Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

Our green roof, after last weekend’s snow storm

We’ll remember 2009 as the year we settled into our beautiful new, green office space, grateful to be among our friends and colleagues here, in the heart of vibrant downtown Morristown, and surrounded by the natural beauty of our biowall and green roof. We have enjoyed sharing our space with you, through our Technical Assistance Workshops, tours of the building, affinity group meetings and as a conference/meeting place for your organizations. We hope to see even more of you visit us next year.

Although the calendar year is coming to an end, we’re just beginning another round of grantmaking. We are eager to come see you in the new year, to learn about your work and to explore creativity and sustainability together. We will continue to share our thoughts and experiences here and hope you will join us in the conversation too, when we return to the blog (and to Twitter) in January.

From the staff of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, we wish all of you the very best for a happy and healthy 2010.

Michelle Knapik, Environment Program Director

The policy visions were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that state government soon would be there. The real story here involves fifteen regional housing, transportation, planning and environmental organizations whose leaders have spent months to find “common ground” among their interests so they could (among other things) deliver a policy platform letter to Governor-elect Christie.

You’ll want to take in the details of the letter regarding the course these organizations are charting for clean energy, transportation, natural resource protection, compact development and affordable housing. These areas are critical elements for a healthy and prosperous New Jersey. The policy agenda item that struck me most, however, focused on the need to “integrate systems for making state level decisions that affect our future.”

Wow, fifteen organizations with cross sector interests highlighting a systems-thinking approach to policy, planning, design and decision making – now that is a special gift under the tree. In fact, maybe we could all look at making “whole thinking” a New Year’s resolution. Imagine policy advocates and policy makers who look at how all the pieces of the economic, social and environmental puzzle fit together.

I hope, too, that you take note of the tone of the letter. It is not a demand that the incoming Governor forsake his agenda for some righteous social and environmental agenda; rather, it is an invitation for the Governor-elect to call upon these resource and planning experts to help him meet his agenda and New Jersey’s challenges. These groups urge state government to take a “coordinated approach” that will “benefit all the citizens of New Jersey and the next generation.”

Now, Clean Ocean Action and American Littoral! now, New Jersey Audubon and Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association! now, Tri State Transportation, Trust for Public Land and New Jersey Conservation Foundation! on, ANJEC and New Jersey Highlands Coalition! on, Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey and Regional Plan Association! on, New Jersey Future and Pinelands Preservation! on, New Jersey Environmental Federation and Coalition for Affordable Housing and Environment!  To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! common ground is before us once and for all!

Martin Farawell, Program Director, Poetry

While stationed in Iraq in 2004, Brian Turner wrote the title poem to his debut book of poems, Here, Bullet, folded it up, sealed it in a Ziploc bag, and put it in his left breast pocket, where he kept it for the remainder of his year as an infantry team leader with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. “Caravan” and Eulogy” are two of the poems from that collection.

Since its publication, Here, Bullet has been promoted by Veterans for Peace and like organizations, and has been adopted for courses at the US Air Force and Naval Academies, the US Military Academy at West Point and the Virginia Military Institute. We might not expect Turner’s poems to speak to members of peace organizations and military academies, but the poems in Here, Bullet are part of a long tradition dating back to the ancient epics.

It has been said that history is written by the victors, but the true story is written by our poets. Whatever we know about the brutality of war in Ancient Greece we’ve learned from reading Homer’s Illiad. Walt Whitman’s “The Wound Dresser” and “Reconciliation” are only two of his many poems that put a human face on our own Civil War.

Turner’s attempt to right the wrong of the erasure of Private First Class Bruce Miller’s name from the official record reminds us of the human cost of the wars of our own time. It is a sad fact of history that our poets need to keep reminding us.

The Winter Solstice, Chanukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa celebrations all emerged as festivals of light and hope held during the darkest time of the year. In this dark time when we find ourselves embroiled in two of the longest wars in our history, let’s take a few moments to remember Private Bruce Miller and the many young men and women stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and make a New Year’s resolution to give our poets fewer reasons to write war poems.

Poetry Fridays will be on holiday hiatus until the New Year.

Be sure to return for upcoming Poetry Fridays, when we will feature many poets from past Dodge Poetry Festivals in the weeks ahead, including Jorie Graham, Tony Hoagland, Taslima Nasreen and others.

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Molly de Aguiar, Program Associate

At the beginning of this month, Wendy Liscow offered an extensive selection of thoughtful holiday gift ideas that also benefit New Jersey non-profits.

But some of you are procrastinators. We know it.

So, here are a few more last minute gift ideas, in addition to Wendy’s comprehensive list – many of them are just a phone call away. And in case you missed the news that the State of New Jersey has frozen $10 million in grant money to arts organizations across the state, a donation to any arts group, or a purchase of gift tickets/subscriptions is especially meaningful and useful to them while also making a lovely gift for anyone on your list.

Shakespeare Theatre Box Office

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey has a well-stocked gift shop with handmade items like jewelry and scarves, as well as toys, t-shirts and, of course, Shakespeare-inspired gifts. They also offer gift certificates for subscriptions, tickets and the gift shop in all denominations as well as gift passes to any performance of any production in the 2009 or 2010 season. You can call their box office at: (973) 408-5600

Shop the Pinelands Preservation Alliance online shop for many Pinelands-related items including books and history DVDs, as well as affordable art prints and photographs. (Today is the last day to shop online for holiday delivery, but you can stop by the Pinelands Visitor Center on Saturday from 11am to 4pm or Sunday from 1pm to 4pm).

Centenary Stage is offering a sweet deal: with your ticket purchase to any of their events, they’ll wrap your ticket purchases in a mug filled with chocolates. Nice! Call their box office: (908) 979-0900.

The Zimmerli Holiday Boutique is in full swing until December 23rd. The museum’s gorgeous gift shop has many things to choose from, and just $3 will give you access to the museum, too. The gift shop is free to enter and open during regular museum hours.

Thanks to Twitter, we know that the Surflight Theatre, which is the only professional theatre in Ocean County, and Appel Farm Arts and Music Center, a residential arts camp for kids 9-17 years, are offering gift certificates as perfect Christmas gifts. You can call their box offices for more information. Surflight: (609) 492-9477 and Appel Farm: (800) 394-1211.

And if none of the above seem just right, we urge you to remember your local food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters need all the support they can get. A donation to these vital organizations in someone’s honor is a truly thoughtful and meaningful gift that directly supports people in need. Here in Morristown, there are too many organizations to mention them all, but if you are local to the area, please consider supporting Homeless Solutions, Interfaith Food Pantry, Jersey Battered Women’s Services, Deirdre’s House, and the Community Soup Kitchen of Morristown.

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Today’s post comes to us from Sidney Hargro of the Community Foundation of South Jersey

Sidney Hargro, Community Foundation of South Jersey

Four years in the making, the Community Foundation of South Jersey (CFSJ) is now poised to inspire philanthropy from South Jersey for South Jersey that effectively addresses today’s challenges while building a community endowment that will address the emerging issues of tomorrow. To all of those who had a hand in the formation of CFSJ, take a deep breath…and a bow! You did it!

The passionate and committed early efforts of the coordinating committee members, led by Chair Jack Tarditi, Vice Chair Mindy Holman, Nina Stack of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, and others has been rewarded with a $600,000 operating and grantmaking grant from the Ford Foundation and a $50,000 operating grant from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation for which we are extremely grateful. With this seed investment, CFSJ will create a brand of philanthropy that is fueled by a framework of listening, leveraging, and learning.

Listening

Every great endeavor must begin with listening, and listening will take on a variety forms at CFSJ. The first act of listening has already begun in the form of listening to those who had a hand in creating the foundation to capture their “hopes and dreams” for the region. This will be followed by a regional tour to engage leaders from the nonprofit sector, business, government, higher ed and others in conversations about the diverse communities that constitute South Jersey. We want tohear their ideas about how CFSJ can help them make a difference. Why? Because we believe innovative ideas and solutions to the greatest challenges in South Jersey lie within the people of South Jersey. This tour will also help us identify community ambassadors throughout the region to serve as the foundation’s eyes and ears.

Leveraging

Lucy Bernholz, Founder and President of Blueprint Research & Design, Inc. and visiting scholar at the Stanford University Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society,  simply defines philanthropic leverage as “the use of dollars in pot A to access dollars from Pot B”. For CFSJ, we will expand this notion by using existing human and financial capital to access additional human and financial capital, all for the purpose of seeding a movement that will continuously improve the quality of life in South Jersey. In other words, we will not only play the role of philanthropic advisor to individuals, families, and businesses – conveniently connecting them to the causes they care about – but we will also cultivate relationships between donors, regional and national funders, and others that have similar social change agendas.

Learning

One of the best definitions that I have heard for the term “learning organization” is:

“Organizations with an ingrained philosophy for anticipating, reacting and responding to change, complexity and uncertainty.”  —Yogesh Malhotra, PhD

Using this definition, it would appear that community foundations are ideally positioned to be a community’s foremost learning organizations, especially with the economic realities that some say is the “new normal”. To that end, CFSJ is committed to monitoring and evaluating incremental improvements on the road to making a difference in the region.

Listening, leveraging, and learning is not a linear process. It is a continual, artistic symphony of elements that simultaneously works to make CFSJ a relevant philanthropic organization. For more information on the the work of the foundation, please visit our website at www.communityfoundationsj.org.