Funding - Funding and supporting organizations, partnerships, coalitions, and other structures whose work aligns with the Foundation’s prioritized outcomes and who have a strong connection to the community.
We are currently working on an interactive feedback study around our funding process. Our consulting partners have gathered 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.
We are in the stage of reviewing the data and talking with our team, board, and organizations who provided their insights. As we reflect on the feedback, we will be implementing changes to make our funding process clearer and more accessible. As of right now, this is how you can start a funding discussion with us (below) but stay tuned as we work to improve this process and become a better partner.
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 and our Director of Operations, Jaclyn Rodemann 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.
Capacity Building - Investing in the capacity building of organizations and individuals to enhance their impact, effectiveness, and sustainability.
Capacity Building offerings:
Catapult Institute events – one-day programs, webinars, board retreats, and any other programs that individuals can sign up for on our events page – more events will be added as we plan!
Capacity Clinic – 1:1 opportunities for individual leaders, invitation-only activities, custom training, and initiatives that require an application. Many are also collaborations with other groups.
Catapult Institute Event Recaps:
* We hosted the annual Nonprofit Board Retreat on April 22 and 23. Check out our recap from this awesome event!* On May 20, our Executive in Residence, Don Crocker led a Grant Proposal Writing Fireside Chat. From that, we are working on a future grant proposal writing cohort to keep the learning going. More to come...
* On June 10, we hosted the first session of the Pragmatic Activism 101 series, Timing of Influence, facilitated by Orville Morales. This session focused on helping nonprofit leaders understand policy signals, timing, and budget cycles to position their organizations to engage strategically when opportunities arise.
Upcoming Catapult Institute Offerings:
FILLING UP FAST! Fundraising Day Plenary – July 21, 2026, at Patterson Family Barn in Freehold, NJ
A full day of fundraising education from launching planned giving for 2026 to strategies for successful fundraising events and everything in between!
3 ticket options:
1. Full day from 8:30am to 4:45pm (breakfast and registration from 8:30 to 9:15am)
2. Breakfast and Session 1 only from 8:30am to 12:30pm (let us know if you'd like to stay for lunch when you fill out the order form!)
3. Lunch and Session 2 only from 12:30pm to 4:45pm. Lunch starts at 12:30 and the session begins at 1:15pm.
Full session information and registration: https://gruninfoundation.org/eventbrite/?event=1990986086982
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. Session 1 was on June 10 and we have 2 left in the 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 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
Capacity Clinic Offerings:
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
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.
Coalition Building – Engaging in coalition building and advocacy at the regional and state levels to impact systemic issues.
Fulfill Convening: Mobilizing For Food Security in Southern Ocean County
In April, we met with Fulfill to talk about strengthening food security in Ocean County. Out of this conversation, an event called Together at the Table was created. On July 15 at the Mainland in Manahawkin, government officials, funders, nonprofit organizations, schools, farmers and food vendors, faith leaders, and other key stakeholders across Southern Ocean County will convene to discuss emerging needs, identify gaps in services, and explore opportunities to build additional resources and sustainable solutions for our communities. This coalition-building event is designed to foster meaningful partnerships, encourage cross-sector collaboration, and mobilize collective action to address food insecurity in the region.
Monmouth & Ocean Roundtable of Funders (MORF)
Past: The Monmouth & Ocean Roundtable of Funders (MORF), led by the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers in partnership with the Grunin Foundation, hosted a successful virtual speed networking event in March. We had 15 nonprofits and 15 philanthropic organizations who were randomly paired in several virtual speed networking rounds. The Zoom technology worked well with just a few additional tweaks that need to be made for next time. Overall, it was a successful event!
Present: MORF continues to meet regularly throughout the year and is currently strategizing how funders can help with nonprofit ecosystems and board recruitment challenges.
Future: We are planning another in-person PEEP (Party to Enhance Equity in Philanthropy) event in 2027. In 2024 we hosted a PEEP gathering at BlueClaws Stadium. It was a night of baseball, networking, food, and fun! Stay tuned for more.
Pragmatic Activism
For 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.
Foundation Team Updates
In April, Jeremy talked about his cringiest moments along with six other brave humans for CringeFest, hosted by Project Write Now, one of the funniest events of the year. All proceeds benefited Project Write Now’s community outreach programs, supporting partnerships with nearly 100 organizations and impacting 13,000+ youth and adults throughout Monmouth County and beyond.
Vicki was recognized in May as a Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore! Vicki was honored for being a role model, an influential leader in her industry and community, and someone who exemplifies the leadership ideals inherent in Girl Scouting, through her deeds and actions. Vicki is a lifelong Girl Scout, an impactful Director of Thriving Communities at the Grunin Foundation, a Co-Founder of the Nonprofit Professionals of Color Collective, a wonderful friend, an empathic leader, and so much more.
In June, Jeremy was honored at the Count Basie Center for the Arts Centennial Gala for helping shape the Basie Center as a cultural and community anchor through his leadership, vision, and commitment to community.
