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New Jersey’s largest philanthropic association has named longtime social sector leader Maria Vizcarrondo as its president.
“Maria has been a trailblazer throughout her career,” said Council of New Jersey Grantmakers Board Chair William V. Engel. “We turn to her to help the state’s diverse and dedicated philanthropies to be even more effective in their quest to make this a better place.”
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers is a nonprofit organization of over 130 members representing the philanthropic community in the state. Members include family, private, community, independent and corporate foundations, and corporate giving programs.
The Council exists to strengthen and promote effective philanthropy throughout New Jersey. CNJG’s programs and resources increase the impact of organized philanthropy’s support for adequate health care, quality education, a cleaner environment, community development, historical preservation, disaster response and relief, research, recreation, culture, and other areas crucial to the fabric of New Jersey's communities.
“I am very excited about joining the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers as its CEO and working with dynamic individuals — many of whom I have known and respected throughout my nonprofit career,” Ms. Vizcarrondo said. “Most importantly, I look forward to forging partnerships that will advance the Council’s social impact as a sector leader in New Jersey communities, the region, and nation.”
Ms. Vizcarrondo, who spent most of her career in northern New Jersey, comes to the Council from Cabrini University in Philadelphia, where she most recently was Director of Community Development and External Relations. She was inaugural Executive Director of the school’s Nerney Leadership Institute, launched in 2013.
Ms. Vizcarrondo brings more than 25 years of experience transforming service organizations and has served her communities as both an appointed and elected official.
In 2006, when he was first elected Mayor of Newark Cory Booker tapped Ms. Vizcarrondo to head Newark’s Health and Human Service Department, the largest of its kind in New Jersey. One of her first actions in that role was to develop a Children’s Bill of Rights to benchmark improvements in the lives of children and families throughout the city. Her accomplishments included securing state funding to establish Family Success Centers to provide neighborhood- based services, and launching a major citywide campaign to raise the immunization rates of Newark’s children.
Prior to her mayoral appointment, Ms. Vizcarrondo served as the first woman president and CEO of United Way of Essex and West Hudson. Her pioneer work in re-engineering the organization’s mission into community building was documented in the United Way Transformation Diaries. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Ms. Vizcarrondo led the New Jersey United Ways in a statewide coordination of services for affected families and managed the distribution of corporate funding for these efforts.
She was elected Essex County Surrogate in 1993 and served four years of a five-year term before leaving to join United Way.
Ms. Vizcarrondo has been listed among the “100 Most Influential People in New Jersey” and was a founding member of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.
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Get on the map and give smarter
Get on the Map is an exciting data-sharing initiative designed to dramatically improve the quality and availability of giving data for our region. Using this tool to put your grantmaking in context will provide valuable insights that can transform your giving.
Knowing how other foundations or corporations are funding in a certain geographic area or with a specific nonprofit can make everyone’s work more effective.
Imagine real-time answers to questions like:
- How are others serving at-risk youth?
- Are organizations in our region receiving enough capacity building support?
- Who else funds economic development in our rural communities?
Through a partnership with Candid (formerly the Foundation Center) and the United Philanthropy Forum, Get on the Map enables CNJG members to see the scope of their grantmaking, find natural funding partners, and gain deeper understanding of New Jersey’s philanthropic landscape.
Watch the short video below to learn how easy it is to Get on the Map!
It starts with sharing your giving data
Your data will power valuable resources for your organization and our region, including access to the CNJG Foundation Funding Map, a special interactive searchable mapping platform, engineered by Candid.
When you share your data, you control your story. No one knows your grantmaking better than you. Tell your story, your way is good for the sector because better information benefits everyone. Join the community of funders sharing their data to ensure the field is acting on the best possible information. Share Now!
Self-Paced Training for Funders on Using Candid
Candid has also launched a new, free self-paced course for funders: Funding Smarter: Using Candid Tools to Inform and Share Your Foundation’s Work. The course is meant to help funders use Candid’s mapping, data, and knowledge tools to better identify funding peers, potential grantee partners, identify funding connections and gaps, and learn from knowledge other funders have already shared. It also highlights the value of sharing data with Candid.
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.
New Jersey’s philanthropic community mourns the loss of Jeffery Vega, who passed away January 28.
Jeff joined CNJG’s Board in 2016, and during his tenure served as First Vice Chair and Board Chair, and participated on multiple committees, affinity groups, and co-chaired the Trenton Area and Mercer County Funders affinity group. Jeff shaped and cultivated the direction and focus of CNJG through his supportive and proactive leadership. His direction and guidance during the pandemic helped CNJG not only stay the course, but continue to grow and thrive.
“Working with Jeff was a joy and a privilege,” CNJG President and CEO Theresa Jacks said. “Jeff guided us through the pandemic, a leadership transition, a strategic planning process, the approval of equity principles, and CNJG’s first-ever policy agenda with a steady hand, fierce commitment to equity, unwavering dedication to the membership, and the perfect combination of visionary thinking, wisdom, and kindness.”
His CNJG legacy includes the 2023 Strategic Plan, the creation of the Racial Equity Committee, CNJG’s first policy agenda, the New Jersey Principles for Philanthropy, and leading a dynamic and diverse board.
Jeff was the President and CEO of Princeton Area Community Foundation since 2015. Before joining PACF, Jeff was President of New Brunswick Tomorrow.
You can read more at the Princeton Area Community Foundation’s tribute page and announcement of Jeff’s passing.
CNJG's Storify content from their Signature Events.
Sample board committee descriptions, including roles and responsibilities of committee members
This paper explores community democracy as a cultural choice and a potential organizing system for philanthropy using stories that demonstrate its principles and practices, primarily growing from the experience of northern California communities. This experience offers a framework of principles and a beginning set of conclusions about how philanthropy can develop productive partnerships from the perspective of a place-based, community democracy.
Share your giving data and Get on the Map!
Your data will power valuable resources for your organization and our region including access to the CNJG Foundation Funding Map and COVID-19 Funding Map on the powerful interactive searchable mapping platform, engineered by Candid.
How to share your data
Export your grants data from your software system.
Most grants management software products have documented how to export the information.
If you don’t see your software provider on that list, download their eReporting template, an Excel spreadsheet, which you can use to complete the information they need.
Submit your data to Candid by emailing the completed template with your data in it to [email protected] and cc Craig Weinrich.
You can also follow the detailed instructions on this page.
Candid will make every effort to post your data to the map within 5 business days.
Get the answers to your Frequently Asked Questions including:
What information do I need to provide?
Why is it important to provide a grant description?
How is my grants data coded by Candid?
How frequently should I share my grants data?
How quickly will my information appear on my complimentary map?
Can I embed my complimentary map on my website?
What should I do if corrections need to be made to my data?
How will my grant information be used and shared?
How do I responsibly share sensitive grants data?
CNJG COVID-19 Liability Waiver for in-person events.
Please Log In to view resources from this event.
Reimagining Philanthropy: Data for Social Impact
Held:
Monday, December 7 - 2:00 to 3:30 pm -- Skill-Building Workshop
Tuesday, December 8 - 12:30 to 2:00 pm -- Business Meeting & Keynote Presentation
Thank you to everyone who attended CNJG’s first ever virtual Annual Meeting & Holiday Gathering. This year’s meeting focused on the many ways philanthropy can use data for social impact.
Data science is a powerful tool to address housing and food insecurity, education inequality, health disparities, civic injustice, and other longstanding social issues that continue to intensify during the pandemic. Building data capacity equips local leaders with information to develop and advocate for more effective policies. New evaluation strategies can outperform outdated processes that reinforce inequities and slow progress. Research and technology that fuels innovation in the private sector can help nonprofit and government organizations drive impact in New Jersey communities..
On Day 1, the Annual Meeting Workshop focused on evaluation and learning practices that center equity and social impact. And on Day 2, Keynote panelists shared how data science can help connect people to services, address racial inequity, and create greater impact in our communities during the pandemic and beyond..
Philanthropy can’t go back to “normal,” because normal wasn’t good enough. During this year’s Virtual 2020 Annual Meeting & Holiday Gathering we explored how we can reimagine philanthropy by harnessing the full power of data for social impact.
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers would like to thank our sponsors for their generous support: Signature Sponsors – Novartis and PSEG; Sustaining Sponsors – Prudential and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey; Collaborating Sponsor – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; and Performance Sponsor – The Provident Bank Foundation.
This weekly funder briefing webinar series welcomed New Jersey-based grantmakers along with national funders and provided an opportunity for grantmakers to hear from a wide range of nonprofit experts. This series started on March 13, 2025, less than a month after the first executive order was issued and continued through April 24, 2025. The written summaries of each recording are listed below.
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers’ offers listserve services as a benefit of CNJG membership.
CNJG’s listserves facilitate ongoing group e-mail discussions among subscribed members. Members can share information and expertise, ask questions, and gather opinions of colleagues across the network. Listserves also enable members to get the most up-to-date information on related programs being offered throughout the field.
CNJG initially assigns new members to relevant listserves based on your submitted member profile. Contact Craig Weinrich to join any other listserve that interests you. You can unsubscribe from a listserve at any time by using the link found at the bottom of each email sent via the listserve.
In May 2024, our listserve provider updated its email engine, and now the automatic de-duping feature is no longer available, so sending an email to more than one listserve results in multiple emails to the recipient.
If you send an email to a listserve, and it bounces back to you, you are not on that listserve. Please contact Craig to add you to that listserve.
The listserves available are:
Camden Funders - [email protected]
Bergen Funders - [email protected]
Community Foundation CEO’s - [email protected]
CNJG Member CEO's - [email protected]
CNJG Member CFO’s and Finance Managers - [email protected]
CNJG Member Communications Staff - [email protected]
Corporate Funders - [email protected]
COVID-19 Funders - [email protected]
Culture Funders - [email protected]
Disaster Response Funders - [email protected]
Education Funders - [email protected]
Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy - [email protected]
Environmental Funders - [email protected]
Family Funders - [email protected]
Food Funders - [email protected]
Health Funders - [email protected]
Monmouth & Ocean Roundtable of Funders - [email protected]
Newark Funders - [email protected]
New Jersey Census Funders - [email protected]
Paterson Funders - [email protected]
Racial Equity Funders - [email protected]
STEAM Funders - [email protected]
South Jersey Funders - [email protected]
Strong & Thriving Communities - [email protected]
Trenton Area Funders - [email protected]
There are some restrictions for joining listserves:
· only CEOs (or equivalent) can join the CEO listserve;
· only CEOs (or equivalent) of a Community Foundation can join the Community Foundation CEO listserve;
· only CFOs (or equivalent) can join the Financial listserve
· only family foundation staff and trustees can join the Family Funders listserve;
· only corporate giving professionals can join the corporate listserve
Please refer to the Listserves’ Membership Policies below for information on using the listserves.