Atlantic City residents, nonprofits, and community organizations are invited to apply to the Atlantic City Community Fund for grants supporting work that enhances the quality of life in the city.
The Board of Advisors to the Atlantic City Community Fund last month announced the new opportunity to organize and mobilize their city’s capacity and resources to advance causes identified by and for the residents of Atlantic City after fundraising $30,000.
The announcement was the public launch of the Atlantic City Community Fund, an initiative with roots in Creative New Jersey’s Call to Collaboration held in Atlantic City in 2015.
At that community gathering, more than 145 people, including nonprofit stakeholders, community activists and neighborhood ward leaders, business owners, higher education professionals, corporate personnel, and others dedicated two full days to deliberate about the future of Atlantic City. The convening inspired creative-thinking, cross-initiative and cross-sector collaboration, and sparked the question among Creative New Jersey partners, “Could we create a new philanthropic fund, led by the people of Atlantic City for the betterment of the people of Atlantic City?”
In the months following, and inspired by the tremendous commitment of the people of Atlantic City, Creative New Jersey assembled a small group of residents around the idea of creating a community fund.
Through ongoing dialogue, we affirmed that the people who live and work in this city — those whose families have been there for generations as well as new residents who now call Atlantic City their home — have a wealth of knowledge about their neighborhoods and understand the challenges facing residents and local business owners. Therefore, we knew that any community fund we might launch had to be designed and led by Atlantic City’s people.
Our goals were to harness the power of local philanthropy, build community leaders, and fuel community-based initiatives that leverage sustainable change at the neighborhood level in Atlantic City.
Month after month, we met at the Noyes Arts Garage of Stockton University to begin building the structure of the new Atlantic City Community Fund. We affirmed the mission, we passionately discussed the kinds of impact we want the fund to have, and we developed a process for identifying, cultivating, nominating and stewarding a board of advisors to lead the fund.
Fueled by the values of transparency, inclusion, and equity, the working group in 2017 welcomed applications from individuals interested in serving on the board of advisors. The nomination process continued for nearly a year, and the working group reviewed more than 80 applications and conducted dozens of interviews.
From the earliest conversations, we knew we wanted the majority of individuals on the board to be residents of Atlantic City, and all members had to either live and/or work in Atlantic City. This was so important to our working group that the Atlantic City Community Fund by-laws state that 70 percent of board members must be Atlantic City residents.
In 2018, this inaugural board of advisors took the helm and began developing the guidelines and process by which the Atlantic City Community Fund will conduct its grantmaking.
The board has also set an initial goal of raising $1 million so that the Atlantic City Community Fund can be a sustainable source of funds for community organizations and projects for many years to come.
With seed funding of $30,000 from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and Community Foundation of South Jersey, we are very excited the fund is currently accepting its first round of grant applications for general operating and project support for activities within Atlantic City that improve the conditions and quality of life for all who live, work and play in Atlantic City. The Fund is a component fund of the Community Foundation of South Jersey.
The partnership with Community Foundation of South Jersey allows the Atlantic City Community Fund to benefit from the organizational structure and grantmaking expertise of a community foundation. I cannot overstate how appreciative we are to the Dodge and Community Foundation of South Jersey for making this early investment.
Grant guidelines and application instructions can be found at ACCommunityFund.org/apply and the deadline for submitting an application is April 1.
The Atlantic City Community Fund is driven by Atlantic City residents committed to transparency, and comprised of community, organization, and business leaders focused on Atlantic City. I believe this kind of board is the board of the future.
The board of advisors includes:
- Evan Sanchez, Board of Advisors’ President (Cofounder, Authentic City Partners & Hayday Coffee)
- Benjamin Zeltner, Esq., Board Vice President/Secretary (Partner, Levine Staller)
- Derek K. Cason (Educator, Dr. MLK School Complex, Atlantic City Public Schools)
- Fernando Fernandez (Social Worker, The Salvation Army and Rotary Club of Atlantic City)
- Joyce Hagen (Executive Director, Atlantic City Arts Foundation)
- Sheila Hull-Freeman (President, Bungalow Park Civic Association)
- Maharshi Patel (Member, AC Economic Development Advisory Commission)
- James M. Rutala (President, Rutala Associates, LLC)
- Tina Watson (Educator, Venice Park School, Atlantic City)
- Libbie Wills (President, First Ward Civic Association)
I am honored to serve as an ex-officio member.
It has been my great pleasure to have worked on the development and launch of the Atlantic City Community Fund. Our inclusive, methodical, patient and equitable process went against the grain of today’s zeitgeist. Society’s insatiable appetite for immediate results steers us away from taking the long view.
Our nonprofit and philanthropic sectors are determined to solve the biggest problems, but systemic change takes time. Working inclusively takes time. Reaching and involving people who traditionally have not been invited to take a leadership role in their city takes time.
Our willingness to take the time has now birthed a fund created BY the people of Atlantic City, FOR the people of Atlantic City, with board members who are comprised OF the people of Atlantic City.
The Atlantic City Community Fund Board of Advisors will lead this critical effort. Their passion for the city is evident in the work they have all been doing in Atlantic City for many years and reinforced by their commitment to fund community-driven projects in a city they call home.
We all hope that Atlantic City’s corporate and philanthropic leaders will join in support of this innovative community-led Fund so that this work can thrive for generations to come.
Elizabeth A. Murphy is the Founding Director of Creative New Jersey. She is a recognized strategist and facilitator and regularly consults with other nonprofit and philanthropic organizations through her consulting firm, The Murphy Group, Inc.
Creative New Jersey is dedicated to fostering creativity, collaboration and inclusion by empowering cross-sector partnerships in commerce, education, philanthropy, government, and culture in order to ensure dynamic communities and a thriving economy.
Creative New Jersey’s leaders and partners are regular contributors to the Dodge blog.