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Join your peers to learn more about the Disability & Philanthropy Forum and the Disability Inclusion Pledge in a session facilitated by Sarah Napoli, Learning Services Director for the Forum. Current signatories will share their progress as pledge signatories and how the Disability & Philanthropy Forum can support your journey to implement accessibility in your work. This is a great opportunity to come with questions if you are interested in becoming a pledge signatory or are a current pledge member. This will also offer some informal learning on disability fundamentals and allow space for Q&A.

This session is a part of our Grantmaker Toolkit Series in collaboration with The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, New York Funders Alliance, Florida Philanthropic Network, Wisconsin Philanthropy Network, Maryland Philanthropy Network, Philanthropy West Virginia, Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania, Philanthropy Network of Greater Philadelphia, and the North Carolina Network of Grantmakers.

The Disability & Philanthropy Forum mobilizes philanthropy to dismantle ableism by increasing funding for disability inclusion, rights, and justice; amplifying the leadership of disabled people in the philanthropic sector; and educating philanthropy to build a culture of inclusion.

Speaker: Sarah Napoli is the learning services director at the Disability and Philanthropy Forum. From 2019-2023, she acted as the lead disability inclusion project officer within the people and culture Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity team at Open Society Foundations (OSF), where she developed and facilitated disability inclusion learning and embedded proactive disability inclusive practices throughout the global network. In addition to OSF, she has over 20 years of experience teaching and conducting training on social justice and advocacy in higher education and nonprofits, most recently as the director for the inaugural Center for Inclusion at Manhattanville College and as the assistant head of Goodricke College at the University of York, England. She specializes in facilitating engaging workshops and designing curriculum that challenge and encourage participants to foster a culture of inclusion.

She holds two MA degrees, one in social justice in intercultural relations from the SIT graduate institute and one in applied human rights from the University of York. She identifies as a proud disabled person and enjoys chatting about Geek culture—all things fantasy and sci/fi and her former life as a hip hop researcher and dancer. Her research on how hip hop creates human rights identities was recently published in the University of Michigan press text, For the Culture: Hip Hop and the Fight for Social Justice.

She has conducted workshops and training all over the USA and in the world, including Japan, Guatemala, throughout Europe, South Africa, and Canada. Click here to read Sarah’s story, “The Disabled Mindset: Embracing My Disability Identity.”

Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $50 for Non Member Grantmakers

CNJG is pleased to offer this program to family foundation members as part of NCFP's Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy 2024 webinar series, providing guidance on the core tenets of effective family philanthropy.

Join us for our upcoming Fundamentals of Family Philanthropy webinar series, where we will explore the vital role family philanthropy plays in addressing pressing societal challenges and driving meaningful change. Through expert insights, inspiring case studies, and interactive discussions, we will delve into the principles, strategies, and best practices that empower families’ philanthropic endeavors to make a lasting impact, understanding how disparities in systems influence societal outcomes, while prioritizing equity and effectiveness in family philanthropy.

Cost: This event is free for CNJG Members who are family foundations.
Other types of foundations are ineligible to join this webinar.

This program is a CNJG membership benefit for family foundation members, including staff and trustees, in partnership with the National Center for Family Philanthropy.

Join us for this Health & Aging Affinity Group meeting, a unique opportunity for New Jersey-based funders to connect and share insights on initiatives and strategies related to health and aging. This engaging event will provide a platform for networking, knowledge exchange, and fostering potential partnerships among organizations dedicated to improving the well-being and quality of life for families in our communities. Let's come together to explore innovative solutions, share best practices, and build a stronger, more impactful funding network in the realm of health and aging.

Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $50 for Non Member Grantmakers

Programming for the Emerging Leaders group is geared towards early and mid-career professionals and will serve as: a professional learning community for emerging professionals working in diverse positions; an opportunity for professional development and individual capacity-building that will lead to institutional change within the member organizations; and as a critical partner in the creation of a pipeline into senior/executive leadership in NJ philanthropy. This meeting will focus on current trends in Philanthropy from the perspective of Brandon McKoy, President of the Fund for New Jersey, who brings a wealth of knowledge as someone who first served as a Program Associate at the Fund.

Brandon McKoy is President of the Fund for New Jersey and is an established leader in public policy analysis and advocacy statewide and nationally. Returning to The Fund for New Jersey in 2024 served as a homecoming given that Brandon worked as a Program Associate at the organization and served as its first philanthropy fellow from 2012 to 2014.

Brandon is well known for his accomplishments from his time at New Jersey Policy Perspective, where he 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.

Cost: Free for CNJG Members; $50 for Non Member Grantmakers

The Grunin Foundation, in partnership with the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, invites you to the next Monmouth & Ocean Roundtable of Funders (MORF) meeting. Join your fellow funders for a convening centered around Sharing, Learning & Action! Lunch will be provided.

Cost: Free for CNJG Members and Non-Member Grantmakers
This program is open to grantmakers only and is geared towards those who fund in Monmouth & Ocean Counties.

The Westfield Foundation is proud to announce the allocation of $52,000 in Q3 grants, raising its total year-to-date funding to $278,000. This quarter’s grants reflect the Foundation’s ongoing dedication to improving community well-being, focusing on inclusivity, accessibility, mental health support and elder care.

“Our goal is to support all segments of our Community," said Katie Curran Darcy, Executive Director of the Westfield Foundation. "These investments in critical areas, provide children with inclusive play spaces, offer essential care for our seniors, and mental health support for our youth. We believe these projects will have a lasting impact.”

The New Jersey Historic Trust, an affiliate of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), today approved a total of $16,598,738 in grant recommendations from the Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund to save and promote historic sites throughout the state. Seventy-five preservation planning, municipal, county, and regional planning, heritage tourism, and capital projects are included in this year’s list of recommendations.

“Historic preservation is an integral part of community and economic revitalization and I am excited to see a diverse list of grant recipients this year,” said DCA Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suárez. “From historic homes, farms, schoolhouses, and churches to train stations, lighthouses, and villages, the work that will be accomplished with the preservation grants will help to secure the future of our most treasured historic places in the Garden State.”

TD today announced $500,000 in contributions to support local relief efforts in parts of Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina following Hurricane Helene. Donations will be distributed to a few local non-profits leading recovery efforts across the three states.

TD will give $300,000 to non-profit organizations in North Carolina, $100,000 in South Carolina and $100,000 in Florida. TD colleagues may also donate voluntary amounts to select local non-profits in the three states through the bank's employee giving portal, which the bank will match dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000 total.

"TD is unequivocally committed to helping our customers, colleagues and community members in this difficult time," said Chris Ward, Regional President of the Mid-South Metro, TD Bank. "The devastation in the central and western parts of North and South Carolina is unprecedented in the region, and we extend our support during the long road to recovery."

Who We Are

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The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers is a community of practice for philanthropic professionals who are dedicated to improving New Jersey’s communities. As the center for philanthropy in the state, CNJG supports the philanthropic sector through shared learning, collaborative and trusting relationships within philanthropy and with nonprofit partners, thought leadership, and advocacy efforts. Since 1990 when CNJG became a project under the Community Foundation of New Jersey, then an independent 501(c)3 organization in 1997, CNJG operates on the principle that philanthropy is more effective through connection, collaboration, information exchange, and continuing education.

By joining CNJG as a member, your philanthropy is connected to dozens of other philanthropic organizations across the state, and you support the work that, in turn, benefits you and the entire philanthropic sector.

Access the myriad of benefits that CNJG membership provides.

How to Join

Joining CNJG is simple. Just complete and submit the appropriate application for your organization:

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Soon after you submit the completed application, CNJG will review it, and then email you an invoice from which you can use to submit your membership payment by EFT, check, credit card (CNJG adds a 3% fee for credit card membership payments.

Though subject to the board’s approval, we typically activate membership within 2-3 working days, and you’ll become a member with full access to the unique value CNJG provides. See all of the benefits of CNJG membership under our Member Benefits page.

The membership period begins January 1st and runs through December 31. Organizations joining after July 1 will have their first year dues prorated. Organizations who choose to do so may calculate their membership dues by using an average of their annual grantmaking over the past three years. Some members choose to make all or a portion of their dues in the form of a grant. For tax purposes, all dues in excess of $770 may be reasonably reported as a grant.

CNJG reserves the right to determine an organization’s eligibility for membership.

Membership Criteria

All members must meet the following membership criteria:

“The Council provides a network where I can tap into colleagues who may have valuable experience with an issue, grantee or vendor.  In addition, Council research can prove extremely useful for any number of decisions, large or small.”
-Etta Denk, Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, Bank of America

1. A prospective member’s core interest in joining CNJG is a desire to improve the quality of its own grantmaking and to work with other members to improve the field of grantmaking and support the people, communities and nonprofits of New Jersey.


2. The primary function of a prospective member is making charitable grants. Exceptions to this policy include federated funds, public foundations and Associate members.


3. It is expected that the substantial amount of the organization’s activities should be centered on grantmaking. For corporate giving programs, the term “organization” refers to the corporate giving unit, not the entire corporation. Exceptions to this standard, noted above, include public foundations, private operating foundations, Federated Funds, individual members, and Associate members.


4. The prospective member’s grant distributions are made primarily on a discretionary basis to multiple (two or more) nonprofit organizations that are not subsidiary or otherwise directly related to the prospective member. No more than 60% of the grants given should be directed to one organization (including subsidiaries).


5. Organizations applying for membership must complete and submit the appropriate membership application form (above).


6. Each member adheres to our non-solicitation policy (below).

Membership Policies

1. The annual membership period is from January 1 to December 31. After July, we pro-rate new memberships for the remainder of the year.


2. Grantmaking member dues for 2025 are based on an organization’s total annual grantmaking. Please calculate your dues using either option:
   Your 2024 giving, or
   An average of the past three years of giving (2022, 2023, and 2024)


3. Organizations headquartered or based within New Jersey base their dues on the organization’s total giving. Organizations headquartered outside of New Jersey base their dues on their giving in New Jersey only.


4. Dues for government agencies are based on a percentage (0.2%) of the Agency/Division administrative allocation/budget. If the agency does not have an administrative budget, dues will be based on the level of grants made each year (see dues structure below).


5. For foundations that are sunsetting, dues are based on 5% of the assets, rather than the annual grantmaking. Board minutes confirming the decision to sunset are required when joining.


6. For United Way organizations that give grants, please base dues on your discretionary grantmaking only. Do not include your pass-through dollars.


7. For Community Foundations, please base dues on all your grantmaking, including donor advised funds. Your DAF holders are most welcome to attend our programs as members. Please do not, however, include any nonprofit endowment funds that you might manage.


8. Memberships are considered lapsed if, by July 1 of the membership year, CNJG has not received a pledge to pay.


9. If a non-member grantmaker attends three events/meetings, CNJG expects them to join the organization.


10. CNJG’s Board of Trustees retains final discretion on all matters concerning membership. If you are unsure of your organization’s eligibility, please contact CNJG.

Membership Categories

Grantmaking organizations eligible for CNJG membership include:

• Community Foundations: A community foundation is a tax-exempt, nonprofit, autonomous, publicly supported, philanthropic institution composed primarily of permanent funds established by many separate donors for the long-term diverse, charitable benefit of the residents of a defined geographic area. Community foundations provide an array of services to donors who wish to establish endowed and non-endowed funds without incurring the administrative and legal costs of starting independent foundations. A community foundation’s donor-advised funds are included in the membership, and any and all of the fundholders are invited to participate in CNJG programs and services. Because the community foundation has the established relationship with its fundholders, CNJG relies on the community foundation to invite its fundholders to participate in CNJG programs and services.
• Corporate Foundations: A corporate (company-sponsored) foundation is a private foundation that derives its grantmaking funds primarily from the contributions of a profit-making business. The company-sponsored foundation often maintains close ties with the donor company, but it is a separate, legal organization, sometimes with its own endowment, and is subject to the same rules and regulations as other private foundations.
• Corporate Giving Programs: A corporate giving (direct giving) program is a grantmaking program established and administered within a profit-making company. Gifts or grants go directly to charitable organizations from the corporation. Corporate giving programs do not have a separate endowment; their expense is planned as part of the company's annual budgeting process and usually is funded with pre-tax income. Generally, staff that operate the corporate giving program are the main users of CNJG programs and services.
• Donor Advised Funds: A fund may be classified as donor advised if it has at least three characteristics: (1) a donor or person appointed or designated by the donor has, or reasonably expects to have, advisory privileges with respect to the fund’s distributions or investments, (2) the fund is separately identified by reference to contributions of the donor(s), and (3) the fund is owned and controlled by a sponsoring organization, such as a community foundation. A fund possessing these characteristics may be exempt from the donor advised fund classification if it grants to one single public charity or government unit or if the fund meets certain requirements applicable to scholarship funds. Typically, Donor Advised Funds are held at a community foundation, or a commercial entity, which may have a membership with CNJG already. Should a fund want to receive communications directly from CNJG without the intervention of the community foundation or commercial entity, please contact CNJG. Donor Advised Fund members are reminded that CNJG membership cannot be paid from the DAF, and must come from a different account, according to IRS regulations.
• Family Foundations: A foundation whose funds are derived from members of a single family. At least one family member must continue to serve as an officer or board member of the foundation and they or their relatives play a significant role in governing and/or managing the foundation throughout its life. Most family foundations concentrate their giving locally, in their communities. “Family Foundation,” however, is not a legal term.
• Federated Funds: A centralized campaign, most commonly a United Way organization, whereby an organization raises money for its member agencies. These annual workplace giving campaigns raise millions of dollars for distribution to local, state, and national nonprofit organizations.
• Giving Circles: A collaborative philanthropy in which individual donors pool their money and other resources, and decide together how and where to give them away. In New Jersey, many giving circles are a component fund of a community foundation, which may have a CNJG membership already.
• Government Grantmakers: A government agency that provides grants to 501(c)(3) organizations. Note: dues for Government Grantmakers are calculated differently: dues are based on a percentage (0.2%) of the Agency/Division administrative allocation/budget. If the agency does not have an administrative budget, dues will be based on the level of grants made each year (see standard dues structure on the membership application).
• Independent Foundations: An individual usually founds these private foundations, sometimes by bequest. Sometimes individuals or groups of people, such as family members, form a foundation while the donors are still living. Many large independent foundations are no longer governed by members of the original donor's family, but are run by boards made up of community, business and academic leaders. They are occasionally termed “nonoperating” because they do not run their own programs.
• Private Operating Foundations: Private operating foundations derive their annual budget from an endowment or from a sole donor or some other reliable source of income for which the foundation does not need to fundraise or solicit. If, however, a private operating foundation primary function is to be a fundraising arm for a nonprofit, and does not support two or more unrelated external organizations, similar to supporting foundations, it is not eligible for membership with CNJG.
• Public Foundations: Also known as public grantmaking charities. Public foundations, along with community foundations, are recognized as public charities by the IRS. Although they may provide direct charitable services to the public and receive donations from the public as other nonprofits do, their primary focus is on grantmaking. To qualify for CNJG membership, a public foundation must spend the substantial amount of time and effort on grantmaking and no more than 60% of its grants should be directed to one organization.
• Family Offices with Philanthropic Advisors: Not a formally-created foundation, but an office that should do, at least, half of the following:
  1. Help the principals to develop their grantmaking priorities
  2. Develop strategies for specific grantmaking program areas
  3. Craft or manage grant application procedures
  4. Research and/or forge relationships with prospective grantees
  5. Manage relationships with existing grantees
  6. Coordinate the grant evaluation process, including the creation of proposal dockets for board review
  7. Manage the disbursement of funds to grantees
  8. Develop and coordinate evaluation of grant outcomes
• Philanthropic Individuals committed to sustained, strategic philanthropy and who are giving more than $20,000 annually to a variety of nonprofit organizations.

Non-grantmaking entities that support grantmaking can join as Associate Members of CNJG. The following are eligible for CNJG Associate Membership:

• Philanthropic Advisors: Consultants engaged to advise individuals or companies on their grantmaking, and who are not working on an on-going basis for a specific foundation or family office, can join as a single individual. If a firm is interested in joining, thereby paying for all advisors to join, please contact CNJG to discuss. Philanthropic Advisors must conform to CNJG’s non-solicitation policy.
• Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs): Private financial institutions that are fully dedicated to delivering responsible, affordable lending to help low-income, low-wealth, and other disadvantaged people and communities join the economic mainstream. CDFIs that have any size of grantmaking portfolio should join as a Grantmaker member as a public Grantmaker. CDFIs that do not have a grantmaking portfolio, but are giving low-interest loans or making an impact through such vehicles can join as an Associate member.

Organizations that are typically not eligible for membership are:

• Supporting Foundations: A supporting organization is a section 501(c)(3) organization that qualifies as a public charity (and not a private foundation) because it has a close relationship with another publicly supported section 501(c)(3) organization. Most often, these are hospital or university foundations. A supporting foundation acting as the fundraising arm for the hospital or university, is not eligible for membership because it does not meet the Council’s membership criteria to provide charitable support to two or more unrelated external organizations on an annual basis.
• 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organizations: Nonprofit organizations that are seeking funds are not eligible to join. If however, within their scope of work there is a grantmaking component (most often a regranting organization) without a formal and separate foundation create, please contact CNJG to discuss eligibility.

Non-Solicitation Policy

CNJG strives to create a community of practice characterized by mutual respect and trust for philanthropy of all shapes and sizes to connect with each other thereby improving grantmaking in New Jersey.

In order to foster a safe, brave, and collegial place where members can share best practices and lessons learned, no fundraising is allowed at CNJG events. Collaborative grantmaking, however, is encouraged.

By joining CNJG, members agree to the following non-solicitation policy:

• Soliciting funds, contracts, and consulting clients is strictly prohibited at all CNJG events (with the exception of sponsors and exhibitors for our signature events) and on our digital listservs and platforms.
• For organizations that both raise funds and make grants, your participation in CNJG activities is as a grantmaker only. Staff whose functions are primarily fundraising (e.g., development staff) within institutions that are both grantseeking and grantmaking are not eligible for participation in CNJG activities, with the exception of our Spring Conference/Colloquium for the Social Sector.
• Contact information on CNJG’s Member Directory and other lists is for networking purposes only. Please do not add contact information to your mailing list without an individual’s explicit permission. Please do not use email addresses, phone numbers, or other contact information for soliciting funds, business, or contracts. Please do not forward other members' contact information to grantseekers without their permission.
• CNJG reserves the right to restrict the participation of individuals or organizations whose behavior contravenes the letter or spirit of our non-solicitation policy.

Membership Dues

Membership dues for grantmaking members follow the schedule below. Please refer to the Membership Policies section for additional specific guidelines for dues calculations.

Membership dues for Associate Members:
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI’s) without grantmaking portfolios dues are $1,630 for the organization. A CDFI that has a grantmaking portfolio should base dues on that grantmaking portfolio according to the dues schedule above. As with our grantmaking members that are both grant seekers and grantmakers, please do not include any fundraising staff as part of the membership. For clarifications, please contact CNJG.

Dues for an individual philanthropic advisor are $1,630. If a firm is interested in joining to have more than one advisor on staff join, please contact CNJG to discuss.

Leadership Gifts

Some members include an additional gift to help cover the costs of CNJG’s operations. Membership dues cover about 40% of our operations. These welcomed and unrestricted funds help underwrite the many programs and services that CNJG provides to our members and the philanthropic sector.
 

Sponsorships

In addition to membership, CNJG offers companies and foundations the opportunity to sponsor events, programs, and services. Please contact Theresa Jacks for more information.

For any other questions or to learn more about CNJG membership, contact Craig Weinrich.