Site Search

Link up with your fellow Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy! We want to get to know you and form connections in-person for the first time since the pandemic. Over savory refreshments, you will have the opportunity for a casual conversation to connect with colleagues, learn more about what’s happening across New Jersey philanthropy, and discuss possible changes within your own work and the sector. You also can share your ideas for future Emerging Leaders Affinity Group meetups. All emerging leaders who are relatively new to the philanthropic field are welcome to break bread together and catch up. Ficus Cafe is BYOB, so feel free to bring your preferred beverage (wine will be available too). Non-alcoholic beverages will be provided. Space limited.

The Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy Affinity Group’s mission is to nurture, develop and support professionals in the philanthropic sector across all departments/roles within foundations. Programming for the Emerging Leaders group is geared towards early and mid-career professionals and will serve as: a professional learning community for emerging professionals working in diverse positions; an opportunity for professional development and individual capacity-building that will lead to institutional change within the member organizations; and as a critical partner in the creation of a pipeline into senior/executive leadership in NJ philanthropy.

Cost: Free for CNJG Members, $50 for Non Member Grantmakers.
Open to Emerging Leaders Funders/Grantmakers

Media Impact Funders partnered with Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy to produce this case study report that surfaces pioneering funding practices in journalism.

As the field of journalism continues to grapple with limited resources and dwindling revenues, it’s clear that financial support is needed now more than ever. Philanthropy, in response to the radically changing landscape, is stepping up to revive quality journalism and reconfigure the news media ecosystem. And, in fact, funding for nonprofit news media has seen a notable uptick in philanthropic support, oftentimes in the form of new types of grants.

Key takeaways from the case studies include:

• The Einhorn Family Charitable Trust, a foundation that doesn’t have a history of journalism funding, made a four-year investment to help launch the Solutions Journalism Network (SJN).
• The LOR Foundation, fearing residents in the Intermountain West did not have access to quality news, decided to partner with SJN on the local level to produce solutions-based news for the region.
• The Ford Foundation supported the hiring of an investigative reporter at the ACLU of Michigan—the first investigative reporter of any ACLU chapter—to dig into the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.
• The California Endowment invested in youth media hubs as a means to promote community health, well-being and empowerment.
• The MacArthur Foundation made a pioneering unrestricted, five-year grant to the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, which helped the nonprofit newsroom experiment and innovate.

Newark is one step closer to its highly anticipated Guaranteed Income Pilot Program following the release of a report by the city, the Jain Family Institute and the Economic Security Project outlining findings and recommendations that would put more cash into residents’ hands.

Mayor Ras Baraka first broached the idea of a universal basic income pilot program at a 2019 State of the City address, saying it would be a welcome experiment in Newark, where more than a third of residents live below the poverty line. Universal basic income is a government benefit that aims to reduce income inequality through direct cash infusion.

More than a year later, the report completed by the city’s special task force is positioning Newark to join a national body of research on guaranteed income. The pilot program would focus specifically on residents struggling with housing insecurity, according to the city.

“What we really want to do is add to the national body of research and put Newark on a national stage,” said Kevin Callaghan, Newark’s philanthropic liaison. “This is Mayor Baraka entering a conversation and saying this is something that we support, and the top recommendation of the report is that there should be a federal guaranteed income policy.”

With the support of JFI and ESP, two internationally recognized research groups, Newark will begin to cast a line to national foundations and donors to fund the pilot. The report estimates anywhere between $4.5 million to $12 million based on three studies, but Callghan put the sweet spot around $5 million for meaningful results.

Estimates say that a Newark family would need $63,000 a year to meet its basic needs, according to United Way of Greater Newark.

Let’s look back on 2024 and ahead to 2025. Our guest speaker will share an insight on philanthropic trends and what might be on the horizon as the New Year progresses. We would like to have a candid discussion about how we envision we might shift gears and perhaps see programs sunset or create new ones, share budget impacts or maybe creative responses to address the needs of those served by the nonprofits we support. We hope you will join us for our journey.

Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $75 for Non Member Grantmakers
This program is only open to staff and trustees from grantmaking organizations.

Elizabeth A. Barnette is a Managing Director and Senior Philanthropic Strategist with the National Consulting and Advisory Practice at Bank of America Private Bank. In this role, Elizabeth provides customized consulting to endowment and foundation clients’ boards of directors and senior leaders in areas including mission advancement, leadership development, nonprofit governance, and board dynamics. Elizabeth has over 25 years of experience working with nonprofits. Prior to joining the National Consulting and Advisory Practice, Elizabeth was a National Fiduciary Philanthropic Manager at Bank of America Private Bank, managing a team of philanthropic professionals who provided planned giving, administrative, and fiduciary oversight services to more than 500 nonprofit clients including colleges and universities, churches and other religious organizations, community foundations, hospital systems, and arts and culture organizations. Elizabeth has specialized expertise in planned giving, sub fund accounting, donor advised fund administration, and board governance.

CNJG hosts regular briefings where funders hear from government officials, disaster recovery and health experts, nonprofit leaders, funders, and other stakeholders dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The briefings provide an opportunity to share how colleagues are changing grantmaking practices for rapid response, learn about new policies and government actions, and connect with local leaders who work with people whose financial, physical, and mental health suffers due to COVID-19. Series I topics included food insecurity, mapping response funding, racial health disparities, federal and state policy, and updates from New Jersey response funds and Rapid Response Surveys, completed in partnership with the Center for Non-Profits in March, April, and July 2020.