News

CFNJ Earns 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator

May 31, 2018 The Community Foundation of New Jersey’s (CFNJ) strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned it a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator. This is the eight consecutive year that CFNJ has earned this top distinction.…

First Lady Tammy Murphy Heralds Women’s Role in Philanthropy

May 24, 2018 New Jersey First Lady Tammy Snyder Murphy on Monday spoke to a luncheon of women affiliated with the Community Foundation of New Jersey (CFNJ) about women’s changing role in philanthropy. The discussion at the Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit focused on ways women are leveraging their financial decision-making role to improve the communities in which they live.…

Community Foundation Hosts Impact 100 Summit at Bell Works

May 17, 2018 Charitably minded women who participate in the Impact100 model of collective grantmaking are changing the face of philanthropy in New Jersey, and they are enthusiastic about what they are accomplishing in their respective communities and statewide. That was one of the key takeaways at the first Impact100 New Jersey Summit, hosted by the Community Foundation of New Jersey at the historic Bell Works in Holmdel on April 30th.…

Seven Questions to Ask Yourself Before Creating a Scholarship Fund

A version of this article appeared in Financial Advisor Magazine on May 4, 2018. For many New Jerseyans, creating a scholarship fund is an effective way to establish a philanthropic legacy and provide meaningful support to students, customized to reflect the donors’ interests, fields of study and institutions they care about most.…

Olsen Scholar Demonstrates Relentless Compassion

April 13, 2018 Karen Therrien was not your typical high school student. “Her classmates [would] speak of her in awed, hushed tones – not from fear but from authentic respect and admiration,” her guidance counselor wrote in 2016. And it wasn’t just because she maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average all four years of high school.…

Impact Jersey Coast Announces Three Grants of $112,000 Each

April 11, 2018 Impact 100 Jersey Coast, a women’s philanthropic group that collectively funds high-impact grants to qualified nonprofits in Monmouth County, has announced they will award three grants, each for $112,000 in 2018. Since its inception in 2015, the organization has awarded $391,000 in grants to projects from 180 Turning Lives Around, the Mental Health Association of Monmouth County, and Covenant House New Jersey.…

Impact 100 Garden State Announces $300,000 in Grants

April 9, 2018 Impact 100 Garden State, a six-year-old local women’s philanthropic organization, has announced that in November, 2018, it will award three $100,000 grants to nonprofit organizations that serve residents of Morris, Somerset, Passaic and Sussex Counties. Nonprofit applicants must apply in one of five areas—arts and culture; children and families; education; environment, preservation and recreation; and health and wellness.…

Consider a gift to the Scholarship Opportunity Fund

March 26, 2018 Less than ten percent of Newark residents have a bachelor’s degree. Roughly a third have a high school diploma or equivalent. Of course, these low levels of formal education don’t mean Newark’s residents are any less creative, determined, or resilient – but it does mean that their window for upward mobility is closing.…