News

Heroin Addiction in New Jersey: New Trends Create New Challenges

April 29, 2013 Is heroin in your neighborhood?  Recent data suggests there’s a good chance. Since 2010, heroin has become the most commonly cited drug for emergency department and drug treatment admissions in New Jersey.  Nationally, the rate of first-time heroin users has doubled in less than a decade, so says the U.S.…

Drug Abuse Takes a Turn for the Medicine Chest

April 29, 2013 We first shared the below story on prescription drug abuse in 2012.  But the success of “National Prescription Take Back Day” on April 27th caused us to revisit the issue.  Click here to read how several Morris County communities safely collected and disposed of potentially dangerous (if used incorrectly) prescription drugs – and how you can do the same in your community. …

Standing Up for Students: Anti-Bullying Programs in NJ Schools

April 29, 2013 It used to be spitballs.  But bullying today – as highlighted in media and entertainment and by a growing number of nonprofits – is increasingly severe, damaging to students (psychologically and physically), and disruptive to classrooms. In New Jersey alone, more than 26,000 incidents of violence and bullying were reported in 2011 in accordance with a new statewide anti-bullying law. …

CFNJ Hosts Impact 100 Garden State Information Session

April 23, 2013 This time it was a $133,000 grant that had the Community Foundation’s conference room packed with nonprofit leaders. Impact 100 Garden State, which was established by six New Jersey women just last year, organized the event to discuss the application process and parameters around their sole grant for 2013.…

Jefferson Awards Recognize Excellence in Volunteerism

From the EMT to the T-ball coach, New Jersey is full of volunteers who spend countless hours helping to improve their communities.  The State of New Jersey, in fact, puts the number somewhere around 1.5 million, with these volunteers giving more than 170 million hours of their time each year.…

Madison “Adopts” Union Beach, Provides Summer Camps for Youth

April 17, 2013 For most kids, summertime is something to look forward to after the long months of winter: a reprieve from school, homework, and being cooped up inside. But for the kids of Union Beach – most of whom saw their homes destroyed by Hurricane Sandy – this summer will come with some hardship. …

Glamour Recognizes AGFAF Scholarship Winner

April 16, 2013 The Afghan Girls Financial Assistance Fund (AGFAF) has made a world of difference for several young women from the politically-turbulent nation since 2008, and now Glamour is taking notice.  The fashion and lifestyle magazine recently named Noorjahan Akbar, a scholarship recipient of the fund, one of its 2013 “Top Ten College Women” list. …

Self-Taught Criminologist Takes on Newark Crime

April 16, 2013 The Community Foundation is among many foundations and community organizations that have long worked to alleviate Newark’s chronic crime problem.  Funding the Newark Police Foundation has been a highlight, as has supporting programs such as “Operation Ceasefire” and “Community Eye”, both described below.…

Turning Illiquid Assets into Charitable Giving

We often say that giving involves more than just dollars.  Time, talent, and other resources help maximize the impact of one’s giving.  Well it turns out there is also wide variety in the “dollars” one may give, in this case to donor advised funds.…

Impact 100 Readies $133K Grant

April 8, 2013 Last year we told you about Impact 100 Garden State, a newly-formed organization being incubated at the Community Foundation of New Jersey.  Click here for that article. The group’s goal is relatively simple.  One hundred New Jersey women each donate $1,000 to the fund and then vote for one nonprofit organization to receive a $100,000 grant. …