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Native Voices Rising is a joint research and re-granting project of Native Americans in Philanthropy and Common Counsel Foundation. This report focuses on the practices and challenges of community organizing and advocacy, focusing on the need for increased investment in and sustained support for American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities.
President Obama's Hurricane Sandy Task Force released this rebuilding strategy to serve as a model for communities across the nation facing greater risks from extreme weather and to continue helping the Sandy-affected region rebuild. The Rebuilding Strategy contains 69 policy recommendations, many of which have already been adopted, that will help homeowners stay in and repair their homes, strengthen small businesses and revitalize local economies and ensure entire communities are better able to withstand and recover from future storms.
Newark Arts has announced the awardees of its annual ArtStart mini-grant program. Seventeen winning proposals were granted a total of $50,000 for the year 2021-2022. The ArtStart program supports organizations and individuals who create and curate music, dance, theatre, film, visual and/or literary art projects to benefit the residents and neighborhoods of Newark, New Jersey.
This year marks the 20th for ArtStart, which was designed to nurture arts and cultural activities throughout the city of Newark, especially for youth and underserved populations.
“Issuing $50,000 in ArtStart grants this year and nearly $600,000 over the years is a critical part of Newark Arts’ mission,” said Regina Barboza, Interim Executive Director, Newark Arts. “These investments help to provide in-community access to the arts in every ward, from music and dance programs to filmmaking and visual arts.”
TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Cherry Hill-based TD Bank, awarded $5.8 million through the 16th annual Housing for Everyone grant program. A total of 33 nonprofit organizations received grants ranging from $150,000 to $250,000, TD announced March 8.
Five recipients from the Garden State were chosen, receiving a total of $875,000.
The program aims to help housing organizations deliver resident services such as eviction prevention assistance, workforce development and child care.
“Housing organizations have been on the front lines of both the affordability crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been called upon time and time again over the past few years to do everything from helping people find affordable homes to serving as vaccine clinics. Each time, they’ve stepped up and expanded their mandates to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable members of our communities and work towards an equitable COVID-19 recovery,” Paige Carlson-Heim, director of the TD Charitable Foundation, said in a statement.
TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Cherry Hill-based TD Bank, awarded $5.8 million through the 16th annual Housing for Everyone grant program. A total of 33 nonprofit organizations received grants ranging from $150,000 to $250,000, TD announced March 8.
Five recipients from the Garden State were chosen, receiving a total of $875,000.
The program aims to help housing organizations deliver resident services such as eviction prevention assistance, workforce development and child care.
“Housing organizations have been on the front lines of both the affordability crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been called upon time and time again over the past few years to do everything from helping people find affordable homes to serving as vaccine clinics. Each time, they’ve stepped up and expanded their mandates to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable members of our communities and work towards an equitable COVID-19 recovery,” Paige Carlson-Heim, director of the TD Charitable Foundation, said in a statement.
Impact100 South Jersey announced that it will award $200,000 in grants to local nonprofits as a result of its fall 2020 collective giving membership drive. Members gathered virtually on Wednesday, Jan 6th for the Big Reveal and celebration. The event was held to share the number of members who have joined and the total raised for grantmaking in 2021. This brings the total funds raised collectively by Impact100 South Jersey members to over $624,000 since 2017.
“With such a tremendous increase in need in our region, it’s been very rewarding to see how our generous members have responded, in a year that has been very challenging for many,” said Membership Co-Chair Angela Venti. “On behalf of the Impact100 Leadership Council, I’d like to express our deep appreciation for the way our new and existing members embraced coming together virtually in lieu of in person events, which we miss so much. We look forward to the time soon when we can bring our members together in person again to strengthen the bonds within our collective women’s giving community.”
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts held a public meeting on December 13th, during which 22 New Jersey organizations received grants through the Council’s new Creative Aging Initiative grant program. Senior centers, libraries, and arts organizations will provide customized arts experiences for people aged 55 and older, helping to enhance overall wellness, build community, and diminish issues of isolation.
With a focus on lifelong learning in the arts, the Creative Aging Initiative grants will provide $10,000 to a variety of New Jersey nonprofits engaging in creative aging work. Each of this year’s grant recipients will provide two (2) eight-day residencies for New Jersey seniors – at no cost to the participants. This new program was built upon the success of a Creative Aging pilot project the Council concluded earlier this year.
Speaking on the importance of this new grant program, the Council’s Program Officer for Arts Education & Lifelong Learning, Samantha Clarke, said: “Arts education and lifelong learning have been longstanding priorities at the State Arts Council. We look forward to providing new opportunities to reach older adults through the Creative Aging Initiative grant, and we’re especially excited to be working with both arts organizations and community-based organizations in this important work.”
On March 9th, 2023, the City of Newark unveiled a Harriet Tubman monument in the newly re-named Harriet Tubman Square. The Newark Philanthropic Liaison played a key role on the monument project team for two years, ensuring that funds were available to make the vision of the Mayor and community a reality. We are proud to be a grantee of the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project, and appreciate the significant philanthropic support of Audible, Inc. and the partnership of the Newark Museum of Art, Rutgers University – Newark, and the Newark Public Library. In addition to foundation partnerships, the NPL’s office designed and led a “Buy a Brick” campaign raised nearly $40,000 from almost 200 individual donors.
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A Monument to Harriet Tubman Replaces a Columbus Statue in Newark
TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank has awarded a total of $7 million to 37 non-profits across the bank’s footprint through the 17th annual Housing for Everyone grant program. Grants ranging from $150,000 to $250,000 will support organizations that work to deliver rental assistance, rehabilitate affordable rental housing properties, and build organizational capacity to address resident sustainability for the long-term.
As individuals and families across the country struggle with inflation and an exponential rise in rental costs, affordable housing providers face increased hardship given the growing demand for affordable rental units and emergency rental assistance.
“The affordable housing crisis continues to burden the most vulnerable members of our communities and the organizations committed to supporting them,” said Paige Carlson-Heim, Director of the TD Charitable Foundation. “At TD, we’re committed to doing our part to help create a more sustainable and inclusive future for everyone, and that includes providing access to safe, affordable homes. This year’s grant recipients are mission-critical to that work, and the TD Charitable Foundation is proud to support them in their efforts to create a positive impact and a pathway to housing stability in the communities we serve.”
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts held its first public meeting of 2024 on February 20th, where just over $1.7 million was awarded to 161 New Jersey artists through the Council's Individual Artist Fellowship program. In 2022, the Council voted to authorize an unprecedented investment of $2 million in the Fellowship program. Through this continued commitment of funding, this year's Fellowship cohort is the largest one the Council has added to its distinguished list of Fellows in over 30 years.
The Fellowships are competitive awards to New Jersey artists in 12 rotating disciplines granted solely on independent peer panel assessment of work samples. The anonymous process is focused on artistic quality, and awards may be used to help artists produce new work and advance their careers. New Jersey artists applied for awards this year in the categories of digital/electronic, film/video, interdisciplinary, painting, printmaking/drawing/book arts, and prose. This program is carried out in partnership with Mid Atlantic Arts.
The PNC Foundation today announced it is allocating a $5.2 million grant pool across its markets to implement or enhance high-quality, nature-based outdoor play and learning environments. This grant pool celebrates the 20th anniversary of PNC Grow Up Great®, PNC's $500 million, bilingual, signature philanthropic initiative designed to help prepare children from birth through age 5 for success in school and life.
Recent PNC-funded research by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) showed that 49% of children ages 3-5 are playing outside less than once a day. A recent NIEER literature review also suggests that pre-K programs conducted in nature-based settings can promote better learning and development.
"PNC has been in the early childhood education space for 20 years, focused on supporting the high-quality early education that is the foundation of a bright future for young children," said Sally McCrady, president and chair, PNC Foundation. "For the milestone anniversary of PNC Grow Up Great, we're thrilled to help provide young children across our communities with outdoor spaces that can help spark their natural sense of wonder and curiosity."
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts yesterday awarded more than $30 million in grants to support approximately 900 arts organizations, projects, and artists throughout the state. The grants were approved at the Council's 58th Annual Meeting in Trenton, which featured a special musical performance by Hector Morales, a 2024 Arts Council Heritage Fellow.
State funding for the Arts Council comes from the revenue generated through the State’s Hotel/Motel Occupancy Fee, and supports arts activity in all 21 counties. From the smallest neighborhoods to the largest cities, artists and arts organizations strengthen communities and offer solutions for complex issues we all care about – quality education, health and wellness, thriving economies, cross-cultural understanding, and more.
“The investment made in our state’s artists and organizations has a direct, positive impact on New Jersey residents, families, businesses, and communities,” said Acting Governor Tahesha Way, who oversees the Council in her role as Secretary of State. “It’s an honor to work closely with the Council to help our state’s creative industries thrive, and to ensure New Jersey’s diverse constituencies can access the many benefits of the arts.”
The Camden Funders Affinity Group serves as a vehicle for funders to connect and share updates about their initiatives throughout the city. At the May 30th gathering (our first of 2024), we heard loud and clear that group members didn't want to wait too long before meeting again.
As such, please join your fellow Camden Funders for another in-person meeting to not only share more about your current work in the city, but also dive deeper into discussing the capacity of Camden-based organizations (both those that you already work with and those that can potentially be funded in the future), and how funders might better support them in building it.
A dedicated a portion of this meeting will refine the goals of the Camden Funders Affinity Group, as well as identifying potential speakers and topics for future meetings.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $50 for Non Member Grantmakers.
Beginning in October 2023, a group of funders got together and commissioned the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) to facilitate a series of dialogues with Newark’s nonprofit community to learn how foundations can be supportive of their capacity strengthening needs. The meetings made separate space for the funding community and nonprofit leaders to meet amongst themselves for learning, sharing, and action, and then brought all of us together in May for an honest discussion about the path forward.
We are utilizing our fall Newark Funder Affinity Group meetings to discuss a collective funder response to the needs of Newark’s nonprofit sector. Please join us for our second meeting on this critical topic in follow-up to the Newark Funder Affinity Group Meeting on September 19th. All are welcome to join us, whether you were able to make our September meeting or not. We will ensure that all attendees are updated so that we are all beginning from the same place.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $50 for Non Member Grantmakers
Lunch will be served.
Kearny Bank said Wednesday that it gifted $590,385 in 2024 to charities in New Jersey and New York. The donations were made through the KearnyBank Foundation and went to community, education, housing, and quality of life organizations.
Kearny Bank’s 2024 contributions were: $272,885 to community; $142,885 to education; $92,500 to quality of life; and $80,000 to housing.
During 2024, the largest single donation was to Junior Achievement of New Jersey, which received $65,000. In addition, the 55 Kip Center of Rutherford received $50,000. Also included among recipients was the Essex County chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women, which received $18,000. The Robeson Classic High School Football All-Star Game and HABcore, Inc. each received $15,000, while $12,000 was contributed to the Student/Partner Alliance.
“We’re delighted that our success enables us to donate to a range of programs and organizations that help communities in which we conduct business,” says Craig Montanaro, Kearny Bank president and CEO. “Our company has been committed to charitable giving since it was founded in the 19th century and we continue seeking ways to enhance people’s lives.”
As The Westfield Foundation marks its 50th anniversary, the organization is proud to announce the recipients of its Golden Impact Grants—an initiative that reflects five decades of commitment to building a stronger, more inclusive community through strategic philanthropy.
“It’s truly an honor to celebrate 50 years of service, partnership, and impact,” said Katie Darcy, executive director of The Westfield Foundation. “When the Foundation was established in 1975, it began with just $2,000 and a shared belief in building a better future through philanthropy. Today, we distribute over $1 million annually, thanks to the vision and generosity of the very community we serve.”
The Golden Impact Grants were created to mark this milestone by amplifying the Foundation’s investment in Westfield — the place where it all began. This special initiative invited a select group of local organizations to submit proposals for bold, visionary projects that address urgent community needs and will leave a lasting legacy.
The administration’s current attempt to exclude and expel people through sweeping executive overreach in defiance of the rule of law is separating families and striking fear in communities, and is part of a broader attempt to criminalize and invisibilize historically marginalized populations, starting with noncitizens.
Join Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrant And Refugees to learn how advocates are addressing the closure of the border and the resulting denial of access to safety while others are defending people who have made the United States their home.
SPEAKERS
Lillian Aponte, Executive Director, Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project
Erika Pinheiro, Executive Director, Al Otro Lado
Fatima Saidi, Director, We Are All America
MODERATORS
Basma Alawee, Deputy Executive Director, Community Sponsorship Hub
Zenobia Lai, Executive Director, Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative
REGISTRATION
There is no cost for this webinar.
You will need to log in or create an account on GCIR's website to register for this program.
Please register for this program by 5pm PT on Friday, April 25th.
The Burke Foundation awarded $2 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 to non-profit organizations in New Jersey working to improve prenatal and child health.
New Jersey has one of the country’s worst records for child health and wellbeing, especially among under-resourced communities, despite being one of the wealthiest states in terms of per capita income.
The Burke Foundation seeks to improve this situation by funding the most promising and transformative programs and policies that foster the health, well-being and resilience of children and families in the state.
New Jersey ranks 47th among the 50 U.S. states for maternal mortality, and its rate of more than 46 deaths per every 100,000 live births is nearly 50 percent greater than the national average. The situation is even more dire for Black women and babies: A Black mother in New Jersey is seven times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than a white mother, and the preterm birth rate for Black infants in New Jersey is 13.3%, which is 51% higher than the rate for white infants in the state. New Jersey also ranks in the bottom third of states for children being up to date on immunizations at age two (35th out of 50), with stark disparities across socio-economic and racial lines.
The Burke Foundation believes that addressing these disparities requires investment in high-quality, scalable programming that prioritizes young children and families. Investments in the earliest years promote better health outcomes in the short term and provide significant social and economic returns in the long term. These new grants reflect the Foundation’s deep commitment to supporting nurturing, responsive relationships between caregivers and young children to foster health, well-being, and resilience for a lifetime.
Dr. David Willis, Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Social Policy, applauded these new investments. “As a pediatrician and policymaker, I am pleased to see the Burke Foundation’s emphasis on early relational health,” he said. “Having supportive, nurturing relationships early in life has been shown to bolster a child’s resilience and lead to better social, emotional and physical health outcomes.”
CNJG joined delegates from the across the country for Foundations on the Hill on February 25 - 28. The event included a policy conference followed by meetings on Capitol Hill.
Joining me, the CNJG delegation included Bill Engel, President, The Union Foundation; Sharnita Johnson, Vice President of Strategy, Impact and Communications, Victoria Foundation; Melissa Litwin, Early Childhood Program Director, The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation; Jessica Nugent, Senior Program Officer, Burke Foundation; Jonathan Pearson, Executive Director, and Renee Woodside, Senior Program Officer, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey; Danielle Scott, President and CEO, and Bruce Rubin, Trustee, Pincus Family Foundation; Kortney Swanson Davis, President and CEO, Forman S. Acton Educational Foundation; Catherine Wilson, President and CEO, United Way Greater Newark; Alana Vega, Program Officer, and Hellen Zamora-Bustos, Leonard Lieberman Philanthropy Fellow/Program Associate, Fund for New Jersey; Nelida Valentin, Vice President - Grants & Programs, Princeton Area Community Foundation; and Lucy Vandenberg, Executive Director, Schumann Fund for New Jersey. 
Bill and Lucy serve as co-chairs of the CNJG Policy Committee. For the last few years, we’ve also been joined by Linda Czipo, President and CEO, New Jersey Center for Nonprofits. Linda’s voice elevates our conversations and helps ground them in the work nonprofits do every day.
The 21st Annual Foundations on the Hill, hosted and presented by United Philanthropy Forum in partnership with Independent Sector and the Council on Foundations, is the largest annual public policy and advocacy conference dedicated solely to the philanthropic sector. In addition to meeting with legislators and government officials, FOTH attendees attended pre-conference programming, conference keynotes, expert panel sessions, and several receptions. As part of the conference programming, we learned about the All By April campaign, a nonpartisan effort encouraging philanthropy to make grants to nonprofits conducting election work by the end of April. The authors and researchers of the just released 2024 National Study on Donor-Advised Funds provided an overview of their key findings. We were introduced to the history and priorities of the Black Congressional Caucus Foundation, and their focus on developing thoughtful, creative and informed leaders. And we were reminded about the chilling impact recent Supreme Court rulings could have on the rights of donors to give in ways that align with their values.
We were pleased to meet with all 12 of our NJ Congressional and both Senate offices. We met directly with Congressmen Gottheimer and Kean, along with a quick photo meet-up with Senator Booker.
As part of our meetings, we advocated for the Charitable Act, H.R.3435/S.566 which would provide a non-itemizer deduction of up to 1/3 of the standard deduction; the Nonprofit Stakeholders Engaging and Advancing Together (SEAT) Act, H.R.3245, which would pave the way for stronger policymaking input from the charitable sector and improved data collection about nonprofits; and the Streamlining Federal Grants Act, H.R.5934/S2286, which would simplify the application and reporting requirements for federal grants. These bills strengthen the work of the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors.
In addition to advocating for legislation that supports our work, and educating Congress about the social sector, FOTH not only helps build relationships with our Congressional delegation, but also provides opportunities for CNJG members to get to know one another. Our annual CNJG FOTH dinner is a time to relax and debrief about our meetings. New this year, a few of us took the opportunity to see Washington by moonlight.
This year we were thrilled to welcome several CNJG members new to the FOTH experience!
We’re also thrilled to welcome a new CNJG team member, Shakirat Odunsi, Manager of Communications! With over 20 years of experience in the marketing and communications field, Shakirat will lead and manage our communications strategy, marketing efforts for CNJG events, services and offerings, and our website and social media channels. Shakirat can be reached at [email protected].
It was quite an eventful 3+ days. Thank you to the CNJG FOTH delegation for sharing your time and expertise. I’m proud that we were part of over 300 voices attending FOTH from across the country, sharing philanthropy’s positive impact, advocating for the nonprofit sector, and supporting legislation that strengthens our work.
Another important platform to strengthen and inform both the philanthropic and nonprofit sector in NJ is on June 18. The Spring Colloquium - Empowering the Future: Harnessing AI and Data for Philanthropic Social Impact, will explore how AI can enhance problem-solving without losing human connections, how it affects equity, and how philanthropy has engaged with AI for funding initiatives. Save the date – registration will be available soon!
Sincerely,
Theresa Jacks, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers
BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, today announced a $1 million commitment over five years to UNICEF USA in support of UNICEF's work to uphold the rights of all children and help every child survive and thrive. The cash donation will be used to support UNICEF's efforts to eliminate Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) in at-risk countries around the world. In 1997, BD was the first U.S.-based corporation to establish a maternal and newborn tetanus program with UNICEF.
With the support of BD, UNICEF is working to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus worldwide by seeking to vaccinate all women and girls of childbearing age, by promoting clean childbirth delivery practices such as clean umbilical cord cutting methods and by utilizing surveillance to enhance health professionals' understanding of the circumstances under which tetanus can be transmitted. Between 2000 and 2018, newborn deaths from MNT have declined by 88 percent.1
As the first and longest-serving corporate partner in UNICEF USA's campaign to eliminate MNT, BD has now provided or committed more than $10.8 million in cash and product donations to the organization, including 55 million BD SoloShot™ Auto-Disable Syringes and BD Uniject™ Non-Reusable Devices.
"The initiative to help eliminate MNT was the first philanthropic program established by BD," said Tom Polen, CEO and president, BD. "Over the past 24 years, the MNT initiative has grown into an international public-private partnership that includes governments, global humanitarian organizations, non-profits and corporate partners, all with one mission to prevent unnecessary deaths from maternal and neonatal tetanus. This $1 million commitment continues our collective efforts to expand access to health care among the vulnerable populations who need it most and is part of our broader purpose – advancing the world of health."