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Home ownership remains a central pillar to the American dream. For most Americans, home equity encompasses the lion’s share of their wealth. Yet, housing is becoming increasingly inaccessible and out of reach. Median sales prices across the country have outpaced income growth. Demand for housing far outweighs supply. Costs are out of range for many. Contemporary mortgage markets still exclude more than half of Black American households from homeownership. The importance of homeownership in building wealth coupled with the oppressive legacy of racial exclusion point to the need for systemic policy change.
Together, we will:
- Hear market-specific strategies to lower entry barriers and create more equity and affordability through housing policy
- Discuss the role of philanthropy to identify, support, and educate for housing affordability and equity
Speakers:
Christie Stewart, Chief Initiative Officer, Center for Housing Opportunity (CT)
Marcel Negret, Senior Planner, Regional Plan Association
Staci Berger, President and CEO of Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey
Julian St. Patrick Clayton, Deputy Director of Policy and Research, Center for NYC Neighborhoods
Moderator:
Julian Pierce, Director, Economic Opportunity, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation
Cost: Free for CNJG Members and Non Member Grantmakers
Articles of Interest
Webinar recording
Renter Empowerment and Neighborhood Tools (RENT) for Health Equity
New York Neighbors Coalition
NYC Community Land Initiative and CLT Map
Reimagining Financial Resources for Affordable Housing Development in Fairfield County, CT in 2020
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Fiscal Recovery Funds
Who Owns Newark? Rutgers-Newark Study Finds Troubling Rise in Corporate Buying of City Homes | Rutgers University-Newark
Connecticut Housing Accessibility and Affordability (urban.org)
Fairfield County Housing Accessibility and Affordability (urban.org)
The Fourth Regional Plan - The Fourth Regional Plan (fourthplan.org)
Housing Segregation is a Choice
Be My Neighbor: Untapped Housing Solutions: ADUs and Conversions
Be My Neighbor in Fairfield County: Untapped Housing Solutions: ADUs and Conversions
CNJG’s Newark Philanthropic Liaison, Kevin Callaghan, organized a series of webinars for our Newark Funders Affinity Group and other funders to know the specific challenges of New Jersey’s largest city responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Guest speakers included, Mayor Ras Baraka, Newark Public Schools Superintendent Roger Leon, consulting firm McKinsey & Co., and Catherine Wilson, CEO of United Way of Greater Newark.
Facing Our Future was a landmark initiative looking at the systemic, long term fiscal challenges facing all levels of government in New Jersey. It grew out of a 2010 briefing CNJG held for members that outlined how a Governor’s budget is annually crafted. CNJG leadership worked with members to convene a group of enthusiastic former government leaders. Their collective experience crossed party lines, and many of them had served multiple New Jersey governors. This Leadership Group included 4 former Attorney Generals, 3, former Commissioners, 2 former State Treasurers, a former Director of the State Senate and a former Chief Justice of the NJ Supreme Court, in addition to leading New Jersey researchers.
Facing Our Future became an independent, bipartisan effort under the auspices of CNJG. It has produced 3 different reports that centered on the same theme.
United Philanthropy Forum is committed to advancing racial equity in philanthropy. We provide space for our members to connect, learn and share together on how to effectively address racial equity in their work as philanthropy-serving organizations (PSOs), and works to share our members’ learnings with the broader philanthropy field. As part of these efforts, we are pleased to share case stories from our members about their racial equity work.
Case Story
Funders Together to End Homelessness: A Racial Equity Learning Journey
Funders Together to End Homelessness began its racial equity journey in 2016. Its case story explains how the PSO named racial equity in its strategic plan and embarked on a learning journey together with its board, staff, and members to normalize the conversation about structural and historic racism and how it contributes to disparities in the homelessness system. The story also describes how Funders Together created a two-year community of practice, called Foundations for Racial Equity (FRE), that has been a critical part of its journey, and how its codified its racial equity work through the creation of its Commitment to Racial Equity.
Read Funders Together’s Case Story
Listen to Funders Together’s CEO Amanda Misiko Andere talk about her organization’s racial equity journey on an episode of the ForumNation podcast.
Case Story
Southeastern Council of Foundations: An Experiential Racial Equity Journey
In early 2018, the Southeastern Council of Foundations (SECF) along with its board undertook a racial equity learning journey in order to develop an Equity Framework that would describe and define SECF’s character, what it stood for, and what its leaders were willing to fight for. The decision to develop the Equity Framework was the culmination of years of work. SECF’s case story explains how the organization used data to inform the development of its Equity Framework, created an Equity Task Force to lead the effort of developing a Framework, and engaged board, staff and Task Force members in a racial equity learning journey.
Listen to SECF’s President & CEO Janine talk about her organization’s racial equity journey on an episode of the ForumNation podcast.
Virtual Marketplace
The Virtual Marketplace provides a list of vendors providing services of particular interest to the philanthropic community.
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers encourages its members to conduct their own due diligence when selecting vendors. This listing does not imply endorsement by CNJG.
If you are interested in being listed here, please contact us.
Marketplace Vendors
Tom Knowlton
CEO | CSR Talent Group
New York, NY
1-917-751-4482
[email protected]
www.csrtalentgroup.com
CSR Talent Group provides companies with vetted, flexible CSR, Philanthropy, ESG and Sustainability experts that can be hired on a project basis or for longer term needs. Our on-demand, global talent marketplace provides companies with a turnkey, standardized RFP process followed by immediate access to their choice of specialized experts who match their needs – and all without the overhead of a traditional consulting firm. For more information, www.csrtalentgroup.com.
Christopher D. Petermann, CPA, Co-Partner-in-Charge Private Foundation Practice
Scott A. Brown, CPA, Partner Private Foundation Practice
20 Commerce Drive, Suite 301
Cranford, NJ 07016
(908) 272-6200
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.pkfod.com
PKF O’Connor Davies, LLP is a full-service certified public accounting and advisory firm with offices located in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Florida, Rhode Island and Massachusetts and more than 1,400 professionals. The Firm provides a complete range accounting, auditing, tax and management advisory services to over 4,000 not-for-profit organizations – including 500 private foundations.
Christine Michelle Duffy, Director New Jersey Program
Parsippany, NJ
(732) 227-0800
[email protected]
www.probonopartner.org
Pro Bono Partnership provides free legal help to nonprofits in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. The Partnership has been helping nonprofits build capacity, reduce risk, and keep up with legal requirements for 25 years! In addition to direct legal advice, the Partnership offers a free Legal Resource Helpline (in NJ: 973-240-6955), important updates via email, and free and low-cost webinars, workshops, and articles covering most-asked-about topics.
Adam Holzberg, Partner
389 Interpace Parkway, Ste 3
Parsippany, NJ 07054
(973) 554-6065
[email protected]
www.saxllp.com
SAX is a Top 100 accounting, tax, and advisory firm serving the needs of privately held companies, family-owned businesses, nonprofit organizations, and high-net-worth individuals. With a commitment to guiding clients through complex financial landscapes, SAX provides strategic solutions that drive growth, compliance, and long-term success. Founded in 1956, the firm is headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, with additional offices across the region.
Amy Fiore, Managing Director
LinkedIn
[email protected]
Maureen Prout Alvidrez, Managing Director
LinkedIn
[email protected]
Sobel Bixel: Consulting for Nonprofits is a fundraising and organizational management consulting group of experienced nonprofit and development professionals focused on campaigns, feasibility studies, strategic planning, leadership training & development, and fundraising strategy. Learn more at www.sobelbixel.com
Keith Timko, Executive Director
One Gateway Center, Ste. 2600
Newark, NJ 07102
(646) 436-0453
[email protected]
www.supportcenteronline.org
Support Center is a nonprofit capacity building organization originally established in 1971. We have been a trusted local partner to nonprofits in the greater New Jersey/New York/Connecticut area for more than 30 years. Support Center specializes in organizational development, consulting and executive transition and has worked with grantmakers directly and with grantees on initiatives ranging from leadership programs to individual executive transition and strategy and management initiatives.
Larissa Lazaro, Sales Consultant – Nonprofit
640 5th Avenue, 19/F
New York, NY 10019
(646) 895-0995
[email protected]
www.trinet.com
TriNet provides small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) with full-service HR solutions tailored by industry. To free SMBs from HR complexities, TriNet offers access to human capital expertise, benefits, risk mitigation and compliance, payroll, all enabled by industry leading technology capabilities. TriNet’s suite of products also includes services and software-based solutions to help streamline workflows by connecting HR, Benefits, Employee Engagement, Payroll and Time & Attendance. From Main Street to Wall Street, TriNet empowers SMBs to focus on what matters most—growing their business and enabling their people. TriNet, incredible starts here.
George H. Stout Jr., Manager
(215) 525-3121
[email protected]
www.yptc.com
For nearly 30 years, Your Part-Time Controller has focused exclusively on helping nonprofit organizations with their accounting, financial reporting, and financial management. YPTC works on-site or remotely, with all types of nonprofit organizations.
We are pleased to share Strengthening Philanthropy in Newark - Report to the Field 2015 from the Office of the Newark Philanthropic Liaison. First established in 2007, the Liaison office represents one of the nation’s first formal partnerships between a city and the philanthropic community. The initiative began as a partnership between the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers in collaboration with then Mayor Cory A. Booker. We are proud this unique partnership continues with Mayor Ras Baraka and his new administration.
This report provides a brief summary of some of the substantial activities and impact the Office of the Newark Philanthropic Liaison facilitated throughout 2015. The strategy of collective impact is thriving throughout Newark thanks in large part to the work of the Liaison, and the funding community’s support of and robust engagement with the Office of the Mayor and anchor institutions across the city continue to reap positive outcomes. The Office of the Newark Philanthropic Liaison is supported by: Bank of America, The Foundation for Newark’s Future, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The MCJ Amelior Foundation, The Nicholson Foundation, Panasonic Corporation of North America, The Prudential Foundation, Schumann Foundation for New Jersey, Turrell Fund, Victoria Foundation, and PSEG Foundation providing in-kind support and meeting space.
Feeding America estimates that an additional 17.1 million Americans may go hungry due to the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak. Join us to explore how COVID-19 is exacerbating food insecurity in New Jersey and how philanthropy can support solutions that reduce hunger in the wake of this crisis. Cathy McCann, Chair Emeritus of NJ VOAD and former COO of the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, will open up the program with an overview of the issue, what food insecurity looks like during this particular disaster, and long-term needs that will need to be addressed during recovery.
We’ll then hear from Carlos Rodriguez, CEO of the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Carlos will present what he is seeing on the ground, challenges that local food banks and pantries are experiencing, and how philanthropy can help to combat food insecurity in the short, mid, and long-term phases of this crisis.
To close out the webinar, Adele LaTourette, Director of Hunger Free New Jersey, will outline state and federal responses to increased need during COVID-19, share advocacy efforts to address food insecurity issues, and offer solutions to help spur change.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members and NonMember Grantmakers
This program is only open to staff and trustees from grantmaking organizations.
Webinar Video
Public policy is a vital aspect of the work of many of New Jersey's grantmaking organizations and is an integral component of CNJG's programs and member services. CNJG's Policy Committee advise and assist CNJG in identifying issues for potential action.
In late 2023, CNJG’s Board of Trustees approved our first-ever Policy Agenda. The Policy Agenda aligns with CNJG’s 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, specifically Goal #3, Amplify Our Collective Voice. This agenda includes our approach to the work, followed by five policy priorities. Read or download the agenda.
Resource Websites
- United Philanthropy Forum Public Policy Focus
- Center for Non-Profits: Public Policy
- Council on Foundations’ Public-Philanthropic Partnership Initiative
- Council on Foundations’ Advocacy Resources
- Independent Sector: Policy and Advocacy
To learn more about what CNJG is doing to foster deeper relationships between New Jersey grantmakers and public and elected officials in Trenton and Washington, D.C., contact Theresa Jacks.
- 6 Practices of Trust-Based Philanthropy
- Trust-Based Philanthropy Resources
- Grantmakers for Effective Organizations: Systems Grantmaking Resource Guide
- Solving the World’s Biggest Problems: Better Philanthropy Through Systems Change
- Trust-Based Philanthropy News
- The Holy Grail of Funding: Why and how foundations give unrestricted funding
- The Casey Foundation’s Journey to Equitable Grant-making
- Community-Centric Fundraising
- Vu Le, Nonprofitaf.com
- To Support Shifts in Philanthropic Practices, Foundations Must Reimagine Their Internal Structures and Processes
Doing Good Better, a partnership of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, is a community of funders and nonprofits taking action against the power imbalances and racial inequities in philanthropy, nonprofits, and government.
Multi-year Grants
Affirmation: Multi-year funds provided both reliability and breathing room for nonprofits.
Making fundamental and long-lasting change comes with the promise of reliable investments. Longer grant terms create an environment where collaborative partnerships can flourish, and trust and transparency break down power dynamics. The result is that nonprofits have the “breathing room” and financial stability to focus activities where they are most needed.
Although many funders award grants to the same nonprofits year after year, they often require submission of annual applications that request information they already have and are complex and needlessly lengthy. These processes can heighten mutual distrust. From a practical standpoint, multi-year awards reduce paperwork for both funder and nonprofit and open communication channels promoting shared goals, mutual trust, and increased overall impact.
Activities
• For funders that historically award repeat annual grants to the same nonprofit partners, shift from an annual grant/proposal cycle to a long-term, multi-year commitment with an annual outcomes/progress report in lieu of a full application.
• Tailor grant terms to suit grantee timelines and needs (negotiated outcomes and milestones).
• If data collection is required solely to meet a funder’s compliance requirements, the funder should assume this responsibility or provide sufficient funding and/or capacity for the nonprofit to meet the requirement.
Short-term Outcomes
• The number of funders making multi-year grants increases by 50% over the previous years.
Long-term Outcomes
• More funders convert an annual application process for repeat grantee partners to a multi-year commitment with an annual outcomes report at the most, instead of full proposals each year.
• Funders assume responsibility for data collection or provide sufficient funding and/or capacity for the nonprofit to meet the requirement.
• Grant terms are suited to grantee timelines and needs (negotiated outcomes and milestones).
How to Begin Doing Good Better on Reliability
Learning opportunities
• What barriers keep funders from making long-term commitments to repeat grantee partners? Are any of these barriers legal?
• What are the minimum data requirements for funders to collect from repeat grantee partners?
Pre-Work
• Address the barriers to awarding multi-year grants through tested tools.
• Learn about how multi-year grants strengthen grantee partners and improve philanthropic, nonprofit, and community impact.
• Research mechanisms funders can use to meet legal compliance requirements while gaining trust in their grantee partners.
Welcome to the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers’ Foundation Funding Map, where members have free access to accurate, up-to-date grantmaking data critical to smart, strategic giving that makes the biggest impact.
The data shown on the map is from CNJG member and non-member foundations, corporate giving programs and others that have submitted their grants data through this Get on the Map! Campaign. The greater the number of funders that submit their data, using the template, the more complete this picture of how funds are distributed in New Jersey will be.
Dates & Times
Tuesday, November 9 - 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, November 10 - 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, November 16 - 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
CEOs, executive directors, CFOs, trustees, investment committee members, and finance managers of foundations and endowed nonprofits gathered together over three afternoons of learning and discussion during CNJG’s 2021 Investment Forum for Foundations and Endowments.
Attendees heard from leading asset managers, financial service institutions, professional advisors and practitioners who shared best practices and valuable insights focused on successful endowment management. Pointed, strategic, and masterful keynote speeches and educational workshop sessions explored a wide range of timely and useful topics, such as impact and ESG investing, gift acceptance policies, alternative investments, governance and due diligence, and so much more.
Sustainable philanthropy thrives on careful and skillful stewardship of the corpus. This signature event grew out of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers’ Finance and Investment Affinity Group convenings, which have long offered CFO’s, investment committee members, board chairs and others with oversight of their endowment, exposure to a wide range of representatives, as well as thoughtful expertise and perspectives from the investment community.
Access Whova until May 16, 2022!
Registrants can access all three plenary sessions and 11 concurrent sessions on Whova for six months after the event, until May 16, 2022. You can log in with the same email and password you used to access the event. Visit Whova.
For questions, please contact Anna D'Elia, Manager of Programs and Learning.
Shifting Narratives to Change Systems
Wednesday, December 14, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Luncheon & Keynote Presentation
Location: The Sheraton, Edison, 125 Raritan Center Parkway, Edison, NJ 08837
Friday, December 16, 11:00 – 12:15 pm
Virtual Workshop via Zoom
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers thanks everyone who attended our 2022 Annual Meeting & Holiday Luncheon and the Virtual Workshop! We were delighted to see so many familiar faces, and meet many new staff and trustees of our members.
At the business meeting, members elected the new class of trustees, and heard reports about the state of the organization. After lunch and time to reconnect with each other, we heard from our keynote, Bridgit Antoinette Evans, who explained the narrative ocean in which philanthropy swims, and gave examples of how Pop Culture Collaborative is funding organizations to reframe their narratives in which they operate.
During the virtual workshop, members learned about the changemaker experience, how it affects the relationships between funders and their nonprofit partners and even grantseekers. Attendees were led through an exercise to create a journey map, and think through strategies how to examine the experiences that nonprofits have with their organizations.
CNJG members can view recordings and additional resources from the event on the resources tab, when logged in.
Philanthropic Collaboratives:
Driving Impact and Opportunity
Thursday, December 14, 2023 - 9:00am to 3:00pm
Luncheon, Keynote Presentation & Workshop
Location: Crowne Plaza Edison, 2055 Lincoln Highway, Edison, NJ 08817
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers thanks everyone who attended our 2023 Annual Meeting & Holiday Luncheon and the Pre-Meeting Workshop that explored Philanthropic Collaboratives: Driving Impact and Opportunity. We were thrilled to reconnect with friends and colleagues and meet new members.
At the Business meeting, the membership elected the new class of Trustees. We also honored our outgoing Board Chair, Jeff Vega, for all the incredible work he accomplished during his term. After lunch and networking time, we listened attentively to Nidhi Sahni, Partner and Head of US Advisory Group, New York, Bridgespan, and Lucy Vandenberg, Executive Director of the Schumann Fund for New Jersey in conversation about the nuances and benefits of collaboration.
At the pre-meeting workshop, Tools for Funder Collaboration, presented by John Harper, Chirlie Felix, and Waheera Mardah of FSG, members were presented multiple models of collaboration and examples of collective impact followed by an opportunity to engage in dynamic discussion to further explore the concepts.
CNJG members can view the FSG PowerPoint and additional resources from the event on the resources tab, when logged in.
This advocacy and civic engagement toolkit is designed for private foundations that want to educate and encourage their grantees about getting involved in civic and policy activities to increase organizational capacity and impact. While its primary focus is on the grantmaking activity of foundations, the toolkit also addresses rules and guidance for policy involvement by foundation officials acting on behalf of their foundations.
This resource guide includes various virtual volunteer opportunities, additional resources, and best practices for corporate volunteer programs during the coronavirus pandemic.
This resource will be updated, as CNJG and corporate members collect new information and opportunities to share with colleagues.