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Adopted by CNJG”s Board of Trustees in October 2023, these eight Principles offer philanthropy a source of direction for their own equity journey. Each principle begins with a common understanding followed by developmental steps, and the aspiration for each principle. These principles are intended to promote continuous learning, vulnerability, and reflection for how philanthropy can evolve from its historical roots to a more trusting, accountable, and equitable model.
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.
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.
ADOPTED: 10/20/2023
APPROACH
CNJG takes an active role in championing the vital role New Jersey’s nonprofit sector plays in the state. We advocate for public policies that support a strong and fair economy, the economic and social well-being of New Jersey’s residents, a healthy environment, and civically engaged and educated communities. In keeping with our vision, we seek to advance equity and inclusive public policies. We promote participatory philanthropy, which seeks to include a diversity of voices in public policy development and implementation and ensure that those most affected are included in the public policymaking process. We advance trust-based philanthropy, which seeks to foster equitable relationships within the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors by redistributing power — systemically, organizationally, and interpersonally — in service of a healthier and more equitable nonprofit sector. We focus our public policy efforts on issues that affect or impact the nonprofit and/or philanthropic sectors, that potentially have long-term, systemic impact, and where the involvement of CNJG could positively shape the outcome of an issue. We encourage policymakers to engage with us and think of us as a resource as we advocate for strong policies to strengthen New Jersey’s nonprofit sector and recognize the sector for the valuable and essential role that it plays.
POLICY PRIORITIES
ADVANCE RACIAL EQUITY AND JUSTICE. Philanthropy has a critical role to play in dismantling structural racism by advancing equitable public policy. We seek to analyze and support public policies that further racial equity, eliminate persistent racial disparities, and promote equitable outcomes across issue areas including health and well-being, education, economy, housing, and the environment.
A WELL-RESOURCED NONPROFIT SECTOR. A resilient and well-resourced New Jersey nonprofit sector is essential to a healthy and equitable New Jersey and a resilient economy that works for all. Too often, the nonprofit sector is under-resourced and under-valued for the critical role that it plays. We support policies that eliminate barriers to effective nonprofit operations, enable long-term fiscal planning, and encourage all New Jersey residents to support and engage with the nonprofit sector. Examples of policies we support include:
- state contracts that adequately compensate staff.
- multi-year investments in the nonprofit sector.
- government policies that support nonprofit innovation.
- reductions of “red tape.”
- increased government transparency.
- incentives for New Jersey residents to engage in charitable giving.
A COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENT TO SUPPORT INNOVATION. We seek to foster collaboration and enhanced coordination among the nonprofit sector, philanthropy, and government at all levels. We support public policy initiatives and innovative efforts that further this aim.
SUPPORTING NONPROFITS’ ADVOCACY ROLE. We work to protect the vital ability of the nonprofit sector to advocate and engage in public policy, recognizing that the nonprofit sector plays an essential role in strengthening New Jersey’s economy, improving the lives of New Jersey residents, and advancing equity.
INVESTING IN PREVENTION, RESPONDING TO CRISIS AND SUPPORTING LONG-TERM RECOVERY. The philanthropic sector is often called upon to respond in times of crisis. We support public policies that make necessary investments to prevent such crises, including health, climate and natural disasters.
We also advocate for policies and investments to adequately respond to such crises and invest in long-term recovery, with a focus on prioritizing the needs of those communities that are most at-risk and hardest hit.
A HEALTHY DEMOCRACY & ENGAGED COMMUNITIES/CIVIC ENGAGEMENT. We support public policies that foster a healthy democracy, an engaged and educated populace, and the right of New Jersey residents to freely exercise their right to vote. We seek to advance efforts that remove barriers to civic engagement and voting.
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ABOUT THE COUNCIL OF NEW JERSEY GRANTMAKERS
VISION
The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers envisions a healthy, thriving, and civically engaged New Jersey where people of all places, racial and ethnic identities, socio-economic backgrounds, abilities, and identity expressions are valued for their gifts and talents, and we all can 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.
CORE VALUES
CNJG values shared power and leadership to advance our mission and vision. We look for opportunities for individual members, member institutions, and allied organizations across the social sector to engage in a common cause of supporting and elevating New Jersey's philanthropic community.
From expanding access to programs to exploring the inequitable origins of wealth, CNJG values equity as an organizing principle and lens for looking at our structure, business model, programs, and communications.
CNJG values trusting cross-sector relationships grounded in inclusion that seek out diverse voices, contributions, and participation from across the social sector. We are a network that works to form new alliances and broad coalitions to advance our mission and vision.
CNJG values learning and dialogue across our community as we explore, engage, and identify new ways of organizing ourselves and redefining philanthropy in broader ways.