Insight Impact: November 2020
Highlights
What's up with Grantees: See how Schools That Can Newark (STC) and Meeting Essential Needs with Dignity (MEND) transform communities despite COVID-19.
Where are we in the 2020 Grant Process: Review teams completed their application review and selected 10 semi-finalists. Save the Date! Our Annual Awards Meeting is January 26.
What’s the status of Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI): Grant Co-Chairs provide insight on how the recent workshop on unconscious bias enabled reviewers to acknowledge their own.
Member Survey: The results are in! Thanks to all members who completed the survey...and for sharing feedback that will help direct our organization moving forward.
Why do women and philanthropy matter: Resources to learn more about how women have the means and motivation to change philanthropy.
What’s up with Grantees
Schools That Can (STC) - Grant Recipient 2018
STC Newark’s success with its Career & Technical Education Programs (CTE) was acknowledged when the Newark Board of Education (NBOE) recently requested that STC Newark serve in a direct partnership role with them to assist with all NBOE CTE programs citywide. This includes coordinating/facilitating all advisory committee meetings throughout the schools as well as assisting each CTE program with establishing their career and technical student organization.
Impact: NBOE now has stronger CTE programs throughout the district, which will help increase the amount of Perkins federal funds the district will receive to support these programs creating strong, sustainable pathways to middle skill jobs for Newark students.
Congratulations to Erin Sweeney, Executive Director of STC Newark for her selection by NJBIZ to the 2020 Best 50 Women in Business. We are so proud of her innovative work to transform the community.
Meeting Essential Needs with Dignity (MEND) - Grant Recipient 2019
MEND accelerated their key objectives during the pandemic establishing the Fresh Food Hub in Orange, NJ, and purchasing and wrapping the Sweet Pea van (pictured).The Hub has helped MEND accept and deliver over 57,000 pounds of food since June 15th, more than 12x the 4,585 pounds of food provided to member pantries during the same time period in 2019. The Sweet Pea has already logged over 800 miles transporting fresh and healthy food from farms and other sources.
Impact: The combination of centrally-located cold storage provided by the new fresh food hub and the “Sweet Pea” sprinter van for quicker transport from a variety of sources, has greatly benefitted MEND’s network of 23 food pantries who now have increased access to fresh food for food-insecure neighbors.
Grant Process for 2020 - Semi Finalists Chosen!
Following the LOI (Letter of Intent) process in the spring, we invited 27 non-profit organizations to submit full applications for our $100K grant. In late October, members of five Grant Review Teams read and evaluated the 27 applications and after careful deliberation, selected semifinalists proposing transformative solutions to persistent structural inequities in education, healthcare and criminal justice affecting our most vulnerable neighbors.
In early November, after a careful review by the finance team, members from each review team conducted virtual site visits for all semi-finalists (see below). The Summit Meeting will be held in early December when four candidates will be advanced as finalists competing for this year’s grant. This year the annual meeting will be a little different, needless to say. With large gatherings banned, members will have an opportunity to view pre-recorded presentations and vote online. Stay tuned for more information as we work out the details, but do plan to celebrate our 2020 grantee with our entire membership “present” at our January 26 annual meeting!
Semi Finalists
Connections at Home
La Casa de Don Pedro
Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris, Inc.
Montclair State University
Newark Community Solutions
NJ Leep
North Jersey AIDS Alliance DBA North Jersey Community Research Initiative
Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey
Partners in Prevention / LMTI
Prevent Child Abuse New Jersey
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Our Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Action Committee sponsored a virtual session last month with Kishshana Palmer on “Taking Charge of Our Charge: Conversations about Influence, Money and Power.” Attendees were enthusiastic about the session and were able to bring a new awareness to the table for the recent round of grant review meetings.
Impact: Mayuri Chandra and Kate Shoemaker, Co-chairs of the Grants Committee, noted “The review teams this year were made more keenly aware of checking their biases, whether towards the familiar or the polished, and this was a great and direct result of Kishshana aiding our thinking with her big questions. Each team formally or informally added in/called on/reflected upon her questions as we reviewed the applicants, giving us a wider lens of evaluation and allowing for more equity.”
Want to learn more about DEI? Here is a link to articles recommended by Kishshana and members of the DEI Action Committee. Another option if you have more time is the Community Foundation of New Jersey’s 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge designed by our own member Margarethe Laurenzi based on syllabi from the American Bar Association. The goal of the challenge is to assist each of us to become more aware, compassionate, constructive, and engaged in the quest for racial equity.
Member Survey
Responses came from a broad representation of our membership, old and new. Here are some highlights:
Respondents are highly engaged and enthusiastic about our organization. Many participate on our teams and committees.
The primary reasons for joining are (a) our mission to help the underserved in our community and (b) the giving circle model.
The feedback we received include:
Members would like to hear more about our grantees.
Members would like a more structured introduction to our organization after joining.
Virtual events are popular and some should be continued even after the current pandemic.
We have a lot of work to do in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) including the makeup of our membership
Half of our membership completed the survey. While this is a good average response rate for a survey, we would like to hear from more of you! Please reach out any time to Helen, Margo or any Steering Committee member..
Thank you for referring your friends to Impact100 Essex. While the survey showed most members were referred by another member, we also are exploring other ways of increasing our membership in 2021, including installment payments, scholarships and sponsorships. Virtual information sessions will be hosted on a regular basis starting in early December, so please ask your friends to join us. We can host a special session just for a group of friends as well.
Why do Women and Philanthropy Matter
Do you ever wonder if your contributions are just a drop in the bucket? Well it turns out our collective giving has created a BIG bucket. Since 2001, over 60 Impact100 chapters, comprised of 15,000 women across the USA, have made a huge impact granting over $80 million to local nonprofits. In New Jersey, there are four Impact100 chapters each making numerous grants annually: Jersey Coast is the largest with 456 members making four $110K grants, while Garden State made three $100K grants and South Jersey made one $100K grant and two $43K grants. With new members still joining, a committed and engaged membership, and months of virtual experience, we are determined to reach our goal of 200 members in 2021 allowing us to make two $100,000 grants next year.
Want to learn more about Women and Philanthropy? Our membership in Philanos, a national network of women’s giving circles, offers all members unlimited access to their website, their always excellent webinars and frequent communications. Sign up by contacting Margo Greenfield.
Another great resource is the booklet, Women and Giving, by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. It’s a thoughtful guide on women’s giving and provides insights including why Impact100 is so critical to our communities. Women have the means and the motivation to change philanthropy!
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New sections were added to the newsletter based on your feedback. We welcome your suggestions on what more you’d like to see. Please send your feedback to communications@impact100essex.org. Sunita Chaudhuri and Jill Edinburg, Editors.
