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Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin recently announced that the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC), in conjunction with the Governor’s Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Committee, has awarded 17 grants totaling more than $369,000 to police departments, schools, and non-profit organizations across the State to expand summer programs for at-risk youth.

The grants provide organizations already operating successful summer programs for at-risk youth with up to $30,000 in additional funding to enhance their programs and/or increase the number of young people they serve.

Due to these new grants, approximately 500 additional youth throughout New Jersey will be able to participate in an array of recreational, educational, and character-building activities being offered in their communities this summer.

“I’m pleased that New Jersey is able to continue its investment in programs that serve our most vulnerable young people,” said Attorney General Platkin. “The funding announced today by the Juvenile Justice Commission is emblematic of the Murphy Administration’s commitment to make sure all of New Jersey’s youth have opportunities to develop new skills, overcome challenges and achieve their optimal potential.”

Today, we are excited to announce that the Dodge Foundation’s latest cycle of grants provides support to over 30 organizations focused on addressing the root cause and repair of structural racism and inequity across New Jersey. These organizations are working on everything from building power among immigrant communities to advocating for housing and environmental justice.

We have been honored to partner with our Imagine a New Way grantees over the last few years, including those we supported in our first grantmaking cycle in 2023. In addition to those we are announcing today, we have been able to fund organizations that have already mobilized meaningful change for communities across the state. Just last week, advocates stood at Perth Amboy’s ferry port where slave ships docked from Africa in the 1700s. During a Juneteenth celebration, our partner, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, launched the New Jersey Reparations Council to measure slavery’s impact, to determine how to repair the damage, and to repay the generations who suffered. The Council will establish nine committees to examine the wealth gap, disparities in health and incarceration, school segregation and more.

The announcement of the new Council builds on the important impacts of NJISJ over the last few years. In 2021, NJISJ was part of a coalition that secured $8.4 million in state funds to create “restorative justice hubs” in Camden, Newark, Paterson, and Trenton, offering services for young people returning from incarceration. Other Imagine a New Way partners have also had tremendous impact – just last year, our grantee partners at Salvation and Social Justice successfully advocated to require, for the first time, New Jersey police officers to be licensed — as doctors and lawyers are — and set rules for decertifying officers who engage in misconduct.

Strategic asset allocation is arguably one of the most important, yet least advanced, aspects of investing. The Investment Strategy Group (ISG) in the Goldman Sachs Investment Management Division has developed a new approach to strategic asset allocation, which leverages the idea that long-term investment returns derive from multiple distinct sources called “return-generating factors.” This multi-factor approach is designed to help investors better understand the key sources of long-term return across asset classes and to increase the precision of long-term risk and return estimates. It also provides investors with a new way to think about portfolio diversification, allowing them to focus not only on diversification across asset classes but also
on diversification across the underlying sources of return.

• Frequent moves are the most significant barrier to academic success, as they disrupt both students and teachers. Students on the move need extra time and attention to get caught up, requiring teachers to spend more time with those students.
• Students who are unable to find stable shelter have difficulty meeting state or district mandates regarding the number of days they must attend school to stay enrolled.
• Often, the slow transfer of student records, along with differing course requirements from school to school, complicates the accrual of sufficient credits for homeless students to be promoted and receive a high school diploma.

Foundation leaders have a unique opportunity to serve as powerful champions of their missions. Partnering with your grantees can amplify your impact. The following guide is designed to help you start having an honest conversation in the boardroom; a conversation about your foundation’s goals, approach, and, most importantly, vision for the future.