Check out what we’ve been up to during the first quarter of 2026!
We are always working to improve and become a better partner. We value learning from community, which helps shape our funding processes and strategic priorities, and we are currently working on an interactive feedback study. We will gather input from approximately fifteen organizations that have engaged with our funding process including longstanding partners, newly funded partners, and those who applied but did not get funded.
Through conversations facilitated by our consulting partners, we hope to gather honest, meaningful insights, including what has been working well, where there has been frustration, and ideas for how we can better support nonprofit partners. This listening phase will continue through the summer, and we will work alongside participants to develop an action plan that strengthens our funding processes and the way we show up in community moving forward.
As a relational funder we don’t have a formal application process, but we do believe clarity is important. Here’s how to how to initiate a funding relationship with us currently:
If you are a Central Jersey Shore nonprofit organization (Monmouth/Ocean Counties) and feel like there is an alignment with our funding outcome focus areas, we would love to learn about you and your mission. You can schedule a 25-min virtual introductory meeting with our executive director, Heather Barberi. (Once you click the link, enter your email address and click sign-in. If you don’t have an account, you will be prompted to create one). This is a come as you are, casual discussion. You can learn more about our grantmaking process and building a funding relationship with us, here.
Transparency is one of our core values, and we will share any updates we make to our processes as a result of this grantee feedback study.
As always, to stay current with what we are funding, you can search our grants directory on our website by keyword and year, showing grants we’ve made from 2020 to the present. This will be updated quarterly. You can also learn about our grantees by following us on LinkedIn and Facebook as we highlight a grantee partner (that we’ve funded in the previous quarter) each week.
Check out these exciting upcoming Grunin Capacity opportunities!
New Way Forward (NWF) - Board Changes That Count | March 31 from 11AM to 12:30PM | Virtual Event via Zoom
Our first NWF virtual event of 2026 is facilitated by Michele Russo and Kerri-Ann Munoz of Young Audiences Arts for Learning. Having a board that shares diverse perspectives, expertise, and characteristics is good for our organizations. When leadership includes our constituents, partners, and community members, the board maintains a deeper connection to the organization and the decisions being made. But it’s not as simple as getting willing volunteers on your board. In this interactive session, you’ll hear about how one organization cultivates, recruits, onboards, supports and maintains a diverse board, through ups and downs that are a natural occurrence in nonprofit board engagement. You’ll learn about strategies and systems that support this effort and leave with ideas to test out in your organization.
And stay tuned for a couple more New Way Forward dates and topics coming soon!
Register: https://gruninfoundation.org/eventbrite/?event=1984979367723
April Virtual Lunch Hour | April 21 from 12PM to 1PM | Virtual Event via Zoom
Our next Virtual Lunch Hour is Tuesday, April 21 at 12 noon with the topic: Partnerships at Work - The Key Elements of a Great Working Relationship. How can we Develop and Maintain Effective Partnerships at Work? Secure your spot today!
Register: https://gruninfoundation.org/eventbrite/?event=1980660348420SOLD OUT! Spring Nonprofit Board Retreat | Wednesday, April 22 and Thursday, April 23 | IN PERSON: Oyster Point Hotel, 146 Bodman Pl, Red Bank, NJ
The Support Center and the Grunin Foundation are working together on a two-day nonprofit board retreat that will offer attendees tools, frameworks, and approaches for understanding the role of individual board members and the functioning of the board as a whole.
Please note: seating is VERY limited. This event is free so we kindly ask that you please be thoughtful about your registration - if you have already signed up and cannot make it, please let us know so we can open up a spot for someone else. We are now sold out, but we have a waitlist. To get on the waitlist: https://gruninfoundation.org/eventbrite/?event=1983467554850
Grant Proposal Writing - Fireside Chat | Wednesday, May 20 from 11am to 12:30pm | Virtual Event via Zoom
Join us for one hour Proposal Writing Fireside Chat facilitated by our Executive in Residence, Don Crocker. Don has written hundreds (maybe thousands?) of successful grant proposals but learned the hard way with many missteps at the start. We will explore many of the challenges of writing a successful proposal and identify some strategies for reducing wasted time and increasing your grant proposal writing success.
Register: https://gruninfoundation.org/eventbrite/?event=1985142829642
Pragmatic Activism Virtual Event Series with Orville Morales
The Grunin Foundation is hosting a Pragmatic Activism™ Virtual Event Series with Orville Morales, open to nonprofit leaders. This free program is designed to strengthen advocacy capacity while helping organizations interpret and respond to New Jersey’s evolving legislative and policy landscape. Together, these sessions help nonprofit organizations strengthen their advocacy skills while staying informed about policy developments that may affect their work.
Pragmatic Activism™ is a strategic approach to social change that allows for intentional and reasonable action that is sustainable over time. Orville Morales, (Morales and Associates) teaches Pragmatic Activism™ using a six-phase approach. Orville will be touching on Phases 4, 5, and 6 during this webinar series.
Click each title for more info and to register. While this is a series, you can take any session(s) you’d like and must register for each individually.
Session 1: Timing of Influence (Phase 4) | June 10, from 11AM - 12:30PM
Session 2: The Power of Three Minutes (Public Engagement – Phase 5) | August 13 from 1PM to 2:30PM
Session 3: Dealing with Pushback (Role-Play & Practice – Phases 5 & 6) | October 8 from 1PM to 2:30PM
BB4C Racial Equity Assessment
The Grunin Foundation has partnered with Building Movement Project to offer a limited number of nonprofit organizations the opportunity to participate in Building Blocks for Change's (BB4C) race equity assessment process which accelerates dialogue, alignment, and action toward building more racially equitable workplaces. For more information and to apply, please click here.
If you have already gone through this process with BB4C and the Grunin Foundation and would like to apply for mini-grants to support implementation of suggestions in final report, please reach out to Vicki at vicki@gruninfoundation.org.
1:1 Executive Coaching with Traci Lester, EdD
As the Grunin Foundation grows opportunities for individual nonprofit leaders through our capacity clinic, 4-8 hours of virtual 1:1 executive coaching with Traci Lester, EdD will be awarded to a selection of eligible nonprofit leaders.
An eligible candidate should have at least 3 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and be actively working in a nonprofit organization (full time or part time, paid or unpaid) located in, or serving, Ocean and/or Monmouth Counties; leaders in all roles and all service areas are welcome to apply.
Coaching is sponsored by the Grunin Foundation and provided at no cost to participants. For more information and to apply, visit: https://blog.gruninfoundation.org/11-executive-coaching
More to come…
* We will be hosting the annual Fundraising Day Plenary session in the summer this year so stay tuned for a date and details! 😎
* We are planning a NEW event this fall - a Wellness Retreat! More details to come but start getting excited now! 🍁
Monmouth & Ocean Roundtable of Funders (MORF)
The Monmouth & Ocean Roundtable of Funders (MORF), led by the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers in partnership with the Grunin Foundation, will be hosting a virtual speed networking event this spring. This is a structured, virtual event where funders can have one-on-one-style conversations with nonprofit organizations to learn about their services and possibly make a connection for funding. This time, we will be using the Zoom platform which we think will allow for a better tech experience than our pilot event last fall. More info to come on this event!
Pragmatic Activism
The Pragmatic Activism cohort for 2025 was our first cohort for youth and it wrapped up in early 2026. Two of the participating youth joined the Grunin Foundation Board meeting in March to talk about their experience and continuation of their advocacy work. Thank you to our collaborating partners at Teen Think Tank Project, Morales & Associates (Orville Morales), and local nonprofits for making this happen!
For our Pragmatic Activism Cohort Alumni, we are hosting Legislative Updates facilitated by Orville Morales. These virtual events are for cohort alum to learn about current policies, legislation specific to their district, and more. Orville is also providing one on one office hours to alumni to discuss topics that are important to them related to advocacy.
Other Coalition Building Initiatives
We also continue to participate in coalitions like Doing Good Better, (a partnership of the Council for New Jersey Grantmakers and the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, where a community of funders and nonprofits take action against the power imbalances and racial inequities in philanthropy, nonprofits and government). Our participation in these coalitions allows us to drive impact in the Central Jersey Shore nonprofit and philanthropy ecosystems.
Until Next Quarter, reach out, follow us on social, and check out our website for more updates!