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Get on the map and give smarter

Get on the Map is an exciting data-sharing initiative designed to dramatically improve the quality and availability of giving data for our region. Using this tool to put your grantmaking in context will provide valuable insights that can transform your giving.

Knowing how other foundations or corporations are funding in a certain geographic area or with a specific nonprofit can make everyone’s work more effective.

Imagine real-time answers to questions like:

• How are others serving at-risk youth?
• Are organizations in our region receiving enough capacity building support?
• Who else funds economic development in our rural communities?

Through a partnership with Candid (formerly the Foundation Center) and the United Philanthropy Forum, Get on the Map enables CNJG members to see the scope of their grantmaking, find natural funding partners, and gain deeper understanding of New Jersey’s philanthropic landscape.

Watch the short video below to learn how easy it is to Get on the Map! 

It starts with sharing your giving data

Your data will power valuable resources for your organization and our region, including access to the CNJG Foundation Funding Map, a special interactive searchable mapping platform, engineered by Candid.

When you share your data, you control your story. No one knows your grantmaking better than you. Tell your story, your way is good for the sector because better information benefits everyone. Join the community of funders sharing their data to ensure the field is acting on the best possible information. Share Now!

Self-Paced Training for Funders on Using Candid

Candid has also launched a new, free self-paced course for funders: Funding Smarter: Using Candid Tools to Inform and Share Your Foundation’s Work. The course is meant to help funders use Candid’s mapping, data, and knowledge tools to better identify funding peers, potential grantee partners, identify funding connections and gaps, and learn from knowledge other funders have already shared. It also highlights the value of sharing data with Candid.

New Jersey Organizations and Resources

• American Red Cross – Chapters covering the State of New Jersey
• State of New Jersey Catholic Charities - Diocese of Camden - Diocese of Trenton
• Community Emergency Response Teams provides opportunity for citizen volunteers to be involved in emergency management activities.
• Community Food Bank of New Jersey
• Goodwill NY NJ
• Jersey Cares recruits and engages volunteers in efforts that address community-identified needs.
• NJ 2-1-1 helps people find solutions to personal needs by informing them of resources in their community.
• NJ Department of Human Services: Disasters & Emergencies - Help & Information
• Pass It Along, an affiliate of the Hands on Network, recruits and engages volunteers.
• The Salvation Army - New Jersey Division
• Volunteer Center of Bergen County, Inc.
• Volunteer Lawyer’s for Justice - Provides legal support to New Jersey residents.
• United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey

Nationwide Organizations and Resources

• American Institute for Conservation—Collections Emergency Response Team (AIC-CERT)
  Offers free emergency response assistance to cultural organizations with collections. AIC-CERT is supported and managed by the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC) and consists of a force of 107 “rapid responders” trained to assess damage and initiate salvage of cultural collections after a disaster has occurred.
• American Red Cross - Disaster Recovery Guides
• BBB Wise Giving Alliance
  The BBB Wise Giving Alliance helps donors make informed giving decisions and advances high standards of conduct among organizations that solicit contributions from the public.
• Center for Disaster Philanthropy
  The when, where, and how of informed disaster giving
• Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI)
  Provides individuals, groups, embassies and corporations with information and guidance in support of appropriate international disaster relief efforts.
• CERF+ Artists’ Relief Exchange along with its partners in the National Coalition for Arts Preparedness and Emergency Response are committed to providing and connected people to emergency relief.
• FEMA
  Information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency
• FEMA Geo Portal
  This portal provides geospatial data and analytics in support of emergency management
• FEMA - National Disaster Recovery Framework
  This guide provides a flexible structure that enables disaster recovery managers to operate in a unified and collaborative manner to provide effective recovery support to disaster-impacted jurisdictions.
• Guide to Navigating FEMA and SBA Disaster Aid for Cultural Institutions
• The Tsunami Learning Project: Lessons for Grantmakers in Natural Disaster Response
  This guide, published by Grantmakers Without Borders, offers new tools for grantmakers when responding to natural disasters.
• IRS Disaster Relief Resources for Charities and Contributors
  In the aftermath of a disaster or in other emergency hardship situations, individuals, employers and corporations often are interested in providing assistance to victims through a charitable organization. The IRS provides a number of resources to help those involved in providing disaster relief through charities.
• Disaster Relief, Providing Assistance Through Charitable Organizations
  IRS Publication 3833 describes how members of the public can use charitable organizations to provide assistance to victims of disasters or other emergency hardship situations.
• Emergency Drying Procedures for Water Damaged Collections
  A guide from the Library of Congress
• Preparation & Response for Cultural Institutions
  A guide from the National Trust for Historical Preservation.
• Small Business Administration
  Learn about and apply for SBA Disaster Loans for business of all sizes – private and nonprofit

New Jersey’s philanthropic community mourns the loss of Jeffery Vega, who passed away January 28.

Jeff joined CNJG’s Board in 2016, and during his tenure served as First Vice Chair and Board Chair, and participated on multiple committees, affinity groups, and co-chaired the Trenton Area and Mercer County Funders affinity group. Jeff shaped and cultivated the direction and focus of CNJG through his supportive and proactive leadership. His direction and guidance during the pandemic helped CNJG not only stay the course, but continue to grow and thrive.

“Working with Jeff was a joy and a privilege,” CNJG President and CEO Theresa Jacks said. “Jeff guided us through the pandemic, a leadership transition, a strategic planning process, the approval of equity principles, and CNJG’s first-ever policy agenda with a steady hand, fierce commitment to equity, unwavering dedication to the membership, and the perfect combination of visionary thinking, wisdom, and kindness.”

His CNJG legacy includes the 2023 Strategic Plan, the creation of the Racial Equity Committee, CNJG’s first policy agenda, the New Jersey Principles for Philanthropy, and leading a dynamic and diverse board.

Jeff was the President and CEO of Princeton Area Community Foundation since 2015. Before joining PACF, Jeff was President of New Brunswick Tomorrow.

You can read more at the Princeton Area Community Foundation’s tribute page and announcement of Jeff’s passing.

One year from now the 2020 Census will be in full swing. This nationwide, constitutionally-mandated count, conducted once every ten years, is our opportunity to ensure that New Jersey residents are accurately counted to secure the resources needed to support our communities. Nationally, more than $800 billion in federal funding as well as fair, proportional voting representation are at stake. In New Jersey, allocations from 16 federal programs including Medicaid, education grants, and even highway planning and construction are allotted based on the census count. This totaled over $17 billion in 2015.
 
But the 2020 Census is facing unprecedented challenges, including years of underfunding, a climate of fear, the challenges of the first “high tech” census, and the potential addition of an untested citizenship question. That means we will all have to work together to overcome these challenges and help achieve a fair and accurate census to ensure that the hardest-to-count communities—like people of color, low-income folks, LGBTQ people, immigrant communities, rural communities, and young children—aren’t missed. Based on the latest census estimates, approximately 22% of New Jersey’s population lives in hard-to-count areas. 
 
CNJG joins the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation’s Funders Census Initiative, United Philanthropy Forum and philanthropy-serving organizations around the country in asking our members to commit to supporting and encouraging a fair and accurate census.

The Census is one of our nation’s most important and consequential civic obligations. Getting it right and counting everyone ensures people and communities can thrive.  

Please feel free to reach out to me or Deputy Director Theresa Jacks for information about the Council’s work on behalf of a full, fair and accurate 2020 Census.
 
Sincerely,

Maria Vizcarrondo, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers

"Co-Creation" is a case study about the Connecticut Early Childhood Funder Collaborative, a project of the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy. The case study, written by Patricia Bowie, examines co-creation, an emerging systems change collaboration model which grew out of a funder-and-state partnership. This unique partnership led to the creation by executive order of a new and independent Office of Early Childhood, which was formally approved by the Connecticut State Legislature in 2013. The companion piece, "Taking on New Roles to Address 21st Century Problems," looks at co-creation from the perspective of a regional association of grantmakers.

The Connecticut Early Childhood Funder Collaborative comprises 14 funders from around the state who bring many years of experience in supporting and operating programs that serve the needs of children and families.

CNJG joined 250 delegates from the across the country over 3 days last week for Foundations on the Hill. Joining me, the CNJG delegation included Jeremy Grunin, President, Grunin Foundation, Calvin Ledford Jr., President, and Maria Spina, Manager, PSEG Foundation, Marianna Schaffer, Vice President of Programs, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Catherine Wilson, President and CEO, United Way Greater Newark, and Lucy Vandenberg, Executive Director, Schumann Fund for New Jersey. Lucy serves as the co-chair of the CNJG Leadership and 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.

While we were in Washington, the Charitable Act was introduced by Senators Lankford and Coons during a press conference on March 1. The bipartisan bill makes charitable giving available to nonitemizers. Throughout our meetings, we urged our legislators to support this proposal, and hope it will be introduced on the House side soon. Several United Philanthropy Forum staff and FOTH participants attended the announcement, including Calvin, Maria, and Catherine. 
 
CNJG’s Strategic Plan positions the Council to move beyond “defense of the sector issues,” and this year, in addition to advocating for charitable giving, we also advocated for the Nonprofit SEAT Act. This proposed legislation, if done right, could be a game changer. The bill proposes to create the White House Office on Nonprofit Sector Partnership, an interagency council, and advisory board. It directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics to release quarterly economic data on the nonprofit sector in the same way as other industries. While on the Hill, we heard the bill is likely to be introduced in the next few weeks. 
 
In addition to advocating for legislation that supports our work, and educating Congress about the social sector, FOTH also helps build relationships with our Congressional delegation. We were thrilled to meet directly with Representatives Watson Coleman, Kim, and Payne, and newly elected Congressman Kean. Relationship building and partnerships are key approaches highlighted in our strategic plan because they are integral to moving forward philanthropy’s impact.

 
 
On Thursday, 3/9 at 12:00 noon, we’ll jointly host with the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, a webinar outlining the 2023 CDS program with the Office of Senator Menendez. The Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) program enables members of Congress to allocate existing funding for specific local projects by nonprofit organizations. Senator Menendez’ staff will outline the program, eligibility requirements, and application procedures. We hope you’ll join us, and encourage your grantees and nonprofit partners to attend. Register here.
 
It was quite an eventful 3 days – advocating for important policy, witnessing the introduction of the Charitable Act, strengthening and building relationships with our legislators, planning a webinar to inform the sector about funding opportunities, and engaging in activities that support our strategic plan. 
 
Another important platform to strengthen and inform both the philanthropic and nonprofit sector in NJ is on May 23. The Conference for the Social Sector: Doing Good Better will explore how funders and nonprofits can address philanthropy’s power imbalances, rethink traditional grantmaking practices to better serve New Jersey communities, and position equity as a driving force. Register today!
 
Sincerely,

Theresa Jacks, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers