Council Of New Jersey Grantmakers Inc

CNJG SUPPORTS AND ELEVATES NEW JERSEY'S PHILANTHROPIC COMMUNITY THROUGH SHARED LEARNING, COLLABORATIVE AND TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS, NETWORKING BUILDING, AND LEADERSHIP.

PROGRAMMING 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 2023, WE PROVIDED OVER 70 PROGRAMS, INCLUDING FUNDER BRIEFINGS, NEWARK-FOCUSED BRIEFINGS, AFFINITY GROUP MEETINGS, PARTNER PROGRAMS, AND SKILL-BUILDING WEBINARS. CNJG FUNDER BRIEFINGS PROVIDE A FORUM TO EXCHANGE KNOWLEDGE AND INSIGHTS RELATED TO PRESSING SOCIETAL ISSUES THAT AFFECT OUR COMMUNITIES. SKILL-BUILDING WORKSHOPS ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE COUNCIL'S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING FOR MEMBERS. THESE WORKSHOPS OFFER A RANGE OF TOPICS TO DEVELOP NEW SKILLS AND ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE TO ADVANCE AND INFORM MEMBERS' GRANTMAKING. AFFINITY GROUPS PROVIDE A VALUED FORUM THROUGH WHICH NEW JERSEY GRANTMAKERS CAN CONNECT, EXCHANGE INFORMATION, AND LEARN FROM EXPERTS IN A WIDE RANGE OF FIELDS AND SECTORS. WE PARTNER WITH UNITED PHILANTHROPY FORUM, THE NEW JERSEY CENTER FOR NONPROFITS, AS WELL AS OTHER REGIONAL AND NATIONAL PHILANTHROPY-SERVING ORGANIZATIONS AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO PROVIDE SPECIAL BRIEFINGS AND KNOWLEDGE-BUILDING PROGRAMS FOR MEMBERS.OTHER PROGRAMS AND SERVICES INCLUDE MEMBER RESEARCH AND QUERIES, SPECIAL REPORTS SUCH AS THE NEW JERSEY PHILANTHROPY BENEFITS & SALARY SUMMARY REPORT, NEWSLETTERS, AND COMMUNICATIONS TO KEEP MEMBERS INFORMED, LISTSERVS, FOUNDATIONS ON THE HILL, SYSTEMS CHANGE WORK SUCH AS DOING GOOD BETTER, 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.

SIGNATURE EVENTSIN 2023, WE PLANNED AND OFFERED TWO SIGNATURE EVENTS, INCLUDING THE SPRING CONFERENCE AND THE CNJG ANNUAL MEETING & HOLIDAY GATHERING. THE CONFERENCE, DOING GOOD BETTER, WELCOMED OVER 200 NEW JERSEY FOUNDATION AND NONPROFIT LEADERS FOR A FULL DAY OF LEARNING, NETWORKING, AND CONNECTION. THE OPENING AND LUNCH PLENARIES, AS WELL AS THE CONCURRENT SESSIONS, EXPLORED TRUST-BASED PHILANTHROPY, PARTICIPATORY GRANTMAKING, AND HOW FUNDERS CAN MOVE FORWARD AND CENTER EQUITABLE PRACTICES IN THEIR GRANTMAKING. THE ANNUAL MEETING & HOLIDAY GATHERING - PHILANTHROPIC COLLABORATIVES: DRIVING IMPACT AND OPPORTUNITY, WELCOMED OVER 130 MEMBERS TO EXAMINE THE MANY NUANCES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATIONS ACCROSS THE SECTOR. THE ACCOMPANYING WORKSHOP, TOOLS FOR FUNDER COLLABORATION, PROVIDED A CONCRETE GROUNDING OF THE MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF FUNDER COLLABORATIONS, AS WELL AS PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION.

DOING GOOD BETTER INITIATIVE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NEW JERSEY CENTER FOR NONPROFITS, THE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION SERVING NEW JERSEY'S CHARITABLE SECTOR, WE ARE WORKING TO REIMAGINE HOW OUR STATE'S NONPROFITS AND PHILANTHROPY CAN BETTER AND MORE DELIBERATELY WORK TOGETHER. THIS INITIATIVE BUILDS ON OUR COVID RESPONSE EFFORTS, AND THE WORK OF CNJG'S RACIAL EQUITY TASK FORCE, AND IS INFUSED THROUGHOUT OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. WHILE CNJG TOOK A LEADING ROLE CONVENING FUNDERS IN THEIR RESPONSE TO COVID, THE PANDEMIC SHOWED THE LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING PHILANTHROPIC STRUCTURES AND PRACTICES. AS A RESULT, GRANTMAKERS RECOGNIZED THAT ORGANIZED PHILANTHROPY MUST ADAPT, CHANGE, AND REALIGN ITSELF TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF TODAY, AND FIND REAL SOLUTIONS THAT CAN PAVE THE WAY TO EQUITABLE COMMUNITIES. TOGETHER WITH OUR PARTNERS, WE'RE CREATING A FRAMEWORK FOR A FULL AND CANDID CONVERSATION BETWEEN OUR STATE'S PHILANTHROPIC AND NONPROFIT SECTORS TO EXAMINE TRADITIONAL GRANTMAKING PRACTICES AND DETERMINE HOW WE MIGHT EMPLOY NEW BEST PRACTICES RESULTING IN RESILIENT AND EQUITABLE COMMUNITIES FOR ALL NEW JERSEYANS. COVID MADE CLEAR IT'S NECESSARY FOR PHILANTHROPY TO WORK DIFFERENTLY. AS A RESULT, DURING THE PANDEMIC, FOUNDATIONS STEPPED UP TO PROVIDE MORE FLEXIBLE FUNDING, LOOSEN RESTRICTIONS ON GRANTS, AND UNBURDEN NONPROFIT PARTNERS SO THEY COULD SPEND THEIR TIME AND ENERGY RESPONDING TO THE COVID-19 CRISIS. THE DOING GOOD BETTER TENT IS COMMITTED TO MOVING FORWARD TRUST-BASED PHILANTHROPY PRINCIPLES, PARTICIPATORY GRANTMAKING PRACTICES, AND SOLUTIONS TO ADVANCE EQUITY; RIGHTSIZING UNEVEN POWER DYNAMICS BETWEEN NONPROFITS AND FOUNDATIONS; AND STREAMLINING GRANT PROCESSES AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. THIS WILL BE A MULTI-YEAR, SIGNATURE PROJECT.