We had a busy summer here at the Grunin Foundation. We met with some incredible nonprofits doing impactful work to advance an equitable, just, and vibrant Central Jersey Shore. You can learn about them by following us on LinkedIn and Facebook as we highlight a grantee partner (that we’ve funded in the last quarter) each week.
We have been planning, researching, and most importantly, listening to ensure we are providing the most beneficial support and resources to the nonprofit community at the Central Jersey Shore. Check out how we’ve been working in each of our three strategic priorities in the third quarter of 2025.
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.
In our ongoing commitment to fostering deep and meaningful relationships within the community, we have been meeting with new organizations weekly. 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.
As always, our doors and lines of communication are open, and we want to hear from you. Whether you have questions, want to talk about what you are seeing in community, or just need to vent – we are here. You can stay in touch with us by visiting our website and social media (LinkedIn, Facebook). And we will continue to email you with these quarterly updates and other important resources and information.
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. https://gruninfoundation.org/grants-directory.
Capacity Building - Investing in the capacity building of organizations and individuals to enhance their impact, effectiveness, and sustainability.
We have many capacity building opportunities including our Catapult Institute (one-day programs, webinars, board retreats, and any other programs that individuals can sign up for on Eventbrite) and 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.). Here are some quick recaps and upcoming events.
Catapult Institute Events
Fundraising Day Plenary
Back by popular demand - Fundraising Day Plenary! This year will focus on the increasingly popular topic, AI! It will be a Hands-On Work Session for Fundraisers Ready to Use AI. This isn’t a conference...this is a work session! If you’re overwhelmed, under-resourced, and tired of hearing about “AI” without any idea how it actually helps, this one-day session is for you.
This in-person event will take place on Thursday, November 20 at Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore - Program Activity Center (PAC) on 127 Yellow Brook Rd Farmingdale, NJ 07727. We would love for you to spend the day with us, but we understand there can be time restrictions, so we have 3 ticket options for this event.
For full details and to register, click here: https://gruninfoundation.org/eventbrite/?event=1716506550299
Virtual Lunch Hours (VLH)
Virtual Lunch Hours will be every other month this year with the exception of a summer break in August and a special “holiday tea party” in December. You must register for each event separately and you can find them all on our events page. This is a time for you to connect and talk with your peers on topics that are important to you! Here’s what’s coming up for the remainder of the year:
- November 6th – Creative Organizational Redesign – Sustainability/Exploring the Options
- December 16th – Holiday Tea - Celebrating our work and successes
Capacity Clinic Opportunities
1:1 Executive Coaching with Traci Lester
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 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
Racial Equity Assessment & Mini-Grants with Building Blocks for Change (BB4C)
We have partnered with Building Movement Project to offer approximately 7 nonprofit organizations the opportunity to participate in Building Blocks for Change (BB4C). Organizations must be based in Monmouth and/or Ocean Counties, New Jersey, or have a significant service presence in Monmouth and/or Ocean Counties.
Selected groups will receive:
- BB4C Racial Equity Assessment Survey
- Customized Survey Report
- An Interpretation Session with BB4C to review your results
- $400 to your organization to use as needed in the survey process (ex. incentives for staff to complete surveys, celebrate milestones, compensate participants, etc.- it is completely up to you); larger teams may be eligible for support up to $1,000
- Any groups that completes the process may apply for a mini-grant to support implementation of suggestions in the final report
For more information and to apply, visit: https://blog.gruninfoundation.org/racial-equity-assessment-mini-grants-with-building-blocks-for-change-bb4c
Coalition Building – Engaging in coalition building and advocacy at the regional and state levels to impact systemic issues.
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, is planning virtual speed networking events that will pair nonprofits with funders. These will be structured, virtual events 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 event is repeatedly requested from nonprofit leaders and is part of the effort to create more equitable relationships with philanthropy. It is a great opportunity for both philanthropists and nonprofits to connect and learn about the work being done in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. We will share more information on this soon!
Pragmatic Activism
The Pragmatic Activism cohort for 2025 is underway and is our first cohort for youth. The cohort is transitioning into phase 2 of the work, which will take place into 2026. 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 throughout the year, where alumni can learn about current policies, legislation specific to their district, and more. We’ve hosted one so far with two to go for the remainder of 2025.
Until Next Quarter…
We continue to collaborate with and deepen our connections in community to ensure we remain nimble, relevant, and impactful. Keep in touch with us, reach out and say hello, and let us know if there is anything you’d like to discuss.