The Community Foundation’s recent history has been just as rich and success-filled as its founding, thanks to the strong involvement of fundholders and the deepening of relationships with the state’s key nonprofits and other drivers of change.
“The progress we have made just in the last ten years would make our founders proud,” explained Tom Uhlman, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. “Philanthropy is so dynamic today, and we have made a point to stay ahead of these trends and identify new and compelling ways for fundholders to get involved.”
For the Community Foundation of New Jersey, the past thirty-five years have been extraordinarily productive. From community programming and nonprofit incubating, to corporate philanthropy and national foundation partnerships, CFNJ has explored, experimented, and achieved great success in so many of the nonprofit sector’s fields.
Could Robert Corman and Mary Strong have envisioned their idea becoming such a successful reality? Could the “Broad Street Bobs” have known that their initial investment would prove so beneficial to the state? Would Sheila Williamson even recognize the foundation today, with its hundreds of millions of dollars in assets and abundance of funds – donor advised, agency endowment, or otherwise?
Perhaps most importantly, however, the past thirty-five years have shown that the community foundation model is as relevant and important as it was in Cleveland in 1914.
Today, the team at CFNJ understands the leadership role it plays in our state, and the duty it has to honor the work of those who were so selflessly dedicated to its success.
“As philanthropy changes, we want to be ahead of that curve,” said Hans Dekker. “That is why we are continually modernizing and adapting, and identifying new areas for social investment and new ways to partner with the private and nonprofit sectors.”
In the past decade, CFNJ has significantly grown its assets and expanded its work into new, often-overlooked areas.
CFNJ looks forward to the next thirty-five years of simplifying the process of giving and amplifying the impact of its fundholders.