Council Of New Jersey Grantmakers Inc

THE CNJG EXISTS TO STRENGTHEN AND PROMOTE EFFECTIVE PHILANTHROPY THROUGHOUT NEW JERSEY.

PROGRAMS AND SERVICESTHROUGHOUT THE YEAR, CNJG PROGRAMS BRING TOGETHER ALL TYPES AND SIZES OF GRANTMAKERS WITH LEADERS FROM GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS, ACADEMIA, AND NEW JERSEY'S NONPROFIT COMMUNITY. IN 2021, WE PROVIDED OVER 70 PROGRAMS, INCLUDING FUNDER BRIEFINGS, AFFINITY GROUP MEETINGS, NEWARK-FOCUSED BRIEFINGS, SKILL-BUILDING WEBINARS, AND PARTNER PROGRAMS. CNJG FUNDER BRIEFINGS PROVIDE KNOWLEDGE BUILDING AND INSIGHTS RELATED TO PRESSING SOCIETAL ISSUES THAT AFFECT OUR COMMUNITIES. AFFINITY GROUPS OFFER A VALUED FORUM THROUGH WHICH NEW JERSEY GRANTMAKERS CAN CONNECT, EXCHANGE INFORMATION, AND LEARN FROM EXPERTS IN A WIDE RANGE OF FIELDS AND SECTORS. SKILL-BUILDING WORKSHOPS ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING FOR MEMBERS. THESE WORKSHOPS OFFER A RANGE OF TOPICS TO DEVELOP NEW SKILLS AND ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE TO ADVANCE AND INFORM MEMBERS' GRANTMAKING. WE PARTNER WITH UNITED PHILANTHROPY FORUM, AS WELL AS A WIDE NUMBER OF REGIONAL AND NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY-SERVING ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO PROVIDE SPECIAL BRIEFINGS AND KNOWLEDGE-BUILDING PROGRAMS FOR MEMBERS. IN RESPONSE TO, AND OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION DUE TO COVID-19, ALL PROGRAMMING WAS VIRTUAL IN 2021. OTHER PROGRAMS AND SERVICES INCLUDES MEMBER RESEARCH AND QUERIES, SPECIAL REPORTS SUCH AS THE NEW JERSEY PHILANTHROPY BENEFITS & SALARY SUMMARY REPORT, NEWSLETTERS AND COMMUNICATIONS TO KEEP MEMBERS INFORMED, LISTSERVES, FOUNDATIONS ON THE HILL, AND THE NEWARK PHILANTHROPIC LIAISON INITIATIVE. THE OFFICE OF THE NEWARK PHILANTHROPIC LIAISON IS AN INNOVATIVE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE CITY OF NEWARK AND CNJG, AND REPRESENTS ONE OF THE NATION'S FIRST FORMAL PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN A CITY AND THE PHILANTHROPIC COMMUNITY. THE NON-PARTISAN LIAISON POSITION SERVES AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN NEWARK FUNDERS, MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL AND NEWARK'S ADMINISTRATION. THE LIAISON'S OVERALL PRIMARY GOALS ARE TO CONVENE, CONNECT, LEVERAGE, AND RAISE RESOURCES THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN NEW JERSEY'S PHILANTHROPIC COMMUNITY AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.

COVID PHASE II/DOING GOOD BETTER INITIATIVE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CENTER FOR NON-PROFITS, THE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION SERVING NEW JERSEY'S CHARITABLE SECTOR, WE ARE REIMAGINING HOW OUR STATE'S NONPROFITS AND PHILANTHROPY CAN BETTER WORK TOGETHER. THIS INITIATIVE BUILDS ON OUR 2020 COVID RESPONSE EFFORTS, AND THE RACIAL EQUITY TASK FORCE'S WORK. WHILE CNJG TOOK A LEADING ROLE CONVENING FUNDERS IN THEIR RESPONSE TO COVID, THE PANDEMIC SHOWED THE LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING PHILANTHROPIC STRUCTURES AND PRACTICES. GRANTMAKERS RECOGNIZED THAT ORGANIZED PHILANTHROPY MUST ADAPT AND RETHINK TRADITIONAL GRANTMAKING PRACTICES, AND DETERMINE HOW WE CAN EMPLOY NEW BEST PRACTICES BASED ON MUTUAL TRUST. WE ESTABLISHED A STATEWIDE ADVISORY GROUP TO HELP GUIDE OUR WORK, AND UNVEILED THIS INITIATIVE TO NEW JERSEY'S LARGER SOCIAL SECTOR DURING TWO DECEMBER EVENTS. THIS INITIATIVE WILL TAKE THE BEST OF TRUST-BASED PHILANTHROPY PRINCIPLES, AND PARTICIPATORY GRANTMAKING PRACTICES, ALONG WITH WHAT THE SECTOR HAS LEARNED DURING COVID, TO ANALYZE AND EXAMINE HOW NONPROFITS AND PHILANTHROPY CAN RECONCEPTUALIZE THEIR COLLECTIVE WORK IN BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITIES AND PEOPLE OF OUR STATE. THIS WILL BE A MULTI-YEAR, SIGNATURE PROJECT.

SIGNATURE EVENTSIN 2021, WE PLANNED AND OFFERED THREE VIRTUAL SIGNATURE EVENTS, INCLUDING THE SPRING CONFERENCE FOR NEW JERSEY'S SOCIAL SECTOR, THE INVESTMENT FORUM FOR FOUNDATIONS AND ENDOWMENTS, AND THE CNJG ANNUAL MEETING & HOLIDAY GATHERING. THE SPRING CONFERENCE FOR THE SOCIAL SECTOR: THE FUTURE OF WORK AND THE ROLE OF PHILANTHROPY IN MAY WELCOMED NEARLY 200 ATTENDEES AT OUR FIRST-EVER VIRTUAL CONFERENCE. OVER TWO DAYS, PLENARY SESSIONS AND CONCURRENT SESSIONS CHALLENGED US TO CONSIDER WHAT PHILANTHROPY CAN DO BUILD AN EQUITABLE WORKFORCE FOR THE FUTURE. FOUNDATIONS AND NONPROFITS GATHERED FOR THREE DAYS OF LEARNING AND NETWORKING AT THE INVESTMENT FORUM FOR FOUNDATIONS AND ENDOWMENTS IN NOVEMBER. THE EVENT INCLUDED 3 PLENARIES, 11 CONCURRENT SESSIONS, AND DAILY NETWORKING, AND PROVIDED CRITICAL INSIGHTS AND KNOWLEDGE TO INFORM BEST PRACTICES FOR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND ASSET ALLOCATION. THE ANNUAL MEETING & HOLIDAY GATHERING WELCOMED 120 MEMBERS OVER TWO DAYS IN DECEMBER, AND TACKLED HOW FOUNDATIONS CAN IMPLEMENT TRUST-BASED PRACTICES, ADVANCE EQUITY IN THE PHILANTHROPIC SECTOR.