Hurricane relief, legal aid, food programs benefit from boosted giving to Community Foundation of NJ – Morristown Green

From the Community Foundation of New Jersey:

Community Foundation Grantmaking Way Up for 2018, Tops $66 million
Represents $17 million increase in one-year grantmaking

The Community Foundation of New Jersey (CFNJ) on Friday thanked its more than 1,100 fundholders for recommending a record 7,722 individual grants in 2018 totaling $66.7 million.

This figure represents a $17 million increase in dollars going to worthy causes as compared to last year’s total of $49.5 million from 6,515 grants. Of this amount:

  • 3,530 individual grants totaling $38.3 million supported nonprofits in New Jersey. This number was $28.9 million in 2017.
  • 4,192 individual grants totaling $28.4 million supported nonprofits outside of New Jersey. This number was $20.5 million in 2017.

CFNJ received a total of $103.5 million in new funds in 2018, which it stewards and grants out on behalf of active fundholders and those who leave bequests. Fifty-four new funds were established in 2018.

Looking at the different fund types of funds offered at CFNJ:

  • Donor-advised funds were responsible for $35 million of the total outgoing grantmaking.This number was $25 million in 2017. Through donor-advised funds, individuals, families, and businesses not only support a wide range of organizations and issues, but also leverage CFNJ’s team of philanthropic professionals to achieve the most favorable tax treatment and greatest community impact.
  • Scholarship funds were responsible for $1 million in scholarship grants to 225 students.
  • Legacy funds, through which donors entrust CFNJ to implement their giving in line with their philanthropic goals, were responsible for $7.8 million of the year’s total giving, having impact on a range of causes and regions of the state.
  • New Jersey companies like Wakefern Food Corp., Johnson & Johnson, Panasonic, PSEG, through our business-advised funds, were responsible for $4.1 million in grants in 2018.

CFNJ began the year responding to the hurricanes in Puerto Rico on behalf of two New Jersey companies, C.R. Bard and Becton Dickinson. Through two Employee Crisis Relief Funds, CFNJ provided 1,014 emergency relief grants to employees totaling $2,000,650.  

Hans Dekker, president of the Community Foundation of New Jersey.
Hans Dekker, president of the Community Foundation of New Jersey.

Collective giving took on added importance in 2018, with CFNJ’s four Impact 100 groups – Impact 100 Garden State, Impact100 Essex, Impact 100 Jersey Coast, and Impact 100 South Jersey – making eight transformative grants, totaling approximately $822,000.

These Impact 100 organizations made important contributions to the philanthropic sector in eight counties across the state, connecting more than 800 women to nonprofit projects in their communities.

Through its own discretionary funds, CFNJ made measurable progress in several important areas:

In partnership with the Rutgers Law Child Advocacy Clinic, Immigrant Justice Corps, and the Morris County Office of Hispanic Affairs, CFNJ provided the funding to increase legal representation for immigrant youth living in New Jersey.

CFNJ’s multi-year investments in the Youth and Criminal Justice Clinic at Rutgers Law is leading to significant new policy changes for 2019 including an extension on the limits on solitary confinement and increasing access to educational and other services.

With CFNJ’s support, Fair Food Network brought the Double Up Food Bucks Program into four Essex County ShopRites. The program increases the purchasing power of SNAP benefits for fresh produce for low-income families.

“When the solutions we get behind in communities up and down New Jersey show results, it is especially invigorating,” said Hans Dekker, CFNJ’s president.

“Ultimately, though, it is the philanthropic goals of our fundholders that guide our work. We are proud to make their charitable dreams a reality, and to achieve measurable impact and favorable tax treatment in the process.”

About the Community Foundation of New Jersey

The Community Foundation of New Jersey educates and engages the people of New Jersey on the power of charitable giving to effect positive change in our communities. Since its founding in 1979, the Community Foundation has counseled New Jersey families and businesses on how to use philanthropic funds to target and increase the impact of their giving in the areas that matter most to them.

These more than 1,100 Legacy Funds and Donor Advised Funds grant tens of millions of dollars each year, and have enabled the Community Foundation to launch its own Changemaker Projects that are improving New Jersey and its dynamic communities. The Community Foundation’s funds currently hold over $425 million in charitable assets and grant tens of millions of dollars each year to charitable work in New Jersey and around the world.