Community Foundation of New Jersey

What do you know about the homelessness crisis in New Jersey? For many, the image that normally springs to mind when thinking about homelessness is men who are chronically living on the street due in part to addiction, mental health crises, or other circumstances. Yet, the true “face of homelessness” is often younger and more vulnerable: Families represent 30% of the overall homeless population nationally. And in New Jersey, the number of children experiencing homelessness with their families continues to skyrocket. Compared to 2023, 14% more families with minors were homeless across our state this year, according to Monarch Housing Associates. What’s driving family homelessness across our state? Taiisa Kelly, CEO of Monarch Housing Associates, and Michael (MJ) Callahan, Director of the New Jersey Office of Homelessness Prevention, noted a complex web of challenges are impacting more New Jerseyans and their children who are scrambling to find housing and running out of options. Listen to our last episode of season 2 to learn how you can support prevention programs and get involved to help ensure more New Jersey families have a stable place to live. Tune in: https://lnkd.in/e-y6CRwW #FamilyHomelessness #MonarchHousingAssociates #AffordableHousing #CFNJ

Seelaus Asset Management, LLC expands its Impact Investment Offering in Agency MBS with the launch of the Seelaus Housing Equality Fund, LP  

RSI Foundation is thrilled to announce that it has awarded 21 grants totaling nearly $327,000 this year — more than doubling the amount of funding for non-profit organizations serving Rahway and its surrounding communities. As a donor advised fund of the Community Foundation of New Jersey, RSI focuses its philanthropic work on partnering with marginalized populations that are unable to meet their basic needs due to physical, mental, economic, or social circumstances or constraints as well as supporting the health, happiness, and well-being of communities. Read more about RSI’s 2024 grantees: https://lnkd.in/ecwNsZxR #RSIFoundation #RSI #RSIGrants #CFNJ 

Remember, you deserve to be safe, respected, and loved - all year long.💜 If you are in an unhealthy or unsafe relationship, the holidays can be particularly stressful and dangerous. Creating a safety plan can be an important step toward creating more safety and freedom. Domestic violence advocates are available 24/7 to help. To reach your local advocate, call 800-572-7233 or visit njcedv.org/programs.

We're hiring an Administrative Coordinator! This position will support a quickly scaling organization focused on strengthening communities by reimagining local news. We are looking for a responsive, organized, and highly collaborative person who will help our director and team members by: 🔹 Providing critical scheduling and logistic support to keep the team running smoothly. 🔹 Maintaining organized systems and data management to ensure operational efficiency. 🔹 Collaborating with diverse stakeholders to foster trust and teamwork across the organization and 🔹 Delivering exceptional customer service to internal and external partners. This is a fully remote position. Press Forward is housed at The Miami Foundation. Learn more and apply online: https://bit.ly/3BDlHlg Dale Anglin Christina Shih Melissa Milios Davis Caroline Merenda Kristina Kujawa Sai Omkar Kandukuri Lindsey Linzer Marika Lynch Villaraos Daniel Cohn Meredith Hector

🚨 The MacArthur Foundation just announced a $20 million investment to revitalize local news and strengthen journalism infrastructure. This latest round of funding brings the total committed to local news to over $90 million, as part of MacArthur’s ongoing effort to support trustworthy, reliable information that strengthens communities and democracy. Through its Local News Program, and in alignment with #PressForward, MacArthur is helping to fund newsrooms, journalism service organizations, and innovative projects across the country to ensure every community has access to trustworthy news. From the New York Amsterdam News to El Tecolote Newspaper in San Francisco, these grants will provide crucial support for diverse and community-focused journalism. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e97zHmFt

Funding Alert! For some students, examining cells through a microscope lens at a lab will inspire them to become a researcher, watching dancers twirl across a Broadway stage will encourage them to audition for a school play, or gazing at a mural by Diego Rivera at a museum will spark their interest in painting. Students see, hear, and learn all sorts of amazing things on school trips, and the Field Trip NJ grant program aims to enrich their lives by: 🌎Introducing them to new people, experiences, and places 🏫Connecting their classroom learning with the real world 💡Inspiring future generations of college students, entrepreneurs, artists, and more Last year, the program awarded more than $60,000 in grants for field trips — funding transportation costs for thousands of students who explored arts and culture, history, nature and science, and higher education. We’re thankful to our supporters and partner organizations who have helped make this program possible over the past nine years, including the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Victoria Foundation, the Schumann Fund for New Jersey, the Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation, the PSEG Foundation, and others. The grant application is now live for the 2024-2025 school year, so be sure to take advantage of this funding opportunity for your students and share it with your network. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gYifzmc3 Contact us: info@fieldtripnj.org #FieldTripNJ #GrantOpportunity #CFNJ

Thank you to the Community Foundation of New Jersey for their support of our Pedal Farmers summer employment and leadership program, dating back more than 10 years. Because of that support, we've been able to work with more than 500 youth participants from all of the City of Newark, allowing many of them to have their first job experience, learn about community gardening, and develop skills that will help with with future business, financial, and entrepreneurship goals. Our work to build and sustain this amazing program would not have been possible without their support and investment in the potential of our Pedal Farmer students!

Although we hope that your family philanthropy will last for a lifetime, we know the decisions you make while creating a giving plan will evolve. We’ve designed our 15-step #GivingTogether process with this issue in mind so that your family can take a highly flexible and personal approach in their giving. On the last day of Community Foundation Week, we’re sharing steps 13-15. You can, and should, revisit all of the steps featured in the series whenever you feel your process needs to be adjusted. You’re welcome to contact us during the initial process of working together as you set goals, discuss shared values, and create a giving plan. And we wish you well on your journey of #GivingTogether. Learn more: cfnj.org Contact us: info@cfnj.org #CommunityFNDWeek #CommunityFoundations #GivingTogether

Sharing your philanthropic journey with your family can enrich the giving experience for all of you. This is true whether you’re a grandparent inviting your grandchildren to collaborate in making grants, a sibling working with your brothers and sisters, or a parent considering how to pass down a legacy of giving. If you’ve been following our #GivingTogether series during Community Foundation Week, we hope you’ve been inspired to invite younger relatives to join you in creating a charitable legacy that reaffirms your family’s values. This fourth installment features steps 10-12 and dives into ways to identify organizations to fund and determine the size of grants. We’ve designed the 15-step process to help you be thoughtful and strategic during your planning, so that you can make the greatest impact with your family giving. Learn more: cfnj.org Contact us: info@cfnj.org #CommunityFNDWeek #CommunityFoundations #GivingTogether