Announcing First Round Grants 2021

Dodge’s Imagine A New Way transformation launches with new grants

Trustees approve $2.8M toward an equitable and just New Jersey

The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Board of Trustees met virtually this March and approved more than $2.8 million in grants toward an equitable and just New Jersey. The grants include more than $350,000 in new Imagine a New Way grants, representing Dodge’s latest step towards our commitment to becoming an anti-racist organization and centering racial equity and justice in our work.

“Weeks after the Atlanta attack marked a turning point in the rise of anti-Asian hate and violence, the latest in our country’s history of white supremacy, systemic racism, and gendered violence, it is more clear than ever that we cannot return to the way things were,” said Tanuja M. Dehne, Dodge Foundation President & CEO. “Dodge’s Imagine a New Way transformation has begun to change what we do and how we do it to achieve our vision of an equitable and just New Jersey so that New Jerseyans of all races and communities have what is needed to realize a quality life.”

With a focus on racial equity and justice and putting trust-based philanthropy values into action, Dodge made $350,000 in Imagine a New Way grants to five organizations and projects that are using strategic tools to tackle barriers and finding solutions to New Jersey’s most intractable problems.

These include:

• $100,000 to the Fair Redistricting in New Jersey Fund at the Princeton Area Community Foundation to support public engagement, transparency, and community representation in the state’s redistricting processes.
• $25,000 to New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, a statewide membership-based coalition which uses the power and strength of its member organizations to ensure that New Jersey’s immigrant communities are leaders in the development of policies that impact their lives and the lives of all New Jersey residents.
• $100,000 to New Jersey Institute of Social Justice, a leader in the advocacy field in New Jersey. The Institute’s cutting-edge work is focused on providing policy solutions that empower people of color by building systems that create wealth, transform justice, and harness democratic power from the ground up in New Jersey.
• $100,000 to New Jersey Policy Perspective, a nonpartisan think-tank whose research drives policy change that advances economic, social, and racial justice throughout New Jersey.
• $25,000 to Salvation and Social Justice, a grassroots community organizing network for social and racial justice in New Jersey that engages the Black Faith-rooted community across the state.

“These organizations are all driven by local community needs and have created deep relationships with one another,” said Marianna Schaffer, Dodge’s Vice President of Programs. “We are eager to support and amplify the collective effort of these organizations.”

After awarding more than $2.6 million in pandemic response grants in 2020, Dodge Trustees approved in March a $200,000 grant to the New Jersey Arts and Culture Recovery Fund, which provides critical financial support for arts and culture organizations and individuals impacted by the pandemic. The Fund, housed at the Princeton Area Community Foundation, has awarded $2.6 million in grants, about half of the $4.2 million raised to date.

Dodge also made two new grants to the Community Foundation of New Jersey for park improvement projects in New Jersey. A $50,000 project support grant to the Boonton Reservoir Enhancement and Access Project enables Open Space Institute to conduct engineering, geotechnical, archaeological, and environmental assessments, and continued stakeholder engagement in adjacent neighborhoods and Jersey City. A $50,000 project support grant to the Branch Brook Park Alliance Fund enables the installation of a wi-fi network and provides ongoing support for the park’s annual upkeep.

In addition, Dodge awarded more than $2.2 million in grants, including 29 totaling $932,750 in Arts, 20 totaling $1,205,000 in Environment, and grants totaling $90,000 in Technical Assistance and other areas.

All First Round Grants 2021

• American Repertory Ballet (Princeton, Mercer County): $10,000 in general operating support. American Repertory Ballet’s mission is to celebrate the joy, beauty, and artistry of classical and contemporary dance. Program Area: Arts
• Art World Conference (New York Foundation for the Arts) (Brooklyn, N.Y.): $2,750 in project support for Art World Learning a new online education platform. Program Area: Arts
• Bay-Atlantic Symphony (Atlantic City, Atlantic County): $40,000 in general operating support. Bay Atlantic Symphony is a performance and education organization with its artistic vision driven by the philosophy that music is essential to life. Program Area: Arts
• Bayshore Center at Bivalve (Port Norris, Cumberland County): $40,000 in general operating support. The Bayshore Center at Bivalve advances the understanding of the human impact on New Jersey’s aquatic environment through education, advocacy, and programming. Program Area: Environment
• Branch Brook Park Alliance Fund (Community Foundation of New Jersey) (Morristown, Morris County): $50,000 in in project support to install a wi-fi network and provide ongoing support for the park’s annual upkeep. Program Area: President Fund
• Boonton Reservoir Enhancement and Access Project (Community Foundation of New Jersey) (Morristown, Morris County): $50,000 in in project support for Open Space Institute to conduct engineering, geotechnical survey, archaeological, and environmental assessments, and continued stakeholder engagement in adjacent neighborhoods and Jersey City. Program Area: President Fund
• Camden City Garden Club (Camden, Camden County): $40,000 in general operating support. Camden City Garden Club is a valuable center for learning and community, as well as a leading resource enabling access to healthy, high quality, safe, and affordable food. Program Area: Environment
• Carolyn Dorfman Dance (Union, Union County): $40,000 in general operating support. Carolyn Dorfman Dance connects life and dance in bold, athletic, and dramatic works by Carolyn Dorfman and nationally renowned choreographers. Program Area: Arts
• Centenary Stage Company (Hackettstown, Warren County): $20,000 in general operating support. For 35 years Centenary Stage Company has provided high-quality professional theater that entertains, inspires, and educates. Program Area: Arts
• Center for Community Arts (Cape May, Cape May County): $10,000 in general operating support. The Center for Community Arts is a multicultural education organization whose arts and humanities programs foster creativity, community building, and appreciation for the rich diversity of our world. Program Area: Arts
• Center for Environmental Transformation (Camden, Camden County): $20,000 in general operating support. Center for Environmental Transformation engages, educates, and inspires people to practice a more environmentally responsible way of living on the planet. Program Area: Environment
• Center for Non-Profit Corporations (Mercerville, Mercer County): $30,000 in general operating support. The Center for Non-Profits, New Jersey’s state association of non-profits, provides non-profits with knowledge, insights, and tools so they can pursue their missions more effectively through advocacy, management assistance, and cost-saving programs. Program Area: Technical Assistance
• City Green (Clifton, Passaic County): $60,000 in general operating support. City Green is an urban farming and gardening organization based in Clifton working to revitalize urban areas through agriculture and educational programming. Program Area: Environment
• Cooper’s Ferry Partnership (Camden, Camden County): $50,000 in project support for advancing equity and inclusion in water, waste, land management, and environmental planning and uplifting community voices in Camden. Program Area: Environment
• Council of New Jersey Grantmakers (Trenton, Mercer County): $20,000 in project support for the CNJG Newark Philanthropic Liaison. Program Area: Public Policy
• Dance New Jersey (Verona, Essex County): $30,000 in general operating support. Dance New Jersey is a service organization committed to advocating the excellence of dance and dance education in the state. Program Area: Arts
• Delaware Riverkeeper Network (Bristol, Pa.): $40,000 in general operating support. Delaware Riverkeeper Network champions the rights of our communities for a Delaware River and tributary streams that are free-flowing, clean, healthy, and abundant with a diversity of life. Program Area: Environment
• Discovery Orchestra (Summit, Union County): $20,000 in general operating support. The Discovery Orchestra, a classical music-focused program, aims to make centuries-old pieces more accessible and approachable to people of all ages. Program Area: Arts
• Environmental Leadership Program (Greenbelt, S.C.): $10,000 in project support for New Jersey-based emerging environmental and social change leaders through the Eastern Regional Network Program. Environmental Leadership Program supports visionary, action-oriented, and diverse leadership for a just and sustainable future. Program Area: Technical Assistance
• Fair Redistricting in New Jersey Fund (Princeton Area Community Foundation) (Lawrenceville, Mercer County): $100,000 to support public engagement, transparency, and community representation in the state’s redistricting processes. Program Area: Imagine a New Way
• Foodshed Alliance (Blairstown, Warren County): $15,000 in general operating support. Foodshed Alliance works to strengthen sustainable farming, increase access to local, healthy food, and protect the environment for all members of our communities. Program Area: Environment
• Frontline Arts (Branchburg, Somerset County): $20,000 in general operating support. Frontline Arts connects and builds communities through socially engaging arts practices rooted in papermaking and printmaking. Program Area: Arts
• George Street Playhouse (New Brunswick, Middlesex County): $50,000 in general operating support. George Street Playhouse’s mission is to enrich people’s lives by producing world-class theater. Program Area: Arts
• Greater Newark Conservancy (Newark, Essex County): $65,000 in general operating support. Greater Newark Conservancy promotes environmental stewardship to improve the quality of life in New Jersey’s urban communities. Program Area: Environment
• Grounds For Sculpture (Hamilton, Mercer County): $15,000 in general operating support. Grounds for Sculpture is a museum, sculpture garden, and arboretum where art and nature are always at play. Program Area: Arts
• Grow it Green Morristown (Morristown, Morris County): $16,000 in general operating support. Grow it Green Morristown creates sustainable farms and gardens, and educates communities on healthy eating and environmental stewardship. Program Area: Morristown
• Hunterdon Land Trust (Flemington, Hunterdon County): $25,000 in general operating support. Hunterdon Land Trust preserves the integrity of the rural landscapes in the Hunterdon County region by protecting and enhancing natural resources, and the cultural landscape of the historic Dvoor Farm for public enjoyment and education. Program Area: Environment
• Ironbound Community Corporation (Newark, Essex County): $80,000 in project support for environmental stewardship, urban greening programs, and environmental justice advocacy for a vibrant, sustainable, and resilient Ironbound neighborhood of Newark. Program Area: Environment
• Isles (Trenton, Mercer County): $70,000 in project support for urban greening and agriculture programming, and community-based food system planning in Trenton. Program Area: Environment
• Land Conservancy of New Jersey (Boonton, Morris County): $25,000 in general operating support. Land Conservancy of New Jersey preserves land and water resources, conserves open space, and inspires and empowers individuals and communities to protect our natural land and environment. Program Area: Environment
• Mile Square Theatre (Hoboken, Hudson County): $10,000 in general operating support. Mile Square Theatre’s mission is to enrich and engage the region through the production of professional theatre and innovative arts education. Program Area: Arts
• Monmouth Arts (Red Bank, Monmouth County): $25,000 in general operating support. Monmouth Arts provides programs and services that support the practice, presence, and influence of the arts and of artists throughout Monmouth County. Program Area: Arts
• Montclair Art Museum (Montclair, Essex County): $55,000 in general operating support. Montclair Art Museum’s mission is to inspire and engage people of all ages in their experience with art, including the rich intercultural and global connections throughout American history, and the continuing relevance of art to contemporary life. Program Area: Arts
• Morris Museum (Morristown, Morris County): $40,000 in general operating support. The Morris Museum’s mission is to interpret the past and discover the future through art, sound, and motion. Program Area: Arts
• New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NEO Philanthropy) (New York, N.Y.): $25,000 general operating support. The New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice is a statewide membership-based coalition of organizations that creates and achieves policies in New Jersey that welcome and support immigrants to become rooted economically, politically, and socially within the state. Program Area: Imagine a New Way
• NJ Arts and Culture Recovery Fund (Princeton Area Community Foundation) (Lawrenceville, Mercer County): $200,000 to support a statewide fund for New Jersey artists and arts organizations negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Program Area: COVID-19 response
• New Jersey Conservation Foundation (Far Hills, Somerset County): $85,000 in general operating support. New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s mission is to preserve land and natural resources throughout New Jersey for the benefit of all. Program Area: Environment
• New Jersey Future (Trenton, Mercer County): $300,000 in project support for Jersey Water Works, a statewide collaborative working to transform New Jersey’s water infrastructure for the benefit of all, and to support implementation of an equity plan. Program Area: Environment
• New Jersey Highlands Coalition (Boonton, Morris County): $35,000 in general operating support. New Jersey Highlands Coalition’s mission is to protect, enhance, and promote the vital water and other natural and cultural resources of the New Jersey Highlands to sustain current and future generations. Program Area: Environment
• New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (Newark, Essex County): $100,000 in general operating support. The Institute’s cutting-edge work is focused on providing policy solutions that empower people of color by building systems that create wealth, transform justice, and harness democratic power from the ground up in New Jersey. Program Area: Imagine a New Way
• New Jersey Performing Arts Center (Newark, Essex County): $50,000 in project support for Stage Exchange and Jersey (New) Moves! Program Area: Arts
• New Jersey Policy Perspective (Trenton, Mercer County): $100,000 in general operating support. New Jersey Policy Perspective drives policy change to advance economic justice and prosperity for all New Jerseyans through evidence-based, independent research, analysis, and advocacy. Program Area: Imagine a New Way
• New Jersey Repertory Company (Long Branch, Monmouth County): $60,000 in general operating support. New Jersey Repertory Company’s mission is to develop and produce new plays and to make a lasting contribution to the American stage. Program Area: Arts
• New York-New Jersey Trail Conference (Mahwah, Bergen County): $20,000 in project support for the Trail Conference’s New Jersey Trails Program, improving public access to trails, connecting people to nature, engaging volunteers in trail maintenance, and protecting open space. Program Area: Environment
• Nimbus Dance Works (Jersey City, Hudson County): $35,000 in general operating support. Nimbus Dance bridges the gap between world-class performances and community engagement by presenting work that challenges, speaks to, and elevates the core beliefs of its diverse audience. Program Area: Arts
• NY/NJ Baykeeper (Hazlet, Monmouth County): $75,000 in general operating support. NY/NJ Baykeeper’s mission is to protect, preserve, and restore the ecological integrity and productivity of the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary. Program Area: Environment
• Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn, Essex County): $40,000 in general operating support. Paper Mill Playhouse’s mission is to enrich, entertain, and inspire its audience and students as the nation’s premier musical theater. Program Area: Arts
• Perkins Center for the Arts (Moorestown, Burlington County): $40,000 in general operating support. Perkins Center for the Arts strives to enrich lives, inspire learning, collaboration, interdisciplinary and intercultural experiences through the arts with programs and services throughout South Jersey. Program Area: Arts
• Peters Valley School of Craft (Layton, Sussex County): $65,000 in general operating support. Peters Valley School of Craft enriches lives through the learning, practice, and appreciation of fine crafts. Program Area: Arts
• Raritan Headwaters Association (Gladstone, Somerset County): $20,000 in general operating support. Raritan Headwaters Association’s mission is protecting clean water in our rivers, our streams and our homes. Program Area: Environment
• Rowan University Foundation (Glassboro, Gloucester County): $65,000 in in project support for maintenance and expansion of NJMAP2 and the Conservation Blueprint, a publicly accessible digital mapping tool that supports conservation planning, advocacy, and community engagement in environmental decision making. Program Area: Environment
• Roxey Ballet Company (Lambertville, Hunterdon County): $30,000 in general operating support. Roxey Ballet is a world-class, all-inclusive contemporary ballet company that uses dance to build community and cultural bridges. Program Area: Arts
• Salvation and Social Justice (Woodbury, Gloucester County): $25,000 in general operating support. Salvation and Social Justice is a grassroots community organizing network for social and racial justice in New Jersey engages the Black Faith-rooted community across the state. Program Area: Imagine a New Way
• Symphony in C (Collingswood, Camden County): $45,000 in general operating support. Symphony in C provides the next generations of musicians and composers with experiences in performance and in engaging with the community, helping musicians to develop skills and experiences for professional success. Program Area: Arts
• Trilogy: An Opera Company (Newark, Essex County): $15,000 in general operating support. Trilogy focuses on the works of Black composers as well as works reflective of the black experience. Program Area: Arts
• Trust for Public Land (Newark, Essex County): $75,000 general operating support for work in New Jersey. Trust for Public Land’s mission is to create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. Program Area: Environment
• Two River Theater Company (Red Bank, Monmouth County): $40,000 in general operating support. Two River Theater Company is a regional theater company producing plays and educational programs for audiences of central New Jersey. Program Area: Arts
• Valley Arts (Orange, Essex County): $35,000 in general operating support. Valley Arts’ mission is community through creativity and its priority is building community and economic opportunity for the people living and working in the Valley Arts District by creative means. Program Area: Arts
• Visual Arts Center of New Jersey (Summit, Union County): $10,000 in general operating support. Visual Arts Center of New Jersey nurtures the capacity for personal expression, expands the creative experience, and fosters stronger communities by empowering people to see, make, and learn about art. Program Area: Arts
• Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center (Millville, Cumberland County): $65,000 in general operating support. Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center’s mission is to engage artists and audiences in an evolving exploration of creativity through the interpretation of collections and exhibitions, education initiatives and culturally diverse public programs, residencies, and other opportunities for artists. Program Area: Arts
• Yendor Arts (Newark Arts Council) (Newark, Essex County): $30,000 in general operating support. Yendor Art’s mission is to foster hope and healing through access to arts-integrated and cross-cultural programs and performances. Program Area: Arts, Education