HFNJ Awards $470,000 in Renewal Grants in Second Quarter of 2023

All six of the grants were renewals of projects previously funded by HFNJ. The Foundation only considered renewal requests this quarter, and took a brief pause from funding new projects, in order that staff and trustees could focus internally on refreshing the Foundation’s operations, and further streamlining its procedures to better support community partners.

The largest grant awarded this cycle is a $175,000 award to YouthBuild Newark to continue a program that prepares young people disconnected from education and the job market to develop careers in the healthcare field. The grant supports the Allied Health career track at LEAD Charter School, which trains students to receive credentials in various health fields in concert with District 1199J, a local healthcare union. At a time of significant changes in the workforce in which many organizations lack qualified healthcare staff, this grant will help support the critical needs of understaffed institutions in the community.

Three of the grants this cycle address public health – working upstream to ensure that the building blocks of a healthy lifestyle are available to everyone.

Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation’s AileyDance for Active Aging received a $50,000 award to provide fitness and recreation opportunities for older adults at five senior centers in Newark.  Similarly, Branchbrook Park Alliance received $25,000 to continue offering a series of fitness and wellness activities at the park including community walks, yoga clinics, and aerobics. A $50,000 award to All Stars Project will support a fourth year of Operation Cops and Kids. This signature program of All Stars Project seeks to prevent violence and foster better community relations by pairing young people with police officers to engage in role playing activities to better understand each other’s perspectives.

A $65,000 award to MEND supports a second year expansion of the innovative Mend on the Move program, which provides access to nutritious foods for individuals experiencing food insecurity in Essex County who otherwise would not be able to visit food pantries.

Addressing the ongoing mental health crisis – especially among young people – remains an important focus of HFNJ’s giving in 2023. A $105,000 award to The HUBB HELP Trauma Recovery Center will provide outreach, mental health services, trauma-informed practices, grief support, mindfulness, and victim advocacy to youth survivors of trauma and violent crime in Newark.

“During this quarter we paused our regular grantmaking to engage in a listening tour with grantees; refresh our operations to improve the grantee experience; and educate our trustees – on emerging trends in philanthropy and best practices in service delivery. I’m proud that we are also able to provide seamless funding to continue these six vital projects which will enhance the services in our community,” said Michael Schmidt, Executive Director / CEO of The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey. “We are now once again accepting open applications and are in a better position to be as responsive as possible to the emerging needs of the community, while remaining focused on the longer-term impact we hope to see.”

The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey operates on a quarterly grant-making cycle. The grants awarded in the second quarter of 2023 are:

• YouthBuild Newark, Preparing Opportunity Youth for Postsecondary Success in Allied Health (Year 2), $175,000
• fpYouthOutcry, The HUBB HELP Trauma Recovery Center for Youth & Families (Year 2), $105,000
• MEND, MEND on the Move (Year 2), $65,000
• All Stars Project, Operation Conversation: Cops and Kids (Year 4), $50,000
• Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, AileyDance For Active Aging Newark (Year 2), $50,000
• Branchbrook Park Alliance, Discovering Wellness with Branch Brook Park Alliance (Year 2), $25,000