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Sam Parker, Chief of Staff to Lt. Governor Way and Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Murphy, will discuss ways to become involved with a state board or commission and the appointment process. You will also have the opportunity to learn about the expectations and responsibilities in serving the State as well as why it is important to be involved as a philanthropic organization. Sam oversees the Appointments Department which is responsible for the numerous appointments to New Jersey’s various Boards, Commissions, Councils, Advisory Committees and Task Forces; as well as the Judicial Bench.
Sam Parker (she/her) is an organizational, development and political professional with extensive experience in strategic planning, leadership management, civic engagement, and collaborative partnership building. Sam is currently the Chief of Staff to Lt. Governor Way and Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Murphy. Before joining the administration in March of 2021, Sam served as the Development and Political Affairs for the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide. Sam was also Congressman Frank Pallone’s Deputy Campaign Director (2013) and Deputy Field Director for the New Jersey State Democratic Committee’s Victory Campaign (2012). Previous to her return to her home state in 2012, Sam worked for organizations such as The National LGBTQ Task Force, Human Rights Campaign, EqualityMaine and Equality North Carolina on LGBT+ issue campaigns all over the country. Sam has a BA of English/Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine and a master's degree in Public Policy and Management and a certificate of Social Justice and Economics from The Muskie School at the University of Southern Maine.
Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $75 for Non Member Grantmakers
This program is only open to staff and trustees from grantmaking organizations.
Webinar Video
Resource
Governor's Boards, Commissions, and Authorities Directory
The Inclusive Growth ScoreTM provides local planners, governments and impact investors with a clear, simple view of social and economic indicators for any census tract in the United States.
Nonprofit Finance Fund's Annual Survey chronicles the challenges facing the nonprofit sector and calls out some of the targeted investments we can start to agree on as a society to salvage the investment we have collectively made in our social infrastructure. We believe that a coordinated intervention now will not only better prepare us for inevitable future economic crises; it can lead to a happier, healthier community for us all.
Back in person - we’re bringing together funders and nonprofits for a day of shared learning, exchange, and networking at the 2023 Conference for the Social Sector on May 23!
Our conferences have always elevated timely and important topics. And that tradition continues. The conference theme, Doing Good Better, is a direct result of what we’ve learned and experienced over the past few years.
We stand in extraordinary times. The pandemic showed the limitations of existing philanthropic structures. Grantmakers recognized that organized philanthropy must rethink traditional grantmaking practices and shift their routines. Doing Good Better - a partnership initiative with the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits - is a big tent that includes trust-based philanthropy and participatory grantmaking; rightsizing the power dynamics between funders and nonprofits; simplified grant applications and reporting; increasing GOS and multi-year grants; unburdening nonprofits so they can focus on their work; addressing the equity issues that exist throughout the sector; and recognizing nonprofit leaders and those closest to the problem as the experts in the room.
Our new strategic plan outlines the very same values emanating throughout the Doing Good Better ideals – shared power and leadership, equity, trusting cross-sector relationships, and learning and dialogue.
The Conference features a range of notable thought leaders and experts for a day of connection, not-to-be-missed discussion, and side-by-side learning with foundation and nonprofit colleagues. Our opening plenary, How Philanthropy Can Do Good Better, will hear from leading New Jersey foundation CEOs about how they’ve shifted their funding practices to better support nonprofit partners. Shaady Salehi, Executive Director of the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project will outline the underlying values of a trust-based approach during the luncheon keynote. Breakout sessions will highlight participatory grantmaking, equitable capacity building, tools to address nonprofit burnout, and more.
As we look forward to our time together, I also encourage you to review the many thought-provoking articles and useful websites available on the Conference Resource tab. This information extends your own opportunities to learn and build your knowledge.
We’re grateful to our sponsors for supporting the conference. Thank you to PSEG for serving as our Signature Sponsor for several years. Thank you to Connector Sponsors, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Sixers Youth Foundation, and Colleague Sponsors Citi, Grunin Foundation, Panasonic Foundation, and Valley National Bank. Thank you also to NJM Insurance Group for your donation in support of the event.
It’s been a long 4 years since we’ve been together in person for the CNJG spring conference. I’m looking forward to seeing you. Register today!
Theresa Jacks, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers
The Burke Foundation awarded $2 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 to non-profit organizations in New Jersey working to improve prenatal and child health.
New Jersey has one of the country’s worst records for child health and wellbeing, especially among under-resourced communities, despite being one of the wealthiest states in terms of per capita income.
The Burke Foundation seeks to improve this situation by funding the most promising and transformative programs and policies that foster the health, well-being and resilience of children and families in the state.
New Jersey ranks 47th among the 50 U.S. states for maternal mortality, and its rate of more than 46 deaths per every 100,000 live births is nearly 50 percent greater than the national average. The situation is even more dire for Black women and babies: A Black mother in New Jersey is seven times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than a white mother, and the preterm birth rate for Black infants in New Jersey is 13.3%, which is 51% higher than the rate for white infants in the state. New Jersey also ranks in the bottom third of states for children being up to date on immunizations at age two (35th out of 50), with stark disparities across socio-economic and racial lines.
The Burke Foundation believes that addressing these disparities requires investment in high-quality, scalable programming that prioritizes young children and families. Investments in the earliest years promote better health outcomes in the short term and provide significant social and economic returns in the long term. These new grants reflect the Foundation’s deep commitment to supporting nurturing, responsive relationships between caregivers and young children to foster health, well-being, and resilience for a lifetime.
Dr. David Willis, Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Social Policy, applauded these new investments. “As a pediatrician and policymaker, I am pleased to see the Burke Foundation’s emphasis on early relational health,” he said. “Having supportive, nurturing relationships early in life has been shown to bolster a child’s resilience and lead to better social, emotional and physical health outcomes.”
In this briefing, Bob Kim, Executive Director, Education Law Center, will address need for systemic litigation and legal services, research, and data collection. He will also contextualize the current environment by discussing broader trends affecting education, such as privatization, lack of trust in government, and culture wars. Robert Morrison, CEO, Quadrant Research, will address the federal government's limited role in public education, with ultimate authority residing at the local district level and the need for funders to understand these trends and their implications for New Jersey's education system. Moderated by Brandon McCoy, President and CEO, Fund for New Jersey, this discussion will address the biggest challenges faced, lessons from historical efforts, and gaps in education policy and advocacy.
Robert Kim, Esq. is the Executive Director of Education Law Center, a legal advocacy organization dedicated to advancing and protecting public education and the rights of public school students nationwide. In 2020, he served as a member of the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition Team. From 2011 through 2016, he served in the Obama Administration as deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, which enforces federal civil rights laws in K-12 and postsecondary institutions nationwide. Earlier in his career, Kim served as a senior policy analyst at the National Education Association and as a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. His most recent publications include Education and the Law, 6th ed. (West Academic Publishing, 2024) and Elevating Equity and Justice: Ten U.S. Supreme Court Cases Every Teacher Should Know (Heinemann, 2020).
Robert B. Morrison, CEO of Quadrant Researc, is a nationally renowned leader in arts and music education, recognized for his pioneering research, influential advocacy, and transformative policy initiatives. As founder and CEO of Quadrant Research—the nation’s leading arts education data analytics and market research firm—Morrison has driven groundbreaking advancements in expanding access to music and arts programs across the United States. Morrison played a pivotal role in establishing New Jersey as a national model. He founded and directed Arts Ed NJ, New Jersey’s statewide arts education policy group, and spearheaded initiatives that led to the state being the first in the country to include arts education in annual school reporting. In Arkansas, his collaboration with the governor helped mandate music and arts programs for all public school students, a policy later adopted by Louisiana.
Brandon McKoy, President and CEO of Fund for New Jersey, is an established leader in public policy analysis and advocacy statewide and nationally. Prior to his current position, he worked as the Vice President for State Partnerships and Co-Leader of the State Fiscal Policy Division at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C. At New Jersey Policy Perspective, McCoy held several roles over the course of seven years, first as a State Policy Fellow through the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ program, next as a Policy Analyst, and then as Director of Government and Public Affairs, before assuming leadership of the organization as NJPP’s President from 2019 through late 2021. Throughout those years, he researched and promoted a variety of issues including the minimum wage, paid sick leave, equitable taxation, public budget processes, the legalization and regulation of cannabis, and much more.
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
Education Law Center: Trump 2.0 Federal Revenue Tool - Track how federal funding (Title I, IDEA, etc.) cuts would affect NJ
United States Department of Education Letter: Consider how the current federal guidance against DEI may represent an incursion into state responsibility and autonomy over school operations and curriculum
"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
A CNJG member queried our listserves on what online grants management system members use and would recommend for a small foundation. CNJG compiled these responses, and listed the different systems that members do use.
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