Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

Last weekend, Dodge President and CEO Chris Daggett was the commencement speaker for the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. We thought you would like to read his inspiring words to Bloustein graduates on the importance of public service:

Remarks by Christopher J. Daggett

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Convocation
May 15, 2011

Good afternoon Dean Hughes, distinguished members of the faculty and staff, graduates, families and friends. I am truly honored and delighted to be with you today as you celebrate this milestone in your lives.

I am reminded of a quip from former Governor Mario Cuomo, father of New York’s current governor. He said, “Commencement speakers should think of themselves as the body at an old-fashioned Irish wake. They need you in order to have the party, but nobody expects you to say very much.”

That’s a lesson I’ll try to remember today.

First, you can be proud of your association with the Bloustein School. Your dean, Jim Hughes, is a legend in Trenton. When he lays out to the Legislature the state’s financial picture for the upcoming year, the members hang on every word.

The Bloustein School – its centers and affiliated institutes — lead the way in so many areas – transportation, housing, public health, energy, workforce development, the environment, and on and on.

Your faculty members receive countless honors and awards. And earlier this month, a national journal ranked Rutgers third in the nation among Graduate Urban Planning Programs. Congratulations to you all.

I’d also like to recognize the people who helped make today’s event possible — all the deans, advisors, faculty and staff who supported you throughout your program, and who guided you through the sometimes confusing maze of academia.

Graduations are a time of reflection – a brief and well-earned pause to look back so that you can then move forward. And in doing so here today, I want to make one key point: Public service is a high calling, worthy of the best and brightest of our students and citizens. Again, public service is a high calling, worthy of the best and brightest of our students and citizens.

A half century ago this year, President John F. Kennedy gave his stirring inaugural address, in which he put forth a call to public service. On that day, he inspired millions to consider serving their country – and many responded by entering the Peace Corps, VISTA, social service agencies, teaching, and the military.

How times have changed. Fifty years later, public service is regarded in too many circles as a dirty word. Just listen to the angry and demonizing rhetoric around the urgent need to rein in government pension and health care benefits — where government workers and teachers are cast as greedy people living off the public dole.

Or, remember how President Obama was castigated as a “community organizer”.

Or, listen to the words of a person I met with last week, who, in response to a high school student in Newark expressing his enthusiasm to become a politician, asked: “Why on earth would you want to do that? Politics is no career for any decent person….”

I heartily disagreed with that opinion – and quickly told the young man to go for it. To paraphrase my old boss, former Governor Tom Kean, “public service is a public calling.” We need more bright young people – and people of all ages — to follow his words and example and to take up the call, as you have done by choosing the Bloustein School.

So how did we get to this point? There’s no denying that some of this disdain was brought upon us by the misdeeds of some who held the public trust – those who enriched themselves while impoverishing their communities. Yes, the leaders of a number of public employee unions have been too hard-nosed in their unwillingness to consider the changes in contracts necessary to help solve the fiscal woes of our state and our nation. And too often, governors and legislatures have treated the state treasury as their own election-year piggy bank to hand out benefits and pork to buy the support of key constituencies.

But the vast majority of people that I have met in politics and government went into it for the right reasons – to serve, to make a difference, to share their talents with others, to lead a fulfilling life. They are the vast majority of public servants – the unsung heroes in the arena.

So, beyond the anger toward a small minority of self-serving individuals, why is there such a general distaste for the field of public service? Certainly the tenor of public discourse has been a real factor. Our poisonous political climate – in Washington, D.C., in the media, and in state capitals across the country – mistakes demeaning your opponents for reasoned discourse.

The non-stop 24-hour news cycle needs to be fed with controversy. There is a “with us or against us” mentality on both sides of the political aisle that leaves the majority of us – who are moderate in the best sense of the word – with no place to turn. Governor Kean once said that he was a middle-of-the-roader because the filth runs down the gutters on both sides of the street. Today, all too often, it seems that there is no middle of the road in the American political debate.

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt studies the moral values that form the basis of our political choices. Responding to recent research in moral and political psychology, Haidt and his associates at CivilPolitics.org have said this about the state of political discourse:

“…when disagreements activate the psychology of good-versus-evil[,] [c]ompromise becomes far more difficult; reasoning becomes far less responsive to facts; and combatants begin to believe that the ends justify the means. When that happens, partisans are more willing to break laws, play dirty tricks, lie, and ruin the personal lives of their opponents — all in the service of what they think is a good cause. Good people are discouraged from entering politics. Good public servants are driven out of public service.”

I am increasingly concerned by the high level of apathy and distrust that many citizens have toward government. Too many Americans are discouraged by the poisonous political climate today – by the angry rhetoric, vicious personal attacks, and uncompromising ideologies. They are embarrassed by the “made for YouTube”, in-your-face rhetoric, that turns town hall meetings into shouting matches more suitable for the Jerry Springer show or a WWF wrestling match.

Their response has been to tune out, turn the volume down, and take a break from, or, worse, quit altogether, active citizenship.

We must move beyond the politics of anger, blame, personal attacks, demonization and public scorn. It is time to push back against this tide and create conditions for civil dialogue and civic action. It was this belief that led me to run as an Independent candidate in New Jersey’s 2009 gubernatorial election, and it is the reason I entered the philanthropic sector. It is also what inspired me in my years of public service.

Today, I ask you to do the same thing. You stand on the threshold of public service. You represent the best with conviction. Your passionate belief in a better life for yourselves and for your fellow citizens has carried you through the hard work to your graduation today, and it fuels tomorrow, when you begin, or continue, your life in public service and join the alumni of the Bloustein School, — a school described in its mission as being “committed to a rebirth of the public service ethic in the United States.”

No one is better poised to lead than you are, right at this moment. Whether you are receiving your Masters in City and Regional Planning, City and Regional Studies, Public Policy, or Public Affairs and Politics, or your Doctor of Philosophy in Planning and Public Policy, you have spent countless hours looking at and studying the facts – not the fiction – of issues.

Dee Hock, the founder of VISA, said, “It is far too late and things are far too bad for pessimism.” In America today, the economy is mired in what Dean Hughes and others have called the “New Normal,” a jobless recovery that leaves far too many people unemployed or underemployed. The healthcare debate rages ever on, and our environmental issues defy easy resolution. These are indeed difficult days.

But these are your days. This is your time. (more…)

Our friends at the Center for Non-Profits are asking all New Jersey non-profits to help complete two very important surveys by February 14 and 15 respectively, which is just a few days away. This is for all New Jersey non-profits, not just Dodge grantees:

PART 1
Center for Non-Profits 2011 Annual New Jersey Non-Profit Issues and Trends Survey

As part of our ongoing work to serve and advocate for the non-profit community, the Center for Non-Profits is conducting its 11th Annual New Jersey Non-Profit Sector Issues and Trends Survey.

This initiative is an important way for us to gather and communicate information regarding current and emerging trends for our state’s non-profits. It has proven invaluable in our work to advocate for sector needs and educate policy makers, funders and the media. It is also central to our efforts to better serve your organization.

Your participation is vital. Your input will help provide a complete and compelling picture of how New Jersey non-profits fared in the previous year, their outlook for 2011 and other trends, challenges and achievements within our sector. The survey results will help strengthen and shape the Center’s advocacy and programmatic priorities, and will be shared broadly with the non-profit community, funders, government and business leaders, media and the public. These findings can also help you in your own planning and advocacy efforts.

The online survey will only take about 15-20 minutes to complete and all individual responses will be kept confidential. Most questions in this survey will ask about your impressions and opinion based on your experiences. However, a few questions ask for basic financial and funding information, much of which you may already know. If you don’t have precise data readily available, a reasonable approximation is fine.

Click here to take the Center’s survey

The Center’s survey deadline is February 14, 2011, so please take a moment to respond now.

PART 2
Nonprofit Finance Fund National Survey

When you’re done filling out the Center’s survey, please take some extra time to complete the national nonprofit survey being conducted by the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) to explore the sector’s specific, real-time financial and management challenges. Although there is some overlap between the two surveys, NFF is tracking economic trends for the sector nationally, and it is important that New Jersey be well represented. NFF’s survey deadline is February 15, 2011.

Take the NFF survey.

The small investment of time to complete both surveys can yield huge dividends for the non-profit community now and over the long term.

Thank you for your participation, and please share this message broadly with your non-profit colleagues in New Jersey.

We’re thrilled for our friend David Wheeler, the Director of Operations for the Edison Wetlands Association (a Dodge grantee), for his newly-published book, “Wild New Jersey: Nature Adventures in the Garden State.” The book is published by Rutgers University Press. David is also the founder of  the Wild New Jersey blog.

In his book, David takes us on a year-long tour of every corner of New Jersey, exploring its diverse landscape: from the mountains and beaches, to the Pine Barrens and marshlands, teaching us about the incredible diversity of wildlife in our small, crowded state.

David “provides an entertaining overview of the diversity of wildlife in New Jersey that challenges the notion that our state is merely a crowded, overdeveloped stretch of toxic sites,” says Greg Remaud, the Deputy Director of NY/NJ Baykeeper.” It’s not often we can refer to a book about nature as a ‘page turner’.”

You can get a copy of the book directly from Rutgers Press, as well as Amazon.

And do not miss the Wild New Jersey blog, which features New Jersey focused environmental and wildlife news as well as exclusive videos. You can also follow David on Twitter @DavidHWheeler and the Wild New Jersey blog @wildnewjersey.

Congratulations, David!

Congratulations to Dodge Trustee Rose Harvey, whom New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo nominated as Commissioner of Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. We wholly agree that she is the ideal candidate for the position.

From the Governor’s office:

“Rose Harvey’s experience and knowledge as well as her expertise creating countless cost-effective parks, playgrounds and open spaces in underserved communities with efficiency makes her the person we need to lead this agency,” Governor Cuomo said. “I thank her for her public service and look forward to working with her.”

Currently, Ms. Harvey is a senior fellow at the Jonathan Rose Companies, where she acts as an advisor and researcher on parks and open space issues, and launched a non-profit organization to fund, design and develop safe, well-managed parks in urban neighborhoods. She was also recently a McCluskey Fellow and Lecturer at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

For 27 years, Ms. Harvey held multiple leadership positions with The Trust for Public Land, most recently as Senior Vice President and National Director of Urban Programs. There, she oversaw all real estate acquisitions, urban park design and developments, managed the finances of a $20 million annual operating budget, and closed between $50 and $75 million worth of land and parks transactions each year across 8 states – a total of nearly $1 billion and more than a thousand new and enhanced parks, gardens and playgrounds in underserved neighborhoods in New York City, Newark, N.J. and Baltimore. She has also established large landscape woodlands and natural areas throughout New York State and the Mid-Atlantic region.

Read Governor Cuomo’s full press release here.

Image courtesy Rose Harvey

In a national vote, Sustainable Jersey was named one of three winners of the Community Matters Changemakers competition, “Strong Communities: Engaging Citizens, Strengthening Place, Inspiring Change.” Sustainable Jersey will receive $5,000 and national recognition as a top social change innovation. The Strong Communities competition was designed to identify innovative projects and ideas that engage citizens to steer change and build strong communities across the United States and Canada. Sustainable Jersey was one of 260 competition entrants. The entrants were narrowed to eight top programs by a panel of expert judges including Majora Carter, Founder of Sustainable South Bronx and President of the Majora Carter Group; Rich Harwood, Founder and President of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation; Jared Duval, author and Fellow at Demos; and Bonnie Shaw, Founder and Director of BYO Consulting. As a finalist, Sustainable Jersey participated in the national CommunityMatters’10 conference in Denver, Colorado from October 5-8, which brought together leaders, thinkers and doers working to build stronger communities.

Sustainable Jersey program founders Randall Solomon and Donna Drewes of Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey and Fred Profeta, Jr. of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities’ Mayors’ Committee for a Green Future went to Denver to make a presentation to the conference attendees.  They emphasized the importance of creating a new pathway to make decisions about the future of communities and noted that the green team members become a shadow government that encourages local governments to get involved in sustainability initiatives.  On-line voting allowed the general public to review the entrees and vote for the finalists. Three “inspired change” winners were announced in Denver on October 8: 1) Sustainable Jersey, 2) Sustain-A-Raisers, a program in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, and 3) the Making Connections Network, a program in Louisville Kentucky. Thanks to an online social networking effort, Sustainable Jersey led the voting by a significant margin, capturing approximately 52% percent of the total vote.

Sustainable Jersey is the most successful statewide municipal sustainability certification program in the country. Over 6,700 people in New Jersey have participated in statewide training and outreach events in 2010. The program has distributed over half a million dollars to New Jersey communities to support an estimated 1,500 actions taken “on the ground” to make communities more livable, environmentally friendly and prosperous. The comprehensive sustainability program links certification with strong state and private financial incentives, and a fully resourced program of technical support and training. Over 300 of New Jersey’s towns and cities (55%-or 312 towns across all 21 counties) have registered to become Sustainable Jersey certified. By supporting community efforts to reduce waste, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and improve environmental equity, Sustainable Jersey is empowering New Jersey towns to build a better world for future generations.