Dodge awards $4.5M to nonprofits, including four in Morristown

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Free Press forum on community journalism at the Morristown Neighborhood House. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
A Free Press forum on community journalism was held at the Morristown Neighborhood House in June 2016. Free Press and the Nabe both have received new grants from the Dodge Foundation. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Four Morristown nonprofits are among 95 recipients that will share $4.5 million in the latest round of grants from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

They are:

  • Creative New Jersey, $200,000 for “operating support of community engagement programs and events that fuel creativity and collaboration between highly diverse groups of individuals as essential components of thriving communities.”
  • Morristown Neighborhood House, $75,000 for “general operating support of high quality preschool and community educational programming to support learning and increase academic success for a multicultural community.”
  • Morris Arts, $70,000 for “general operating support to build community through the arts.”
  • Mayo Performing Arts Center, $30,000 for “general operating support of the 2016-17 season and outreach programming.”

Nearby, awards also went to:

  • Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison, $120,000 to support the Theatre’s “2016 season of artistic and education programs.”
  • Pro Bono Partnership in Parsippany, $15,000 to support “free legal assistance to nonprofit organizations in New Jersey including those working in the environment, arts, education and community information sectors.”

Another big winner, Free Press’ News Voices New Jersey ($200,000), staged a forum in Morristown last month about the future of local journalism.

dodge foundation logo“We are excited to continue our commitment to building a better New Jersey by supporting nonprofits whose leadership, creativity, and innovation never ceases to impress,” Chris Daggett, president and CEO of the Morristown-based Dodge Foundation, said in a statement.

“Throughout the state, these organizations work across sectors to create vibrancy in their communities by lifting up all voices and celebrating the artistic, natural, and other unique characteristics of their places.”

This is the second of three annual rounds of giving by Dodge, a private foundation established in 1974.

Grants are going to organizations serving the arts (50 grants totaling more than $2 million), education (32 gants, nearly $1.5 million) and the environment ($370,000); and also to nonprofits needing “Technical Assistance” ($180,000), and news-related groups in an “Informed Communities” category (six grants, $560,000).

Among arts recipients, Creative New Jersey is the biggest winner.

Creative New Jersey convenings bring together a diverse group of organizations and people across sectors and fields, empowering them to get civically engaged, giving them both a sense of agency and a sense of belonging to something bigger than themselves,” said Molly de Aguiar, Informed Communities program director for Dodge.

In education, Young Audiences of New Jersey & Eastern Pennsylvania receives $215,000 to support a “Creativity Incubator” to advance teaching and learning goals, as well as a new theater-integrated curriculum for New Jersey second-through-fifth-grade students.

Young Audiences will work with the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and theater companies to train teachers and teaching artists to turn classrooms into stages for creativity where students will bring reading to life and develop self-esteem they’ve never known before,” Wendy Liscow, Dodge education program director, said in a statement.

On the environmental side, $370,000 is going to Sustainable Jersey, “the first statewide municipal and school certification programs in the country that combine clear standards for action, robust guidance and implementation support, and a suite of incentives.”

Margaret Waldock, Environment program director for Dodge, said “the beauty of [Sustainable Jersey] is not just that it fosters virtuous competition among those participating, but it also leverages public and private resources, as well as technical support and training to ensure local success.”

In Informed Communities, Dodge is recognizing Free Press’ News Voices New Jersey for attempting to “build relationships through public forums that explore how journalism can improve communities and how community members can improve local journalism.”

Free Press forum on community journalism at the Morristown Neighborhood House. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Free Press forum on community journalism at the Morristown Neighborhood House. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

“With a rapidly changing digital news landscape and plummeting ad sales revenue, the future of local journalism depends on news organizations’ ability to reframe their work around engaging communities,” de Aguiar said.

Free Press’ News Voices project is working to build an active and engaged community of consumers, advocates, and citizen journalists around the news in New Jersey and to prove the critical link between community engagement and business viability for local news organizations.”

The grant also supports research and civic engagement efforts related to an FCC auction of wireless frequencies.

Disclosure: MorristownGreen.com is a participant in the  Local News Lab, a Dodge-supported program.

 

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