Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

By Nina Stack, President
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers

Diverse perspectives improve effectiveness.

A bold statement perhaps, but a belief that is being embraced more and more in the corporate world, and we hope, in nonprofits as well. Why have for-profits moved to making sure their Boards are diverse? Because they recognize that successful companies today need to have a management that is more globally oriented and culturally diverse. Because having that produces better decisions and stronger organizations.

This holds true for nonprofits as well, and it is why my organization, the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, is partnering with New Jersey’s American Conference on Diversity to explore creating The Board Bank, a board matching service for diverse leaders in the state who want to connect with nonprofits and foundations. We thank the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation for recently sending out a survey to its grantees that will help us gauge their interest in this idea. If you’d like to take the survey follow this link. All responses will be kept confidential and will be enormously helpful as we work to create this new resource designed to ensure that New Jersey’s diverse voices are well represented.

The idea of finding a way to help foundations and nonprofits identify diverse trustees has been on the docket of the Council for some time. In recent years, there has been a good deal of discussion about board diversity in the philanthropic community. As CNJG considered how it might help our members identify potential trustees, it seemed natural to enlist the American Conference on Diversity as a partner. With some planning grant support from the Albin Family Foundation, the Community Foundation of New Jersey, the Eastman Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we began earlier this year researching similar programs throughout the country, considering criteria for inclusion, and formulating a business model for long term success. An advisory council made up of highly-regarded diverse professionals from all over the state has been providing frank and invaluable input into the development and execution of The Board Bank.

We expect that through The Board Bank, institutions within the State’s social sector will have access to diverse business and community leaders looking to actively participate in the governance and leadership of organizations while serving as trustees. Individuals who wish to expand their community and philanthropic involvement will be matched with organizations seeking to ensure that their Board reflects the significant and rapidly growing diversity in New Jersey.

There are two very important outcomes we see for this program, and both are critical to improving the quality and relevance of services rendered by NJ’s social sector:

• The Board Bank will inevitably boost the amount of knowledge and expertise available to foundation and non-profit Boards.
• It will be a unique and valuable resource for companies looking to become more connected and engaged in the communities in which they conduct business.

The American Conference on Diversity expects to launch The Board Bank in 2012. Look for more information then on how your nonprofit can become a “Member” or how your business or leading institution can become a “Partner.”

Nina Stack is the President of Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, the statewide association for corporate, family, independent, and community foundations. She is a regular contributor to the Dodge blog.

By Nina Stack
President, Council of New Jersey Grantmakers

What is missing amidst the headlines of extraordinarily generous private donors investing in Newark is the quieter story of what a group of local funders seeded 5 years ago. It started as a test to see if it might bear fruit, and has now gone on to have meaningful impact across the city in a number of important, very tangible ways.

When Mayor Cory Booker was first elected, a group of local foundations with long histories of supporting Newark talked of a model that had been working quite well: in Michigan, a group of foundations helped create the non-partisan Office of Foundation Liaison, a cabinet level position within the Michigan governor’s administration to promote cross-sector partnerships and to broaden understanding of the philanthropic sector.

Mayor Booker and his team recognized the value in such an opportunity, and with the support of funders committed to Newark, the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers partnered with Mayor Booker to establish the Newark Philanthropic Liaison position in City Hall.

Many in Newark know Jeremy V. Johnson. He works closely with the Mayor’s office to connect local and regional grantmakers and government entities. He convenes philanthropy stakeholders and government leaders, and he leverages local philanthropic dollars to secure and raise additional resources – introducing new investments into Newark.

Since the position was created in 2006, more than $46 million dollars in private and public funding has been added to the city’s pool of money used for its prisoner re-entry program, workforce development, the greening of Newark, the creation of a safe haven for Newark’s lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and questioning youth, and other programs too.

Through CNJG and Jeremy, the Newark Funders Group, which is made up of funders that invest in the city, now meets regularly to share knowledge and their varied expertise, and to connect with government and community leaders. The formation of this group has led to more agile decision-making when funds are needed. For example, in June of this year, when the group learned that school district funding had been cut for half of the high achieving 7th and 8th graders who were to attend the prestigious W.E.B. Dubois Scholars Institute at Princeton University, they sprang into action. Within days, the group put up the $65,000 shortfall. Thanks to their quick action, all 25 students were able to participate in the five-week, college-level, intensive program designed to develop Newark’s future leaders.

The unusually fast action is the result of the group’s trusted, collaborative network and a testament to the important role Johnson plays in one of Mayor Booker’s highest priorities: increasing Newark’s philanthropic investments.

“The Newark Philanthropic Liaison has worked out phenomenally well for local funders,” said Irene Cooper-Basch, Executive Officer & Secretary of the Board for the Victoria Foundation and a member of the Newark Funders Group, who has experienced first-hand the impact the Philanthropic Liaison’s office has had on the giving community. “Having this position embedded in City Hall and interfacing closely with the Mayor and his senior team has resulted in the ability to leverage countless opportunities to bring local, national and government resources to Newark that I believe would not have occurred otherwise.”

Jeremy was instrumental in drawing $15 million of private funding to Newark’s Strong Healthy Communities Initiative through the national organization Living Cities – which is another substantive example of what this position has enabled. A $15 million match by Prudential and support from other local foundations is being used to create healthy neighborhoods, improve the supply of and demand for fresh food, establish school-based and mobile health centers, and revitalize neighborhoods by rehabbing up to 100 abandoned properties.

In the coming weeks we’ll be announcing more examples of how funders are coming together in Newark, thanks in large part to the work of our Newark Philanthropic Liaison.

Nina Stack is the President of Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, the statewide association for corporate, family, independent, and community foundations. She is a regular contributor to the Dodge blog.

By Nina Stack
President, Council of New Jersey Grantmakers

The news has been filled lately with stories relating to potential tax changes and/or regulations that would affect the social sector if passed.

On a federal level, our colleagues at Independent Sector are urgently asking supporters to sign onto a letter asking President Obama and Congressional leaders not to proceed with the proposed cap on the value of the charitable deduction for certain taxpayers. If instituted, this cap is projected to cost America’s charities as much as $7 billion a year.

Recently, the measure in Massachusetts to eliminate all compensation for board trustees – including private foundation board members – did not go forward but apparently there will be another attempt. And in Oregon, lawmakers did not approve a measure that would have required charities to spend at least 30 percent of their expenses on programs or else be unable to allow donors to get a charitable deduction.

Here in New Jersey, our own Division of Consumer Affairs is now taking comments on a “pre-proposal” that would mandate a charity to outline its programs on any direct funding request and then provide a way for donors to designate the specific programs they wish to direct gifts. It’s designed to address cases in which a charity focuses its appeals around particular programs (e.g., buying bulletproof vests for the troops) but actually spends the majority of its money fund raising or on administrative costs. While the intention is good to get rid of the bad apples who do this, the effect on the large majority of nonprofits could be devastating.

Here is why: although donors always have the option of restricting their gifts, the regulations would go further by effectively encouraging donors to do so, thereby reducing available funds for general operations, overhead or organizational flexibility to respond to unanticipated community needs. Without some operational support – to pay the auditors, have the phones answered and the lights on, and most importantly to react and assist when needed – a nonprofit cannot implement its programs effectively, which, in turn, reduces its ability to have an impact.

Measures like this and the one in Oregon are troubling and set the field back. The philanthropic community has come to see the importance and value of investing in organizational capacity and innovation, moving away from the highly restricted “project only” support. Let’s hope our Division of Consumer Affairs will take note and find a way to address the problem without undermining the thousands of charities doing the good work. They are accepting public comment through August 5th.

For more information and to learn what you can do to help, please visit the Center for Nonprofits’ website.

Nina Stack is the President of Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, the statewide association for corporate, family, independent, and community foundations. She is a regular contributor to the Dodge blog.

By Nina Stack
President
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers

Even in the current economy, philanthropy is alive and well in America. Here in New Jersey, corporate, family, independent and community foundations, as well as individual donors are engaged and giving back in new and innovative ways. The state’s philanthropic community is stable and committed. At Council for New Jersey Grantmaker‘s (CNJG) annual conference on June 6, when a room of 140 people were asked how many have been involved in the sector for 10-20 years, two thirds of the room stood up. This is a robust, dedicated community that, in some regions of the state, is even growing. And, exciting, significant changes to a sector that has been pretty staid are beginning to take hold.

The troubled economy has undoubtedly impacted philanthropic resources and has forced many in the field to re-examine how their contributions are having impact. CNJG’s conference keynote speaker Gabriel Casper of the Monitor Institute pointed to the realization that our society, our world is dealing with “wicked problems.” These are complex, multi-stakeholder, interconnected issues where solutions aren’t clear, and one donor – no matter how large – can’t move the needle alone.

As New Jersey faces crippling budget shortfalls now and into the foreseeable future, minds have opened to new thinking and creative solutions to address and innovate vital systems like education, infrastructure, human services and the arts. Increasingly, philanthropists are at the table with community leaders, legislators and other donors to better understand and develop solutions that can’t be fixed with money alone. The philanthropic-minded represent a highly-invested body that can lead the way to systemic change. In some circles, that has already earned them a seat at the table where decisions are being made about the issues and communities in which they already invest.

For example, Newark Funders Group members Victoria Foundation, Bank of America, PSEG and other grantmakers meet regularly to ensure that their grant strategies compliment the city’s priorities. The mere existence of the group’s Education Subcommittee has allowed for real dialogue with Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg’s representatives and collaboration with the City government’s activities surrounding it.

The Camden Funders Affinity Group with members like Campbell’s Soup Foundation, Community Foundation of South Jersey, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and Annie E. Casey Foundation, regularly discuss who else is giving to agencies and organizations in Camden, what impact it’s having, what their understanding is of the needs and who the key players are in the city.

Philanthropist and grantmakers have the ability to leverage dollars, support and impact. They’re active participants in the change that we all want to see and they welcome all opportunities to come together with stakeholders, leaders, and service recipients to help untangle complex “wicked problems” not only in the big cities, but in communities of all sizes throughout the state of New Jersey.

Nina Stack is the President of Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, the statewide association for corporate, family, independent, and community foundations. She is a regular contributor to the Dodge blog.

Photo by Kevin Coughlin

To our all grantees, friends and colleagues who are experiencing this leadership transition with us, we share both a farewell message from outgoing President and CEO David Grant as well as a welcoming message from Dodge’s new President and CEO Chris Daggett. We urge you to read both, as well as to listen to Morristown Green’s podcast of the joint interview (also on our homepage) which Kevin Coughlin conducted with David and Chris. In it, David and Chris share their views on sustainability, training tomorrow’s leaders, and the role of philanthropy in a tough economic climate, among other topics. We believe their messages coupled with the podcast will give you a sense of both where we’ve been and where we’re going. Goodbye to David, and hello to Chris!

* * *

Almost twelve years ago, when I wrote my first introduction to a Dodge Foundation Annual Report, I invoked Robert Frost’s poem The Pasture. Placing the poem at the beginning of his collected works, Frost invites the reader into a world filled with images of spring and flow and rebirth – cleared springs and newborn calves tottering by their mothers – and wrote: We shan’t be gone long/You come too.

I was inviting our Annual Report readers into a world that struck me as similarly inspiring — full of the creativity of Dodge’s grantees and the Foundation’s own initiatives. Now I think I was writing to myself as well. We shan’t be gone long – indeed the twelve years have flown by, and I find myself full of gratitude at the end:

• For the people in the civic sector whom Dodge is so privileged to support. If there is ever to be “a society more humane, a world more livable,” as the Dodge mission language envisions, it will be because of the cumulative effects of their work;
• For the Dodge Board, which was not afraid to take risks. The Foundation’s response to 9/11, the launching of the New Jersey Cultural Trust, the construction of the green building at 14 Maple Avenue – all are testament to creative governance;
• For the Dodge staff, who are a mission-driven, hard-working, fun-loving group. They know that it is not only what they do but also how they do it that has defined Dodge’s place in the world. The day-to-day fellowship with them, doing work that matters, is what I will miss the most.

I wish Chris Daggett all the best as he takes on the leadership of this remarkable institution, and I thank all of the people who have been so supportive of Nancy and me and our sons Ben and Rob during our years in New Jersey.

With best regards,
David

* * *

Greetings! I come to Dodge with an overwhelming number of good wishes from people across the state, many of whom I have met over my years of involvement in the public, private and non-profit sectors, and others of whom I have never met, but who have great respect and hope for the work of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

Those good wishes are both appreciated and humbling. I fully recognize the legacy of excellence and good works of Dodge’s first two leaders, Scott McVay and David Grant, and greatly appreciate the trust placed in me by the board of directors to carry on the tradition they established.

There is much to do, particularly given the state of the economy and the pressures placed on grantees by the decline in financing by individuals, governments and foundations. But times of turmoil are also times of opportunity – and foundations can lead the way by supporting the best programs of the past, and the new ideas that will shape the future. The key is to get the right balance of the two.

I am confident that the success of my predecessors will continue – but as good as the staff and board of the foundation may be, we cannot do it alone. We need your help – or, in the words of Robert Frost quoted by David Grant in his companion letter, “You come too”. Together, and led by our grantees, we will meet the challenges of the day.

I look forward to working with you.
Chris