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The WSFS CARES Foundation recently announced it awarded grants to five organizations as part of its continuing series of philanthropic activities. The grants, approved in the first quarter by the WSFS CARES Foundation board, will support the following organizations:
Delaware Prosperity Partnership: $150,000 grant to be paid over three years;
Distance Learning Center: $55,000 grant;
FinServ Foundation: $78,000 grant to be paid over three years;
New Jersey Community Capital: $25,000 grant;
Wilmington Neighborhood Conservancy Land Bank: $100,000 Grant to be paid over three years.
WSFS CARES Foundation is the charitable giving arm of WSFS Bank, which is headquartered in the Greater Philadelphia and Delaware region and operates 114 offices, 88 of which are banking offices, located in Pennsylvania (57), Delaware (40), New Jersey (14), Florida (1), Nevada (1) and Virginia (1).
“The mission of the WSFS CARES Foundation is to support nonprofits that are invested in improving communities and fostering a spirit of inclusion and diversity,” Patrick Ward, executive vice president, Pennsylvania market president, at WSFS Bank and chairman of the WSFS CARES Foundation, said. “We’re proud to support each of these great organizations, which share our focus on investing in and strengthening their communities through revitalization, business economic empowerment, education, leadership development and affordable housing.”
Community colleges offer greater affordability than private or state colleges, are adept at providing flexible education schedules and delivery, and are often deeply tied to the local areas in which they reside. This type of accessibility and inclusivity provides enormous opportunities for students left out of traditional higher education models. And while there is a road to recovery for community colleges post-COVID, they can play a critical role in building a future workforce in local communities and creating a more equitable higher education system for New Jersey students.
During this program, we’ll hear from several community college leaders on the impact of the pandemic on enrollment and learning, the biggest challenges facing higher education right now, and the opportunities they see to close education gaps and improve student outcomes. Join us to learn more about community colleges as a pathway to success for students in New Jersey, and philanthropy’s role in supporting more accessible, affordable, and flexible higher education models.
Speakers include:
Brian Bridges, Ph.D., Secretary of Higher Education, State of New Jersey
Dr. Michael Gorman, President, Salem Community College
Steven M. Rose, President, Passaic Community College
Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $50 for Non Member Grantmakers.
This program is only open to staff and trustees from grantmaking organizations.
Webinar Video
CNJG's Storify content from their Signature Events.
Join the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) for a discussion on health and racial equity in New Jersey and how to achieve it. The roundtable discussion will focus on exploring strategies to advance health equity goals across a number of key areas, some of which are those identified in A Policy Agenda for a Healthier, More Equitable New Jersey, which RWJF released earlier this year.
Speakers include:
Maisha Simmons, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Atiya Weiss, The Burke Foundation
Sharnita Johnson, Victoria Foundation
Marianna Schaffer, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation
Alana Vega, The Fund for New Jersey
There will be time for Q & A following the roundtable.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members
Resources:
A Policy Agenda for a Healthier, More Equitable New Jersey
New Jersey Reparations Council
New Jersey Birth Equity Funders Alliance
Neighbors Helping Neighborhoods
New Jersey's Public Health Institute: Advancing Health Equity in New Jersey
Organizing Examples: Make the Road and Wind of the Spirit
On this webinar, we discussed major concerns and pressing needs of the undocumented community in Newark. We also heard updates from the Newark Board of Education and community support to date.
Speakers:
Vicky Hernandez, Executive Director, Ironbound Community Corporation
Sara Cullinane, Director, Make the Road New Jersey
Pastor Michael A. Ogunieye, African Clergy Alliance
David Scutari, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent
Kevin Callaghan, Newark Philanthropic Liaison, CNJG
Catherine Wilson, President and CEO, United Way of Greater Newark
Cost: Free for CNJG Members/ $35 for Non Member Grantmakers
Webinar Video
Article: NJ’s Undocumented Immigrants and COVID-19: Free-Falling Through the Safety Net
On this webinar, the conversation focused on the local news landscape with guests from Chalkbeat Newark, WBGO, and the Dodge Foundation. Additionally, attendees heard a quick briefing on Newark’s efforts to encourage social distancing from Director of Public Safety Anthony Ambrose.
Speakers:
Anthony Ambrose, Director of Public Safety, City of Newark
Patrick Wall, Senior Reporter, Chalkbeat Newark
Megan Van Dyk, Informed Communities Program Officer, Dodge Foundation
Brit Harley, News Voices Fellow, WBGO
Kevin Callaghan, Newark Philanthropic Liaison, CNJG
Catherine Wilson, President and CEO, United Way of Greater Newark
Cost: Free for CNJG Members/ $35 for Non Member Grantmakers
Webinar Video
When Ras Baraka announced the formation of the NJ FAM Fund back in September, it came with a symbolic name — FAM stands for “40 Acres and a Mule” — and a hope that it could raise $100 million to serve as a private investment vehicle to help reduce social and economic disparities in Newark by investing in Black and Latinx businesses.
A few months later, the fund is operating in eight New Jersey cities and is quickly approaching $10 million — thanks in part to a “substantial” commitment from Bank of America that came this week.
Alberto Garofalo, president of Bank of America New Jersey, said the bank was thrilled to include the NJ FAM Fund among its many initiatives to help drive economic growth in underserved communities that too often were left behind in the past.
“A strong and vibrant business community benefits everyone,” Garafolo said. “Our equity investment in NJ FAM is intended to deploy capital to Black, Hispanic-Latino, other under-represented minority and women-led entrepreneurs so they can grow, expand job opportunities and make a positive impact in their community.”
M&T Bank has donated $75,000 in seed money to help the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at Rutgers University launch a new fund to help Black entrepreneurs recover from the effects of the pandemic.
CUEED, based at the Rutgers Business School in Newark, will leverage the money from M&T to raise additional funding from other private and philanthropic sources. The center’s goal is to raise $250,000 to pilot its NJ BEST Patient Capital Fund, which will make low-cost, non-dilutive capital, recoverable grants of $25,000 to $50,000 available to selected Black-owned High-Impact Vital Enterprises — retail and service businesses essential to the viability of their communities.
Tom Comiskey, M&T Bank president for New Jersey, said the bank was excited to contribute to such a worthy aim.
“The pandemic has exacerbated challenges for Black entrepreneurs, making it increasingly difficult to secure capital for their businesses,” he said. “Essential to the foundation of New Jersey’s economy, M&T Bank is proud to support these business owners through the NJ BEST Patient Capital Fund.”
Bank of America is making a $560,000 donation to the Career Services Center at New Jersey City University to aid in the effort to help students of color successfully complete the education and training necessary to enter the workforce and embark on a path to success.
The unique grant is the largest single corporate gift and most significant investment in career development in NJCU’s history, school officials said. The investment is in the form of a four-year grant that will address racial, ethnic and income inequality.
Access to good jobs and meaningful careers is key to closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap. Students of color often face daunting challenges, including financial hardship, lack of guidance in choosing courses that will help them achieve success, and lack of internship and skill-building opportunities to prepare for career readiness.
Bank of America officials said the company is working to address these issues as part of its $1.25 billion, five-year commitment to help advance racial equality and create economic opportunity by focusing on priority areas of jobs/education/skills, health, small business and housing.
NJM Insurance Group said it recently made a $100,000 donation to benefit hunger relief efforts across the mid-Atlantic region.
The monies are part of the West Trenton-based firm’s yearlong commitment to supporting communities, which now totals more than $2 million in donations in 2022.
NJM’s support of communities is rooted in a culture of purpose-driven service. The company directs charitable contributions toward organizations that support arts and culture, health, community assistance, safety and financial literacy. Other areas of focus include education and enrichment and revitalization programs such as those offered by social service organizations and food banks.
“NJM is a service organization working on behalf of our policyholders and the communities in which they live and work,” Mitch Livingston, NJM CEO and president, stated. “We partner with nonprofits and organizations dedicated to delivering needed resources that can positively impact lives, and we are privileged to support these causes throughout the region.”
A year after kicking off an initiative to improve nutrition at schools in its hometown of Camden, Campbell Soup Co. is getting high marks. And over the next five years, the soup and snack giant plans to invest $5 million in Full Futures, a sweeping effort to make sure students are well nourished and ready to thrive — both in the classroom and outside of it.
Armed with research linking school meals and healthy diets to academic success, Campbell executives saw an opportunity to effect change by leveraging the expertise and resources of numerous partners to advance developments in nutrition programming and cafeteria infrastructure across a school district that serves 11,000 students.
Working in partnership with the Camden City School District, as well as several nonprofit and corporate entities, Campbell set out to improve how kids eat at school through cafeteria equipment upgrades, expanded meal programs, nutrition education, reformulated menus and equitable sourcing of local, fresh produce.
Campbell recently reported on its progress with Full Futures, as well as next steps planned to keep the momentum going during the next four years of the campaign.
The Princeton Area Community Foundation awarded about $2 million in Community Impact and COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund grants to local nonprofits.
More than 60 organizations working on a broad variety of needs in the community, including arts education, community building, education, food insecurity, health, supporting senior citizens and other vulnerable populations, and youth development received this funding, made possible by generous community contributions.
Funding was mainly unrestricted, giving organizations an opportunity to address the challenges of economic uncertainty due to the pandemic and inflation. Unrestricted grants in this round provide the flexibility organizations need to use the funding where it is most needed, which will help them build financial and programmatic resiliency.
“These nonprofits are doing impactful work in region, helping the most vulnerable among us,” Jeffrey Vega, CEO and president of the Community Foundation, said. “We are able to award these grants thanks to generous donors who have created funds over the last 30 years to support our community grantmaking and leadership.”
Eastside High School in Paterson sits in the middle of a struggling neighborhood, in a city where 25% of the residents are living below the poverty line, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
Paterson’s poverty rate is more than twice the state average of 10%, which makes the school, built in 1926, a refuge — and now a resource.
On Thursday, Montclair State University president Jonathan Koppell came to Eastside with a $1 million grant and a vision: to make the school into a community hub, offering free meals, health care, and mental health counseling, not just to the 2,000 students, but to their families as well.
The initiative is called One Square Mile, and it is being seeded with a $1 million grant from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. The program was developed by Koppell during his tenure as Dean of the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions at Arizona State University, which worked with the Phoenix-area community of Maryvale to address poverty.
The New Jersey Bankers Association will be donating $5,000, through its charitable foundation, to the American Bankers Association’s Disaster Relief Program to help aid relief efforts in Mississippi after a series of deadly tornados swept through the region in late March.
All funds will be directed to the Heart of the Delta Foundation, which is supporting rural communities in the Delta region, and the CREATE Foundation, which is aiding relief efforts in Northeast Mississippi.
John Mangini, treasurer and secretary of the New Jersey Bankers Charitable Foundation, said the group always is eager to lend a hand when it can.
“The banking community extends beyond state borders, and, during difficult times, like what we’re seeing in Mississippi, the role banks play in their communities becomes paramount,” he said. “We hope this donation can help ensure people affected by this disaster can get access to the assistance and services they need.”
Maryland Philanthropy Network presents a toolkit on Community Centric Fundraising. CCF is a movement aspiring to transform fundraising and philanthropy so that they are co-grounded in racial and economic justice. CCF invites fundraisers and funders to examine the problematic philosophies and practices.
Join us to discuss the CCF principles, what they ask of funders, and how they are impacting the sector. Participants will learn about colleagues implementing some of the principles and will discuss the range of ways funders can be supportive of these principles as a way to demonstrate anti-racist values.
Speakers:
Dani Faulkner, Chief Development Officer, Baltimore Corps and a Community Centric Fundraising Global Council
Dannielle Sturgeon, Director of Development, Baltimore Corps
Cost: Free for CNJG Members and Non Member Grantmakers
The Regional Foundation announced $2,000,000 in Neighborhood Planning and Implementation Grants to 11 organizations throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey.
After several years, the foundation returned to investing in neighborhood revitalization that centers a resident-led planning process. Structured between 12 and 18 months in length, Neighborhood Planning Grants support the creation of neighborhood plans that address root causes of inequality and community development priorities including but not limited to affordable housing, workforce development, human services, commercial corridor initiatives, environmental justice, transportation, and education.
The Neighborhood Implementation Grants support comprehensive community development plans that target specific neighborhoods, are resident-driven, and equity-focused. The multi-year funding is designed to assist the foundation’s grantee partners to start or sustain momentum in their comprehensive neighborhood revitalization initiatives.
“The pressing needs of our community continue to exist and weigh down those who need it most from changing their lives from one of despair to one of hope. We are excited that the investments we are announcing today are a small part of creating the change needed to ensure individuals, families, and whole communities have the resiliency to continue along a path of success,” stated Kevin Dow, Executive Director of the foundation.
The Camden Funders Affinity Group serves as a vehicle for funders to connect and share updates about their initiatives throughout the city. We heard from Group members an interest to better understand the current environment that these programs serve and to identify opportunities for future endeavors.
In this first in-person meeting of 2024, please join your fellow Camden Funders to hear from each other about our current work in the city, as well as to gain insight into the upcoming efforts we each intend to engage in. Information gathered at this meeting will be used to inform our next meeting, where we will hear directly from leaders working across the city to advance progress in Camden. Light refreshments will be served.
To help with planning, please email Chanika Svetvilas about Camden initiatives and updates you'd like to share with attendees during the meeting.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $50 for Non Member Grantmakers.
The F. M. Kirby Foundation Board of Directors announced 103 grants totaling $10,669,250, were approved in the first half of 2024 to nonprofit organizations working to increase the strength and vitality of their communities.
In all, 58 grants included general operating support and 54 grants were made to organizations that have been partners of the Foundation for over 25 years, representing the Foundation’s grantmaking strategy of forming long-term, trusting relationships with grantees.
Grantmaking from January through June included a combined $6.8 million to organizations working in New Jersey and North Carolina, the Foundation’s primary geographic areas of interest.
Additional grants, totaling over $3.8 million, supported organizations in Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania, regions dear to Kirby family members, as well as national nonprofits largely based in Washington D.C., and New York City.
The Fund for Women and Girls at the Princeton Area Community Foundation awarded more than $200,000 in grants to six nonprofits that work to help single mothers, families with young children, abuse survivors and high school students.
“I would love it if we didn’t need to continue this work – if our work was done. But it isn’t done. Great needs remain in the community,” said Carolyn Sanderson, Fund Chair. “I’m so very grateful for the support of all our Fund members. I especially appreciate all our nonprofit partners who work tirelessly to help our neighbors get the assistance they need and who work together to address important and sometimes difficult challenges. They are incredible partners, doing their best every day to help build a thriving community.”
Founded 26 years ago, the Fund for Women and Girls is comprised of generous members – mostly women – who pool their donations because they believe they can make a larger impact in the community through collaborative giving.
Each year, the grants committee recommends to its voting members grants for local nonprofits. Since its founding, the Fund has awarded a total of more than $2 million in support to local organizations.
Community Investment Strategies, Inc. (CIS), a women-owned leader in affordable housing, has announced a strategic partnership with the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation to preserve and rehabilitate affordable housing in Elizabeth.
The first phase of this collaboration will support the renovation of Portside II, a 169-unit affordable housing community for low-income families. Originally completed in 2006 as part of the HOPE VI redevelopment, Portside II has been recognized for its contributions to the city’s revitalization.
CIS, founded by President and CEO Christiana Foglio, is dedicated to ensuring long-term housing stability through innovative funding strategies, policy advocacy, and community engagement. The Dodge Foundation’s predevelopment financial support will help maintain affordability, enhance accessibility, and improve living conditions for residents.
“This partnership enables us to expand our reach and secure critical funding early in the process,” said Foglio. “Our investment in Portside II will preserve safe, sustainable, and affordable housing for generations to come.”