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In this arts briefing, Nadia Elokdah, Vice President and Program Director for Grantmakers in the Arts, will discuss the unique opportunity for arts grantmakers to support advocacy and influence policy through their funding decisions and why the arts should be included in decision-making processes. She will also cover the importance of arts funding in building narrative power and driving cultural change. Vanessa Ramalho, Director of External Relations of ArtPride New Jersey, will highlight the challenges faced by arts and cultural organizations in New Jersey and their intersections with community issues relating to the ongoing changes in federal policy. She will also share how ArtPride New Jersey is leveraging its statewide reach to develop collaborative advocacy strategies to influence and help shape policies informed by the needs and voices of the arts sector and the communities they serve. Vanessa will explore ways that funders might shift their focus and priorities to better meet the needs of organizations that are navigating increasing financial uncertainty as a result of federal policy changes.
Nadia Elokdah is an urbanist and design strategist with more than a decade working at the intersection of public systems and cultural practice. She currently serves as Vice President & Director of Programs at GIA. Most recently she served as special projects manager with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs coordinating the City’s monuments commission. Prior, she served as coordinator in the development of the City’s first cultural plan, CreateNYC, in which she coordinated and led hundreds of engagements with a broad cross-section of the public, as well collaborating in the writing and production of the plan. She is devoted to civic engagement through culturally responsible, inclusive, and equitable design practice, exemplified in collaborations with the International Design Clinic, in.site collaborative, and Monuments Lab. Nadia is a trained architect and designer, researcher, professor, and published author, including Identity Crisis, a cultural exploration of urban planning through the hammam. She currently serves as steering committee member of the Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA) Non-Black POC Solidarity! into Action Committee, National Coalition for Arts Preparedness & Emergency Response (NCAPER) Programming Working Group, and an advisory board member for Unsettled.
Vanessa Ramalho, Director of External Relations, supports ArtPride’s advocacy and government affairs work, leading efforts to move forward legislative priorities that support the sustainability of the arts in New Jersey. Vanessa also builds relationships with constituents throughout the state — from community members to arts organizations, and local and state representatives — to support the cultivation of a thriving arts ecosystem. With nearly 20 years of experience in the nonprofit arts & cultural sector, Vanessa has led community education, fundraising, and grassroots advocacy projects across a range of organizations, including the Sadie Nash Leadership Project, the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA), Project KISS of New York Presbyterian Hospital, The Princeton Ballet School, the Asian Arts Initiative, and the Center for Babaylan Studies.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $75 for Non Member Grantmakers
This program is only open to staff and trustees from grantmaking organizations.
Programs in this Series:
March 13: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Immigration
March 20: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Health
March 27: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Environment
April 3: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Education
April 10: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Housing
April 17: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Media & Journalism
April 24: Making Sense of Federal Policy: Understanding What it Means for NJ: Arts
Webinar Video
Strengthening nonprofit organizations is not just a nice-to-have but an essential part of our work as grantmakers to ensure that nonprofits have the resources they need to address today’s most pressing social concerns. Indeed, the vast majority of staffed foundations — 86 percent — do just that, invest in organizational strengthening in areas such as leadership, fundraising, evaluation, communications and technology.
While capacity building is a critical part of our work, traditional models of capacity building tend not to account for culture, systems and power in their design, too often “rendering them inadequate for communities of color.” The limitations of models that do not consider dynamics of power and issues of equity have never been more apparent than they are now. At the time of this writing, we are navigating a deadly global pandemic and bearing witness to massive protests for racial justice, both of which are bringing renewed attention to the deep and persistent racial inequities that exist in society writ large, including within philanthropic institutions.
In the midst of these seismic societal shifts, our field is taking stock of how we as individuals and institutions are participating in systems that perpetuate inequity, engaging in deep dialogue and reflection on how we can do better, and adopting more equitable and transformative philanthropic practices. And although we must make changes across the breadth of our institutions to become more equitable, capacity building is a particularly powerful case study of how racial inequities show up in our practices and how we can take intentional steps to mitigate those inequities.
At a time when nonprofits and philanthropy were needed the most, the pandemic forced most social sector organizations to go fully or partially remote. As we enter 2021, it seems that many organizations will continue to operate virtually for some time, and others are even considering what it would be like to make this transition permanently.
During this informative webinar session, Christine Michelle Duffy, Director of the New Jersey Program at Pro Bono Partnership, and Christopher Petermann, Partner at PKF O’Connor Davies, will share practical suggestions, policies, and procedures that nonprofits and foundations should consider when some or all of their workforce is working remotely. We’ll also discuss the major challenges that nonprofits have faced when adapting to this new virtual world, and how philanthropy can help its grantee partners moving forward.
Anyone interested in providing a remote work option for employees, going fully virtual for the long-term, or supporting nonprofit operations in the current context will want to attend this webinar.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $50 for Nonmember Grantmakers
Webinar Video
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
CNJG is pleased to offer a new member benefit: ValuesAdvisor. Many foundations now recognize that the investments made from their corpus have the power to support their mission, but don’t know how to take the first step: finding a trusted financial advisor with the right expertise. We now offer you free access to ValuesAdvisor, a nonprofit, online, searchable database of peer-recommended financial advisors who have the expertise you need. You can learn more about the platform by watching this short, 3 minute video. In this webinar with ValuesAdvisor Co-Founder Kate Simpson, you will learn about how the platform can be used to further your mission (climate, DEI, place based, etc.).
This webinar pairs nicely with CNJG’s Impact Investing Bootcamp series.
COST: Free for CNJG Members
Webinar Video
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers is the center for philanthropy in New Jersey, serving the leading independent, corporate, family and community foundations as well as public grantmakers of our state. We support our members by strengthening their capacity to address New Jersey and society’s most difficult problems. We also access the resources of the philanthropic community – funding, expertise, leverage - to provide leadership on statewide issues.
Vision
CNJG envisions a healthy, thriving, and civically engaged New Jersey where people of all places, racial identities, socio-economic backgrounds, abilities, and identify expressions are valued for their gifts and talents, and we can all reach our full potential and participate generously in the common good.
Mission
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers supports and elevates New Jersey’s philanthropic community through shared learning, collaborative and trusting relationships, network building, and leadership.
CNJG extends philanthropy’s contribution to a changing society.
Philanthropy is dedicated to the public good. It joins the public and private sectors to improve the wellbeing of individuals and communities across the U.S and the world. The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers is the network of and for philanthropy in our state.
Our members elevate their practice of philanthropy by working with their donor colleagues and learning from experts in their field. CNJG is able to broker partnerships and alliances to solve problems, leverage shared resources, and forge sustainable solutions to bring about long-term change. This is essential when faced with fragmented systems, insufficient resources, and needs that seem only to be growing.
Whether you are a funder meeting society’s most urgent needs, addressing how sectors operate at a systems level or focused on problem solving and influencing policy, CNJG can help you maximize your impact.
A Virtual Discussion Series to Activate Collective Action
This is a three part series being held March 26, April 30, & May 29 from 2-3:30pm.
In this moment of rapid change and uncertainty, many in philanthropy are scrambling to figure out what to do next. While a handful of foundations have taken swift action to support grantees – including significant moves to increase payouts – there isn’t yet a groundswell of coordinated action. Meanwhile, nonprofits are going into strategy-and-survival mode to keep their work afloat as our communities face unprecedented challenges.
Amid all this confusion, one thing is clear: philanthropy has a critically important role to play in this moment. As many leaders are pointing out, now is the time for philanthropy to lean into trust-based principles and rise up in solidarity with nonprofits that are working on the front lines of every issue facing our communities. While trust-based philanthropy was not designed as a crisis response strategy, it is exactly in these moments when this approach can be leveraged for impact.
Join the trust-based philanthropy community for a virtual discussion series as we break down insights and recommendations for how funders can meet this moment to support the strength and resilience of our communities. Over time, we have built a collective movement of funders who see the inherent value of partnering alongside nonprofits to meet the needs and dreams of our communities. Now is the time for us to tap into our collective power to ensure that we can weather this storm together.
Register using the above link. Once your registration has been reviewed you will receive a calendar invite to save the dates. A Zoom link will be provided closer to the session's date.
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers is the center for philanthropy in New Jersey, serving the leading independent, corporate, family and community foundations as well as public grantmakers of our state. We support our members by strengthening their capacity to address New Jersey and society’s most difficult problems. We also access the resources of the philanthropic community – funding, expertise, leverage - to provide leadership on statewide issues.
Guiding Beliefs & Principals
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers believes:
- Philanthropy contributes to a thriving democracy and is a privilege and a responsibility.
- Grantmaking is a partnership with grantees and the public, conducted in the public trust.
- Philanthropy must be undertaken seriously and responsibly, adhering to all laws and principles of fiduciary responsibility.
- Thoughtful grantmaking is informed by different perspectives, opinions and experiences.
In accordance with these beliefs:
- We deal respectfully and courteously with our applicants, grantees and donors as well as with those seeking information about our programs. We honor the confidentiality of our applicants, grantees, and donors and exercise discretion in our communications.
- We are clear and accessible about our goals and grantmaking processes and make information about our application requirements, funding priorities and programs available on a timely basis.
- We adhere to the highest ethical, legal and fiduciary standards in our operations. We recognize and disclose conflicts of interest and work to avoid perceived conflicts of interest. We maintain active oversight of all financial and investment matters.
- We regularly assess our mission and practices, including periodic review of priorities, policies, board activity, communications and the impact of our grantmaking.
- We seek to continually educate ourselves and expose ourselves to different perspectives, opinions and experiences, and, where appropriate, to share our learning and experience with our grantees, the public and government officials.
To support New Jersey’s philanthropic community in adhering to these principles, the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers provides opportunities for learning, through on-going programs, the sharing of best practices and lessons learned, and information about federal and state laws and regulations. CNJG is mindful that its members have individual charters and varying levels of staff and Board capacity, and we conduct our ongoing conversation about “best practice” with these differences in mind. Adopted July 2005