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Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on Tuesday announced the recipients of the 2022 Creative Catalyst Fund awards. A total of 114 grants will be awarded to individual artists and artists’ collectives, with an average award of $3,200; and 34 grants will be awarded to small and midsized arts organizations with an average award of $10,100.
Baraka created the fund in January 2020 as a multiyear initiative providing the local community of artists and small and midsized arts organizations up to $1 million annually for at least three years. The fund has awarded a total of $2.35 million in grants in its first three years. Grantees use the funds to help pay for operating costs, space rentals, staff, programming costs, supplies and equipment, and COVID-related expenses.
“Newark has a long history as a center of the arts, and our administration has supported the arts in word and deed, creating great works like the second-longest public mural on the East Coast. We are proud, privileged and humbled to write a new chapter by supporting this year’s grantees. Their works will define the voice and talent of a new generation of Newark artists for our present and future,” Baraka said.
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 Provident Bank Foundation announced the recipients of its inaugural Empowerment Grant cycle.
PBF’s Board of Directors has approved 41 multi-year grants totaling $515,000 in funding annually to support the missions of nonprofit organizations in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Empowerment Grants range from $5,000 to $20,000 per grant and will be automatically renewed at the same level in 2026.
Projects funded by these grants align with PBF’s priority areas of education, human services, and workforce development, and their corresponding areas of interest that include community colleges, vocational programs, special education services, housing assistance, food security, health-care access for uninsured and underinsured individuals, youth mental health, job training, employment supports, and reentry programs.
“This is the first year of our Empowerment Grant program, which emerged from The Provident Bank Foundation’s recent strategic revisioning process focused on advancing equity and inclusion,” says Samantha Plotino, vice president and executive director of The Provident Bank Foundation.
The New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH) will distribute $211,743 in funding to 18 organizations in its latest round of grant funding awards. Of these, 8 awards are Incubation Grants, which help organizations plan, research, prototype, experiment or expand existing programs. The 10 remaining awards are Action Grants, which help organizations implement humanities-based programs, which may be new or existing.
Notably, this round marks the first time since launching the Incubation and Action Grants in 2016 that NJCH received more applications and letters of intent for Incubation Grants than for Action Grants. NJCH received 42 total applications, of which 22 were for Incubation Grants, and 20 were for Action Grants.
“Incubation Grants serve the Council’s goal of increasing organizational capacity in the humanities sector by giving institutions the time and resources for program planning and development. We consider them a particular strength of our grants program since funders often do not provide this type of funding opportunity,” said Dr. Carin Berkowitz, NJCH executive director. “There’s real value in providing organizations the opportunity to spend more time thinking and planning programs, and we’re proud to provide that.”
In partnership with the Council on Foundations, the National Center for Family Philanthropy has released Balancing Purpose, Payout, and Permanence: Strategy Guide.
How much should we spend? This is an essential question for foundations, and one of the most complex, particularly in moments of change or turmoil. This Strategy Guide invites you to reflect more deeply on how your foundation chooses to balance four factors—purpose, conditions and trends, time horizons, and assets for mission—especially in times of greater crisis or opportunity. It leaves the final decision to you, without judgment for your payout amount, lifespan, or mission.
Grantmakers occupy a powerful space of privilege in the social change sector. As such, they have a unique opportunity—and responsibility—to work proactively toward equity and inclusivity. Increasingly, grantmaking institutions are challenging themselves to live their values through their grantmaking practices.
For philanthropy to advance equity in all communities, especially low-income communities and communities of color, it needs to be able to understand the demographics of the organizations being funded (and declined), the people being served, and the communities impacted. That data should be used to assess practices and drive decision making.
PEAK Grantmaking is working to better understand and build the capacity of grantmakers for collecting and utilizing demographic data as part of their grantmaking.
“A Time for Action: Mobilizing Philanthropic Support for Boys and Young Men of Color” lays out a vision and a bold plan of action to maximize the potential of philanthropy and the private sector to increase opportunity for boys and young men of color that benefits the entire country. While it focuses on systems, policies, and practices that profoundly shape the lives of our sons and brothers, the recommended actions also help to create the conditions for all children and young adults to thrive, regardless of race, ethnicity or gender. The plan is bolstered by $194 million in initial investments in key initiatives, including for example programs to enhance school learning environments and reduce the overrepresentation of young people in the justice system.