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The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey (HFNJ) is pleased to announce that it has awarded $3,230,217 to seventeen New Jersey non-profit organizations in the fourth quarter of 2022. The foundation experienced a record quarter for requests for funding. Many of the largest grant awards this cycle support projects that will enhance the health, well-being, and independent living prospects of seniors in Essex County, NJ, and several others address the health needs of children.
The largest grant of the cycle is a $1,001,767 award to Clara Maass Medical Center to purchase a 128-slice CT scanner, which will be used on an estimated 13,500 patients per year and which can provide sharper and clearer imaging than the hospital’s current equipment.
Jespy House received $281,040 to make senior-friendly accessibility enhancements to the organization’s Aging in Place home in South Orange. Jespy House advances independent living for developmentally disabled adults, who typically face greater health challenges than the rest of the population as they age. The Aging in Place home will allow Jespy clients to maintain their independence into their senior years.
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center received $250,000 to support the launch of a Geriatric Center for Excellence at the hospital. The Center will employ a best-practice, one-stop shop model which provides seniors coordinated care, including coordination of transportation and pharmacy needs.
In addition to the projects primarily supporting the health needs of older adults, several of the grants approved this cycle help area organizations that attend to the physical and mental health needs of children.
The Valerie Fund received $115,000 to support a Nurse Navigator for pediatric cancer patients. The navigator will help families navigate the complexities of oncology treatment at Goryeb Children's Hospital at Morristown Medical Center.
Bridge, Inc. received $242,500 for a program at Irvington High School which is designed to reduce substance use among students while increasing school attendance and academic performance.
Addressing the needs of young children, a $100,000 grant to YCS Foundation will support YCS’s work training and assessing several Early Head Start and Head Start Programs in Newark. And, targeting healthcare at the very beginning of life, a $70,000 grant to the Perinatal Health Equity Initiative will support a rigorous needs assessment of maternal and infant health needs in the East Orange community.
“Caring for the most vulnerable among us – including seniors, children, and the developmentally disabled – remains at the core of the mission of The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey,” said Michael Schmidt, Executive Director and CEO of HFNJ. “Looking ahead to 2023, we are proud that many of these projects will be providing high quality care to those most in need throughout the coming year.”
The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey operates on a quarterly grant-making cycle. With the inclusion of the fourth quarter grants, HFNJ has pledged a total of $8,554,063 throughout 2022 to support nonprofit organizations that improve the health and well-being of vulnerable populations in the greater Newark and the Jewish Greater MetroWest communities. 2022 has been marked by an increase in demand for funding and The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey has received a record number of requests.
In their most recent round of funding, the Dodge Foundation made two major, multimillion-dollar grants to projects focused on power building and economic resilience. These grants, to the Racial Justice Alignment Group of Black, Indigenous, and Brown leaders and the Paterson “One Square Mile” initiative from Montclair State University, strengthen our work towards a just and equitable New Jersey. In addition to these grants, we provided support to 27 additional organizations, representing our purposeful efforts to support partners and institutions contributing to the vibrancy of our state.
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts held a public meeting on December 13th, during which 22 New Jersey organizations received grants through the Council’s new Creative Aging Initiative grant program. Senior centers, libraries, and arts organizations will provide customized arts experiences for people aged 55 and older, helping to enhance overall wellness, build community, and diminish issues of isolation.
With a focus on lifelong learning in the arts, the Creative Aging Initiative grants will provide $10,000 to a variety of New Jersey nonprofits engaging in creative aging work. Each of this year’s grant recipients will provide two (2) eight-day residencies for New Jersey seniors – at no cost to the participants. This new program was built upon the success of a Creative Aging pilot project the Council concluded earlier this year.
Speaking on the importance of this new grant program, the Council’s Program Officer for Arts Education & Lifelong Learning, Samantha Clarke, said: “Arts education and lifelong learning have been longstanding priorities at the State Arts Council. We look forward to providing new opportunities to reach older adults through the Creative Aging Initiative grant, and we’re especially excited to be working with both arts organizations and community-based organizations in this important work.”
The New Jersey Arts and Culture Renewal Fund is awarding $2.2 million in grants to 96 nonprofit organizations across the state.
The fund recently received a $1.5 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support grantmaking. The fund awards grants to organization that contribute to cultural equity and community well-being, a mission that aligns with the philanthropy goals of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The fund has also received significant support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
NJM Insurance Group said it recently made a $100,000 donation to benefit hunger relief efforts across the mid-Atlantic region.
The monies are part of the West Trenton-based firm’s yearlong commitment to supporting communities, which now totals more than $2 million in donations in 2022.
NJM’s support of communities is rooted in a culture of purpose-driven service. The company directs charitable contributions toward organizations that support arts and culture, health, community assistance, safety and financial literacy. Other areas of focus include education and enrichment and revitalization programs such as those offered by social service organizations and food banks.
“NJM is a service organization working on behalf of our policyholders and the communities in which they live and work,” Mitch Livingston, NJM CEO and president, stated. “We partner with nonprofits and organizations dedicated to delivering needed resources that can positively impact lives, and we are privileged to support these causes throughout the region.”
The Fund for Women and Girls (FWG) at the Princeton Area Community Foundation has awarded $215,000 in grants, including support for five local nonprofits that are working to help new mothers, mothers in recovery, single parents, families with young children and children who have been removed from their homes.
More than 20 years ago, the FWG was created as a fund of the Community Foundation to focus its funding on organizations that work to improve the lives of vulnerable women and children in the region. With a philosophy of collective philanthropy, members donate to the Fund, and then meet annually to recommend grants to support nonprofits aligned with the fund’s goals.
“These nonprofits are doing incredibly important work in our communities, and this funding will make a meaningful difference in the lives of women and children,” said Carolyn Sanderson, Chair of The Fund. “Thanks to the generosity of our members, we have awarded more than $1 million in grants to more than two dozen nonprofits over the last six years. We can do so much more together than any of us can do individually.”
Eighteen grants totaling $379,000 -- to area nonprofits providing vital food, shelter, education, arts, culture and health services -- were awarded by The Summit Foundation its December grant cycle.
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey’s philanthropic arm announced Jan. 9 it awarded more than $1 million in grants to 34 nonprofit organizations in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The most recent round brings the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey’s 2022 grant total to $2.14 million, benefiting 67 groups.
“Throughout 2022, The Foundation continued to strive to keep New Jersey healthy by promoting health equity, addressing racial and health disparities and expanding cultural awareness in the diverse communities we serve,” the organization said in a statement.
A year after kicking off an initiative to improve nutrition at schools in its hometown of Camden, Campbell Soup Co. is getting high marks. And over the next five years, the soup and snack giant plans to invest $5 million in Full Futures, a sweeping effort to make sure students are well nourished and ready to thrive — both in the classroom and outside of it.
Armed with research linking school meals and healthy diets to academic success, Campbell executives saw an opportunity to effect change by leveraging the expertise and resources of numerous partners to advance developments in nutrition programming and cafeteria infrastructure across a school district that serves 11,000 students.
Working in partnership with the Camden City School District, as well as several nonprofit and corporate entities, Campbell set out to improve how kids eat at school through cafeteria equipment upgrades, expanded meal programs, nutrition education, reformulated menus and equitable sourcing of local, fresh produce.
Campbell recently reported on its progress with Full Futures, as well as next steps planned to keep the momentum going during the next four years of the campaign.
The Trenton Arts Fund at the Princeton Area Community Foundation has awarded $29,550 in grants to seven local arts, culture and history nonprofits, in particular their programs that support Trenton’s young people.
“We are thrilled to help fund these arts organizations and programs in this city that means so much to us,” said John Hatch, who created the Trenton Arts Fund in 2018 with his husband, David Henderson. “Trenton has a rich cultural history, and the arts are flourishing in Trenton. With this round of grants, we are supporting Trenton’s tradition of creativity, and especially programs that support our young residents.”
Grants were made at the recommendation of the Trenton Arts Fund Grants Committee, whose members are local residents with a background in the arts.
New Jersey Community Capital, the state’s largest community development financial institution, announced Tuesday that it has donated a total of $50,000 to the municipalities of Newark, Paterson, Camden, Trenton and New Brunswick.
Each of the five municipalities will receive $10,000 in funding for specific community organizations or initiatives focused on economic development, youth programs, public health and more. The donation is part of NJCC’s commitment to this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration theme: “It starts with me: cultivating a beloved community mindset to transform unjust systems.” NJCC CEO Bernel Hall said the organization feels the donations will have great impact.
In honor of the life, legacy and impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, New Jersey Community Capital invites you to join it in furthering NJCC’s mission of promoting equitable opportunities for all.
“We’re thrilled to be able to build on Dr. King’s mission and integrate it into our work throughout New Jersey and support such well-deserving community organizations and impactful programming,” he said. “These cities are doing crucial work to make New Jersey the best it can be, and partnering with them to do even more will provide better outcomes and opportunities for residents.” Hall said NJCC’s charitable giving corresponds to its work across the state to finance the predevelopment, acquisition, construction, rehabilitation and mini-permanent needs of affordable housing units for ownership and rental opportunities. NJCC’s lending takes a holistic and equitable approach by financing projects that use the diverse pillars of a community, including small businesses, commercial office and retail spaces and early childhood education centers.
There is a plurality of definitions of the term systems change, each contextualized within different cultures and purposes. Doing Good Better embraces systems change as an inter-sector process that addresses complex social problems nonprofits and funders confront with collective action centered on equity, mutual respect, and resilience. Systems change refers to changing the parts and their relationships within a system with the understanding that this change will have ripple effects. As grantmakers, we need to create an environment that enables grantee effectiveness, so they can deliver on their mission. Systems change in philanthropy focuses on structures, policies and processes, resources, values, power, mindsets and, infrastructure that is illustrated in three iterative phases. In time, we hope that the application of this model will result in collective impact and a more resilient social sector for all of New Jersey.
The first phase is structural (operational) change, which involves funders adopting new policies, practices, and resource flows. The second phase is characterized by new relationships and connections that emerge from structural change eschewing old power dynamic practices. Finally, the third phase is transformative change, which occurs when change becomes rooted in organizational culture and mores. We cannot underestimate the length of time and learning at each stage. Achieving transformative change can be a long journey, but it is a learning journey. One grantmaker stated, “One change led to another and another, like dominos. I started to see what people meant by systemic change. New energy and excitement surged among us as hope grew and the cloudy vision of what we wanted became clearer and clearer.”
Although the figure below displays the six developmental stages as linear and distinct, change is unlikely to follow a linear path. Any change in a system will seldom stay fixed at one of these stages but rather will shift back and forth from one stage to another on the path toward the ideal state. We believe just one organization can’t shift the conditions that hold problems in place; we all must share the same perspectives and move the sector together and simultaneously. We call for all of those involved in the sector to work together to build a better and more equitable nonprofit and philanthropy system for all New Jerseyans.
Graphic comes from “The Water of Systems Change” by John Kania, Mark Kramer, and Peter Senge.
Doing Good Better, a partnership of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, is a community of funders and nonprofits taking action against the power imbalances and racial inequities in philanthropy, nonprofits, and government.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on Tuesday announced the recipients of the 2022 Creative Catalyst Fund awards. A total of 114 grants will be awarded to individual artists and artists’ collectives, with an average award of $3,200; and 34 grants will be awarded to small and midsized arts organizations with an average award of $10,100.
Baraka created the fund in January 2020 as a multiyear initiative providing the local community of artists and small and midsized arts organizations up to $1 million annually for at least three years. The fund has awarded a total of $2.35 million in grants in its first three years. Grantees use the funds to help pay for operating costs, space rentals, staff, programming costs, supplies and equipment, and COVID-related expenses.
“Newark has a long history as a center of the arts, and our administration has supported the arts in word and deed, creating great works like the second-longest public mural on the East Coast. We are proud, privileged and humbled to write a new chapter by supporting this year’s grantees. Their works will define the voice and talent of a new generation of Newark artists for our present and future,” Baraka said.
The Princeton Area Community Foundation awarded about $2 million in Community Impact and COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund grants to local nonprofits.
More than 60 organizations working on a broad variety of needs in the community, including arts education, community building, education, food insecurity, health, supporting senior citizens and other vulnerable populations, and youth development received this funding, made possible by generous community contributions.
Funding was mainly unrestricted, giving organizations an opportunity to address the challenges of economic uncertainty due to the pandemic and inflation. Unrestricted grants in this round provide the flexibility organizations need to use the funding where it is most needed, which will help them build financial and programmatic resiliency.
“These nonprofits are doing impactful work in region, helping the most vulnerable among us,” Jeffrey Vega, CEO and president of the Community Foundation, said. “We are able to award these grants thanks to generous donors who have created funds over the last 30 years to support our community grantmaking and leadership.”
The FirstEnergy Foundation has granted two New Jersey nonprofits with $20,000 "Gifts of the Season," aiding in their mission to make lives brighter within the Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) service area.
Cornerstone Family Programs, based in JCP&L's northern New Jersey region, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monmouth County, based in the central New Jersey region, both offer afterschool programs that focus on providing safe, empowering environments for local students.
"We're proud to support these organizations because their missions align with our commitment to a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, included and respected," said Lorna Wisham, president of the FirstEnergy Foundation. "The winners were chosen by FirstEnergy External Affairs employees who identified organizations in their local areas that do extraordinary work to strengthen the community and enhance the lives of vulnerable and underserved populations."
The New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH) will distribute $211,743 in funding to 18 organizations in its latest round of grant funding awards. Of these, 8 awards are Incubation Grants, which help organizations plan, research, prototype, experiment or expand existing programs. The 10 remaining awards are Action Grants, which help organizations implement humanities-based programs, which may be new or existing.
Notably, this round marks the first time since launching the Incubation and Action Grants in 2016 that NJCH received more applications and letters of intent for Incubation Grants than for Action Grants. NJCH received 42 total applications, of which 22 were for Incubation Grants, and 20 were for Action Grants.
“Incubation Grants serve the Council’s goal of increasing organizational capacity in the humanities sector by giving institutions the time and resources for program planning and development. We consider them a particular strength of our grants program since funders often do not provide this type of funding opportunity,” said Dr. Carin Berkowitz, NJCH executive director. “There’s real value in providing organizations the opportunity to spend more time thinking and planning programs, and we’re proud to provide that.”
The Community Foundation of New Jersey (CFNJ) today thanked its 1,160 fundholders for making 7,350 philanthropic gifts to worthy causes and communities in 2022 totaling approximately $153 million. The total dollar amount of grants is a record for the Community Foundation, following annual grantmaking of $103 million in 2021, $87.5 million in 2020, and $57.8 million in 2019.
CFNJ currently stewards over $725 million in charitable assets, making grants to nonprofit organizations in line with the advice of active fundholders or the philanthropic goals of those who leave bequests. Fifty-seven new funds were established in 2022.
Last year marked the final year of grantmaking for the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, which the Community Foundation was proud to host in partnership with First Lady Tammy Murphy.
Eastside High School in Paterson sits in the middle of a struggling neighborhood, in a city where 25% of the residents are living below the poverty line, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
Paterson’s poverty rate is more than twice the state average of 10%, which makes the school, built in 1926, a refuge — and now a resource.
On Thursday, Montclair State University president Jonathan Koppell came to Eastside with a $1 million grant and a vision: to make the school into a community hub, offering free meals, health care, and mental health counseling, not just to the 2,000 students, but to their families as well.
The initiative is called One Square Mile, and it is being seeded with a $1 million grant from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. The program was developed by Koppell during his tenure as Dean of the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions at Arizona State University, which worked with the Phoenix-area community of Maryvale to address poverty.