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You don’t need to be a technologist to understand that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing our world, including philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.
As you attend next month’s CNJG 2024 Spring Colloquium – A Conversation for the Social Sector on June 18, consider what philanthropy does best as the conversation unfolds. Philanthropy takes risks. Philanthropy tests new ideas and concepts, that can then be scaled. Philanthropy drives experimentation. Philanthropy convenes thought leaders, practitioners, and community voices, to engage in full and deliberate conversations.
We’re excited to welcome Jean Westrick, Executive Director of the Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG), to moderate the morning panel session. TAG and Project Evident recently released their Responsible AI Adoption in Philanthropy framework to help grantmakers adopt AI in a manner that aligns with their mission. Jean will help us dig deeper into the framework during an afternoon session. Not only does the framework provide practical guidance, it is a clarion call for philanthropy to play a crucial role in advancing the responsible use of AI for nonprofit enablement.
Understanding this seminal role, last year, ten major foundations announced a $200 million investment to ensure AI advances the public interest. The investment is centered around five areas of need including: ensuring AI advancements protect democracy and the rights and freedoms of all people, empowering workers to “thrive amid AI-driven changes,” and supporting the development of AI international norms and rules.
Colloquium panelist Don Chen, President and CEO of the Surdna Foundation, recently spoke at the Partnership for AI’s 2024 Philanthropy Forum. There he discussed the importance of working with partners to make investments in responsible infrastructure. He expanded on these ideas, encouraging ongoing AI conversations to be reparative and healing, especially for racial equity and justice.
Governor Murphy created the New Jersey State Office of Innovation in 2018 to "improve the lives of New Jerseyans by solving public problems differently.” Colloquium panelist Dave Cole, Chief Innovation Officer, in a recent StateScoop Priorities Podcast, shared his commitment to solving problems for NJ residents using human-centered design and leveraging AI to improve services. The practical and pragmatic conversations about AI are central to philanthropy’s role in harnessing technology for good.
Our third panelist, Rachel Kimber, joined fellow social sector leaders in calling for philanthropy to move forward with “responsible AI development and adoption.” Published by the Center for Effective Philanthropy, the blog Responsible AI: How Philanthropy Can (and Should) Support the Movement outlines four critical concepts for philanthropy: drive sector-level vision, fund the back-end, develop guidelines, and invest in equitable innovations.
I encourage you to review the resources we’re gathering on the Colloquium web area to further inform your thinking.
While AI and analytical technologies are revolutionary tools reshaping industries, as Vilas Dhar, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, said in an interview with the Chronicle of Philanthropyrecently, “These conversations are very rarely actually about technology.” In the article, How A.I. Could Solve Humanity’s Biggest Problems — If Philanthropy Catches Up, Dhar implores philanthropy to look closely at how AI is changing our world and challenges us to examine how philanthropy must change. Indeed, philanthropy has several roles to play, including fueling the big picture and visionary conversations, and helping to drill down on the more practical applications of AI for grantmakers and nonprofits in support of a just and equitable world.
Join us at the CNJG 2024 Spring Colloquium: A Conversation for the Social Sector - Empowering the Future: Harnessing AI and Data for Philanthropic Social Impact on Tuesday, June 18, to engage in these big, bold, and transformative conversations.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Sincerely,
Theresa Jacks, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers
A key objective of the Scaling What Works initiative has been to translate insight and learning from grantmaker intermediaries involved with the Social Innovation Fund and share them with the broader philanthropic community. The fifth guide in the Lessons Learned series presents the benefits and challenges of partnerships between local and national funders, and highlights key considerations for both kinds of funders to foster success in their collaboration.
The City of Newark and Newark Philanthropic Liaison are working closely with several consortia of nonprofits to address some of the City’s most critical challenges. Grantmakers with an interest in Newark are connecting with these groups to better understand issues, interact with organizational leaders, and find ways to leverage philanthropy across a range of needs.
The coalitions often have ambitious agendas that focus on reviewing and changing policy on local, statewide and national levels. They offer a platform to share information and create strong cases for increased investment from both public and private sources. Below is an overview of just three of these groups. Through their convenings, they provide a powerful opportunity for Newark-related nonprofits and grantmakers to mobilize to improve the fortunes of the State’s largest City.
Opportunity Reconnect
Mayor Cory Booker has made public safety the leading priority of his administration. Success will come only through lowered recidivism, better management, and increased job opportunities and support for persons returning from prison. The Opportunity Reconnect (OR) consortia meets weekly at Essex County College, the site of OR’s comprehensive one-stop center that offers ex-prisoners an array of services from dozens of organizations and agencies.
OR’s strength lies in its ability to create partnerships and memorandums of understanding among for-profit government contractors, community-based groups and government agencies. The shared protocols are having a profound effect on the City’s ability to provide efficient and effective services for thousands of returning inmates each month. The agreements are enabling the City to respond to RFPs from both private and federal sources to strengthen the capacity of OR and its effect on public safety. The City welcomes participation of grantmakers to further leverage the strength of these proposals and maximize OR’s continued growth.
Interagency Collaboration for Addiction Treatment
This informal collaborative of nonprofits, faith-based groups, government agencies, and funding partners meets regularly at Integrity House, a long-term residential and outpatient treatment program. Integrity House is the lead agency for the United Way’s Bridge to Recovery, a consortium effort of over 200 agencies dedicated to helping those with addiction problems.
Among ICAT’s goals is the creation of a central Newark facility to handle all intake, referral and screening of individuals in need of detox. The group is also seeking to link and combine databases among agencies for better support of clients, who often include the homeless and ex-prisoners. A number of legislative barriers prevent some persons from receiving aid to cover costs of addiction treatment. These persons often end up in hospital emergency rooms or under the jurisdiction of law enforcement. ICAT is looking at ways to advocate for policy changes that would provide the additional preventive-care funding to remedy these situations.
Green Future Summit Working Groups
Mayor Booker has called for the City to become a leader in urban sustainability by implementing economic and environmental strategies that will make Newark a safer, wealthier, and healthier place for its children and families. Under the auspices of Apollo Alliance, a national organization, a team of allies is developing an agenda and recruiting participants for the “Green Future Summit” in Newark on September 11-12. Pre-summit planning sessions have involved a coalition of businesses, government leaders, environmental groups, community-based organizations and grantmakers.
The coalition has divided into working groups focused on three areas: green buildings, green space, and green economic development/jobs. The working groups are now drafting roadmaps and defining concrete, measurable goals and strategies for each issue area (e.g. "retrofit 100 homes"). They are also securing commitments from stakeholders on how they will work to meet these goals.
The groups communicate through listservs and periodic check-in calls as they shape the Summit agenda, recruit speakers, and build the relationships necessary to carry their work forward to develop a roadmap for the City. Members of the CNJG are playing an active role in the Summit and additional partners are welcome.
CNJG members can gather a wealth of information by tapping into the resources of Newark’s collaborative groups. Additional consortia have been formed to address the foreclosure crisis, homelessness, newly-formed Family Success Centers, and other areas.
"Find people who will make you better."
—Michelle Obama
The day has arrived. It is my last day serving as President and CEO of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers. In a few days, I will step over to your side of the aisle in my role leading the Champlin Foundation.
As I said at that beautiful and overwhelmingly wonderful farewell gathering last week, it has been an extraordinary gift and a profound privilege to serve in this role these past 13-plus years. And I feel very good about leaving this precious network in the hands of the exceptional team of Pat Foo, Theresa Jacks, and Craig Weinrich, along with the very capable interim leadership of Jon Shure and Connie Ludwin.
I’ve been struggling with what to say in my farewell message to all of you, the spectacular membership of the Council. First and foremost, I want to express my thanks and gratitude.
Thank you for the deep and wide education I’ve received these past 13 years because of all you do and want to do better. I’ve often said the best thing about this job is that I get to learn a little bit about a lot of different things because the membership has such fascinating and intensely important interests. I have gratitude for the amazing relationships I’ve been able to have with some of the smartest, kindest, most thoughtful, and creative people imaginable.
I also am enormously grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given.
- My year in Lead New Jersey that really laid so much of the groundwork I needed for CNJG’s programming and affinity groups.
- My two-month sabbatical that led directly to our Race, Racism and Ramifications for Philanthropy learning journey.
- The privilege to serve on the board and then chair our national network, the United Philanthropy Forum.
- And, the ability to help the Council make a meaningful difference in our field and our state through initiatives like Facing Our Future, the Disaster Philanthropy Playbook and our post-Sandy work, as well as creation of CNJG’s Guiding Beliefs and Principles.
Here is what is at the heart of all of it though: When a funder joins the Council it means they recognize they cannot do their best work in a vacuum or in isolation. They realize the need to find people who will make them better, just as I reference in Michelle Obama's quote above. They want to be smarter, work more thoughtfully, be truly effective. The Council is at its best when our members come together to learn, share ideas and strategies, collaborate, and be open to innovation. When I was given the gift of leading the Council, my mother would ask me to explain again what it was I would be doing. My response to her became my consistent little “elevator speech" for years to come. “My organization helps those that make grants be the best grantmakers they can be.”
As you all know well, working as a funder can get pretty heady. How does the joke go? Congratulations, you got a foundation job. You’ve now told your last bad joke. The power imbalance is so extreme.
What I’ve learned is that the best funders are the ones that really listen, not talk at their grantees about what they ought to be doing. Respect, faith, and appreciation for the people working in nonprofit charities is the hallmark of their approach. The best funders are the ones that show up as planned, on time for meetings and site visits, that don’t make an applicant jump through endless hoops for a grant -- especially a small grant.
The funders I’ve come to admire most are those that seek to understand a charity’s work and trust the expertise and wisdom of its executive leadership. These funders don’t micro-manage, mansplain, second-guess, or over burden. These funders recognize the power dynamic at play yet seek candid, colleague-to-colleague conversations and problem-solving with nonprofit leaders. They power-up nonprofit colleagues instead of powering over them.
These are just some of the marvelous lessons you’ve shared with me over the years, and I’m grateful to have them as I head into the role of a grantmaker for the largest private foundation in a small but mighty state.
With bountiful thanks and appreciation,
Nina Stack, President
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers
I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing summer. For many, summer offers a time to move at a slower pace, and perhaps take some time for reflection and recharging. I hope you were able to do some of that at least during your official “away-from-the-office” vacation time.
As summer wanes and we come back to our offices, Governance Committee co-chairs, Craig Drinkard and Justin Kiczek, have extended an invitation – if you are interested in serving on the CNJG Board of Trustees, or know someone who would make a good trustee, please complete the application form, and email it to Office Manager Dana Schwartz, along with a brief biography, no later than September 13, 2023. Read Craig and Justin’s full letter.
The Board will present a slate of candidates to CNJG members at the annual meeting of members. Please save the date - the CNJG Annual Meeting & Holiday Gathering is on Thursday, December 14 at the Crowne Plaza Edison. Registration will be available soon.
In reviewing the nominations for board service, the Governance Committee considers participation and engagement in at least one CNJG committee, and/or serving as co-chair of a Council affinity group. Standing committees of the board include Audit, Finance, Governance, Member Engagement, Leadership and Policy, Racial Equity, Signature Programs, and Strategic Plan Implementation. Most committees meet at least twice a year. Committees focus on a specific issue or task, and ensures the board’s overall work is divided into manageable tasks. Committee participation is open to all CNJG members. If you are interested in learning more and/or serving on a committee, please let me know. Committee work allows you to expand your personal network and build relationships with colleagues, demonstrate and develop your own leadership, and gain new knowledge and skills that you might not regularly use in your day-to-day role. You’ll also be contributing to the success and future of CNJG, as well as helping to move forward the 2023 - 2025 Strategic Plan.
If you are already chairing a committee or affinity group, or serving on a committee – thank you for your leadership! We’re so grateful for your dedication and support. If you are interested in joining a committee, please reach out to me. Thank you!
Welcome back from the summer – I hope to see you at an upcoming CNJG program, and at the CNJG 2023 Annual Meeting & Holiday Gathering on December 14.
Sincerely,
Theresa Jacks, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers
A sample conflict of interest form for independent private foundations.
This report highlights three philanthropic efforts to build the capacity of local communities in the West - The Ford Family Foundation’s Ford Institute Leadership Program, the Northwest Area Foundation’s Horizons Program, and the Orton Family Foundation’s Heart and Soul Community Planning Program.
There are many ways to start a giving circle. These 10 steps can give you a starting point and a basic roadmap.
Step One - Set Goals and Structure
Bring your group together for a first meeting. Take time at this first meeting to discuss what a giving circle is. Begin the process of setting goals and structure now. Some of the decisions that you may want to discuss at this meeting are:
- How many times will the group meet?
- How will we determine our funding focus?
- Where do we hold meetings?
- Is there a limit on number of participants?
- What is the size or range of the financial contribution each member will make?
- What is the time commitment?
Remember: giving circles go beyond individual “pet” charities to pool your resources for a common goal with greater impact. Members will contribute time as well as dollars in the process.
Step Two – Establish Mission and Commitment
Once the group sets up regular meetings, it is a good idea to:
- Establish a mission
- Agree on common goals and objectives
- Name your group
- Set up an operating structure
Remember: The contribution amount can vary. Circles requirements vary – starting at $10 and going up to $25,000 or more. The group decides what is reasonable for their circle. It is important for the group to agree on the final amount.
Many circles choose one contribution level for everyone. Since no single vote on a potential grantee should outweigh another, many circles find this arrangement the best. Other circles find that a tiered giving structure or anonymous giving meets their needs.
Step Three – Decide Where to Place Your Collective Dollars
At the start of each year, members should make a financial commitment to the giving circle (i.e., write the check). There are options for where your circle members’ money can sit. There are benefits to all the options, depending on the circle’s needs, experience, and structure. Giving circles generally have no administrative “overhead.” Volunteers administer the circle and all dollars go to the designated nonprofit/s. However, some circles have found it useful to pay for administrative costs. They then receive a level of service that they cannot provide for themselves. You can:
- Open a joint bank account. (Check with a professional advisor on the tax implications)
- Partner with an organization that can act as a financial administrator of the funds.
- Establish a Donor Advised Fund at a Community or Public Foundation.
- Create a public foundation.
- Write individual checks to the chosen nonprofit/s.
- Explore other creative options that interest the group.
Step Four – Establish an Issue/Focus Area
This step may take significant discussion. Encourage the group to be as specific as possible. For example, if the group is interested in health issues for women – what specific health issues, age range or demographic? In what geographic area will you focus?
You may also want to invite “experts” to talk to the group. Some circles assign group members to investigate particular issues. Consensus is important when a giving circle decides on its focus area.
Step Five – Create Smaller Work Groups
Having members of the group volunteer for particular tasks will build personal commitment. Smaller groups make task members with different tasks.
Step Six – Develop Process and Criteria for Funding
You may decide to ask for written applications from a charity. Or, you may evaluate a group in another way. Some questions to consider as you determine your funding philosophy:
- How will we decide who receives funding?
- Will we review grant applications?
- Will we visit specific organizations that could “qualify”?
- What kind of a report will we want at the end of the project period from the recipient of these funds?
This process can be simply choosing a recipient organization based on information you gather. Or the process can be more involved. Some circles review written applications, visit the organizations and ask for a presentation on the work the organization does.
If your group is unsure of how to assess an organization, you may want to consider asking someone with a background in grant making or nonprofit administration to give the group assistance.
It is also important at this stage to establish final evaluation criteria. How will you measure your giving circle’s impact? How will the organization/s that receive funding measure the impact of this funding?
Note: Many circles try to match the level of effort they require from the grantee to the amount of money that they have to give. Nonprofits are often understaffed and short on time. It can be a burden for them to create lengthy proposals and reports for relatively small amounts of money.
Step Seven – Define Partnership with Recipient of Grant Award
Do members of your circle want to volunteer for an organization you have funded? Your circle should define in what ways they could offer assistance. Web development, finances, program planning, legal work, and mentoring are some examples of how your members might get involved. Be sure to be clear with the expectations of all involved in this new partnership.
Step Eight – Review Potential Recipients
Conducting site visits with potential grantees can be helpful in the grantmaking process. This is the time to ask questions, get clarification, and see the organization in action.
The group should set aside plenty of time to discuss the potential grantees. Members may feel strongly about funding different organizations. There needs to be time to go through this process to reach agreement.
Smaller giving circles often use a consensus model for decision-making. Larger circles tend to rely on committees and voting systems.
Be willing to take a risk by funding a start-up nonprofit, or by funding a nonprofit that may seem unconventional to traditional funders. Remember you are the “Board of Directors” and can set your own guidelines.
Step Nine – Make Grant Awards
Immediately following the group’s decision, alert the recipient and let them know when they can expect a check. It is good practice to let organizations who are not receiving funds from your circle know of your decision, too.
Step Ten – Evaluate Your Giving Circle
On a regular basis, examine the short term and long term goals of the giving circle. This will help develop a sense of satisfaction with the work you are doing and show how your contributions have made a difference. Try to determine what impact the group has had. Candid feedback from the organizations you have funded and partnered with will be an important ingredient of this process.
What comes after “strategic...?” If you said, “planning,” you’re not alone. And for many leaders of community foundations, especially small ones who don’t have the time or money for a big process, anxiety is the feeling that follows. If that’s the case, this guide is for you.
It invites you to test-drive some activities to bring your current program, operations and community leadership strategies into focus before you decide whether to create a plan or not. It helps you discover ongoing strategic practices and decide whether to keep them or not. If you already have done a strategic plan, and it is languishing on a shelf, this guide will help you refresh it.
PART A: Good Strategy Takes Practice (Not Just Planning)
PART B: Do Your Discovery
PART C: Jumpstart Your Strategy Narrative
PART D: Bring It Together
Looking To What’s Next
In response to Hurricane Ida and the devastating impact it has had on many New Jersey communities, CNJG has gathered numerous resources, articles, and information on the philanthropic response. CNJG encourages you to share these with your nonprofit and community partners. Please let us know if there is information we have missed.
CNJG Actions
CNJG in partnership with NJVOAD presented a funder briefing for the recovery efforts in New Jersey on September 10.
CNJG has created a new Disaster Response listserve for members to share information and resources, coordinate on funding, and hear about upcoming programs regarding relief and recovery efforts for all disasters that affect New Jersey communities. If you are interested in being on this listserve, please email Craig Weinrich.
At the October 2021 CNJG Board of Trustees meeting, Keith Adams, Executive Director of the NJ Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NJVOAD) gave a presentation on the ongoing challenges facing New Jersey communities. This presentation (below) was the Board’s “Mission Moment” for the meeting, a time to focus on a big picture issue affecting the philanthropic community in New Jersey.
State and National Organizations and Resources
- New Jersey Center for Nonprofits: Hurricane Ida Resource Page
Resources for nonprofits and small businesses, and information about donations and recovery. - NJVOAD: Regularly posts updates on their Facebook and Twitter pages like this recent update about Hurricane Ida.
- HELPNJNOW: A website designed to connect resources with up-to-date community needs to best respond to disasters.
- State of New Jersey: Tropical Storm Ida Resource Page
Information about NJ's response to Ida. This includes more information on the $10 million in financial relief for small businesses impacted by the storm, which will be administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. - FEMA: Hurricane Ida Response Page
- Assistance for Individuals: DisasterAssistance.gov
The Disaster Assistance Improvement Program’s mission is to provide disaster survivors with information, support, services, and a means to access and apply for disaster assistance through joint data-sharing efforts between federal, tribal, state, local, and private sector partners.
Recovery can be a long process. For more information on disaster response and recovery, visit CNJG's Disaster Response Resource Page and the Disaster Philanthropy Playbook, designed with the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
CNJG Member Recovery Funds
Community Chest of Englewood
ReNew Jersey: Ida Relief (at the Community Foundation of New Jersey)
New Jersey Economic Development Authority
United Way of Greater Newark
Other Recovery Funds
New Jersey Ida Just Recovery Fund
Articles
NJ Spotlight: Storm’s damage might boost support for more aggressive climate policy, experts hope (9/6/2021)
Center for Disaster Philanthropy: 4 Days After Hurricane Ida: A Q&A with Lori Bertman (9/2/2021)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: How to help victims of Ida from Philly (& South Jersey) (9/2/2021)
Northjersey.com: Ida has wreaked havoc across New Jersey. Here's how to help victims (9/3/2021)
NJ.com: Ida’s aftermath: How to find help, how to offer help (9/3/2021)
NJ.com: Here’s how to help Ida recovery efforts in New Jersey (9/2/2021)
NBCNewYork.com: Ida Tri-State Resource Guide: How to Help, List of Emergency Services and More (9/2/2021)
Patch.com/New-Jersey/Bridgewater: Fundraisers, Donations Set Up To Help Somerset Co. Flood Victims (9/3/2021)
NJBiz: Federal government rolling out SBA loans for Ida-hit NJ businesses (9/8/21)
Patch.com/Newark: Here’s How One Local Nonprofit Aims to Help Newark Residents Impacted by Tropical Storm Ida (9/8/2021)
Center for Disaster Philanthropy: Supporting long-term recovery groups: Funding in the chaos of disaster (9/18/2021)
Developed in partnership with United Philanthropy Forum and Northern California Grantmakers, this guide shares seven practices and 12 tools for Philanthropy-Serving Organizations who seek effective ways to mobilize resources to sustain their organization’s work. The guide features perspectives from dozens of leaders of national and regional PSOs and examples from our work with these organizations. Much of the content is based on conversations and strategy work with PSO leaders, staff and board members.
This case study of the Council of Michigan Foundations' Peer Action Learning Network (PALN) is one of six examined in a report from New York University's Wagner Research Center for Leadership in Action, commissioned by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations. The PALN case study, along with the other five, explores the power of learning communities to build connections and knowledge to increase organizations’ community impact. It explains ways grantmakers can strategically support these efforts as well as key elements for designing learning communities, executing for success and extending the learning.