted to Senior Director, Member Experience. Craig has been with CNJG for 11 years, and his leadership and dedication have been invaluable to our community. Please join us in congratulating him on this well-deserved promotion!
And channeling Craig – a quick reminder: it’s time to renew your CNJG membership. Please reach out to him if you have questions.
We look forward to engaging with you in the months ahead. Philanthropy has an important role during these tenuous times. Let’s use our collective power for good.
In solidarity,
Theresa Jacks, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers