(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- At its first board meeting of the year, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Trustees approved 57 grants totaling $2,692,000 to nonprofit organizations whose work in the arts, education, environment and informed communities impact citizens throughout the state for a better New Jersey. 

“While the tone and tenor of the national debate on issues and legislation of the day are still rancorous and polarized, a bright spot is how New Jersey residents are becoming more engaged with each other and with their communities,” said Chris Daggett, Dodge Foundation president and CEO. “In these uncertain times, it is important for nonprofits and the philanthropic sector to think creatively and work together to give voice and agency to all residents in our communities, especially the most marginalized. Dodge remains committed to investments in New Jersey that have community impact, that deepen the connections between individuals and institutions, and that increase civic engagement.”

Highlights of grants awarded at the Trustees’ March board meeting are below.

In Arts, Dodge awarded 30 grants totaling $972,500 to advance community arts, dance, music, theater, and visual arts. Six grants totaling $220,000 are in the program’s Connecting Community and the Arts focus area.

These include a grant to ValleyArts to support its efforts to enliven the Orange and West Orange neighborhood known as “The Valley,” through affordable housing for artists, arts activities at two community venues, and entrepreneurship opportunities for artists and other. Another grant supports The Center for Community Arts, an arts organization working to expose residents and others to Cape May’s rich African American history through educational programming, walking tours, music and visual arts.

“These organizations lead inclusive, collaborative efforts in their communities that seek to engage residents, tourists, artists, and youth in creative opportunities and the exploration of important issues,” said Sharnita C. Johnson, arts program director. “They exemplify the ways in which arts and culture organizations can position themselves as essential community development elements that spur economic development and housing and raise the quality of life for all.”

In Environment, Dodge awarded 23 grants totaling $1,355,000 to advance watershed protection, urban greening, and food system development. A grant to The Trust for Public Land supports land conservation in priority watershed regions like the Highlands, as well as urban park development in Newark. NY/NJ Baykeeper is among waterkeeper organizations awarded grants for work that uses science to inform citizen advocacy and advance public policy aimed at protecting our waterways.

“New Jersey’s sustainability and prosperity are linked closely with the quality of our land and water resources, yet the state’s natural resources and ecosystems are under increasing threat from development, pollution, and climate change,” said Margaret Waldock, environment program director. “We believe that community- and watershed-scale conservation and restoration that informs and engages the public and decision-makers can influence public policy and practice to protect the environment.”

In Education, Dodge awarded a $309,500 grant to Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship for continued support of the New Jersey Teacher Fellowship Program, part of a multi-year commitment by Dodge and other funders to improve how teachers are prepared for the classroom at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, and across all subject matter areas.

Through its flagship Technical Assistance program and other initiatives, including support of organizations working in its hometown of Morristown, Dodge awarded more than $55,000 in additional grants this round. A grant to the Center for Non-Profits supports the organization’s advocacy, public information, and educational activities to, and on behalf of, New Jersey's non-profit community.

“The Dodge Foundation’s support to organizations that provide capacity building to our grantees help the larger nonprofit community,” said Wendy Liscow, technical assistance director. “These organizations, like the Center for Non-Profits, help nonprofit leaders and staff sustain their energy and build the marathon-level stamina required to thrive in the ever-changing sector.”

A grant to Grow It Green Morristown supports the organization’s mission to create sustainable farms and gardens that provide equal access to fresh, local food and educate communities through programs focused on healthy eating and environmental stewardship.

Dodge Foundation 2017 First-Round Grants:

• American Repertory Ballet (New Brunswick, Middlesex County): $10,000 to provide operational support for ARB company and programming. Program Area: Arts


• American Rivers (Washington, DC): $10,000 to support river restoration in New Jersey through a new statewide task force to encourage coordinated, science based dam removal and restoration projects. Program Area: Environment


• Bay-Atlantic Symphony (Bridgeton, Atlantic County): $40,000 to continue to expand classical music performances and education programs in South Jersey. Program Area: Arts


• Bayshore Center at Bivalve (Port Norris, Cumberland County): $55,000 General operating support of leadership, programming, and advocacy to advance environmental and economic resiliency for NJ's Delaware Bayshore communities. Program Area: Environment


• Camden City Garden Club (Camden, Camden County): $40,000 to support community gardening, and urban greening and agriculture programs in Camden.  Program Area: Environment


• Carolyn Dorfman Dance (Union, Union County): $40,000 to provide general operating support for Carolyn Dorfman Dance's 2017 season and educational outreach programs. Program Area: Arts


• Centenary Stage Company (Hackettstown, Warren County): $20,000 to support CSC's year-round theater, dance and music programming, the annual Dance Fest, and educational outreach programs, including Shakesperience. Program Area: Arts


• Center for Community Arts (Cape May, Cape May County): $10,000 to strengthen programming and capacity building for this South New Jersey community based arts organization. Program Area: Arts


• Center for Environmental Transformation (Camden, Camden County): $15,000 general operating support for environmental education, urban agriculture, greening activities, and community engagement in the Waterfront South neighborhood of Camden. Program Area: Environment


• Center for Non-Profit Corporations (Mercerville, Mercer County): $25,000 for general operating support of advocacy, public information, and educational activities to, and on behalf of, New Jersey's non-profit community. Program Area: Technical Assistance


• City Green (Clifton, Passaic County): $50,000 general operating support for urban farming, gardening and greening efforts in northern New Jersey communities.  Program Area: Environment


• City Without Walls (Newark, Essex County): $30,000 to advance the careers of artists; expand the audience for contemporary art; and provide opportunities for community engagement through the arts. Program Area: Arts


• Cooper's Ferry Partnership (Camden, Camden County): $40,000 to support Camden SMART, a community-driven, green infrastructure initiative to improve neighborhoods and address exposure and environmental impairment from combined sewer overflows in Camden. Program Area: Environment


• Dance New Jersey (Montclair, Essex County): $30,000 to increase Dance New Jersey's membership, programs/events and visibility throughout the state; diversify funding sources and board development. Program Area: Arts


• Delaware Riverkeeper Network (Bristol, Conn.): $45,000 to advance protection of the Delaware River's waters and watershed in New Jersey through science-driven advocacy, strategic communications, and watershed restoration programs. Program Area: Environment


• Discovery Orchestra (Warren, Somerset County): $20,000 for interactive, live and media programs and curriculum materials to help develop listening skills that connect participants with classical music. Program Area: Arts


• Environmental Leadership Program (Greenbelt, S.C.): $10,000 for scholarships to train emerging New Jersey environmental and social change leaders. Program Area: Technical Assistance


• Foodshed Alliance (Hardwick, Warren County): $15,000 general operating support to develop a resilient regional food system in Northern New Jersey. Program Area: Environment


• George Street Playhouse (New Brunswick, Middlesex County): $60,000 to support George Street Playhouse's world-class mainstage theater productions and arts education programs. Program Area: Arts


• Greater Newark Conservancy (Newark, Essex County): $65,000 general operating support for education, community greening, job training and environmental justice programs in Newark, NJ. Program Area: Environment


• Grounds For Sculpture (Hamilton, Mercer County): $15,000 to provide operating support for Grounds For Sculpture's exhibitions and education programs for children and adults. Program Area: Arts


• Grow it Green Morristown (Morristown, Morris County): $20,000 general operating support to create sustainable farms and gardens that provide equal access to fresh, local food and educate communities through programs focused on healthy eating and environmental stewardship. Program Area: Morristown


• Hamilton Partnership For Paterson (Paterson, Passaic County): $15,000 to engage local youth in planning for and development of the Paterson Great Falls National Park through the summer Youth Corps and new poetry initiative connecting the classroom experience to the park. Program Area: Environment


• Hunterdon Land Trust (Flemington, Hunterdon County): $30,000 general operating support to preserve land, steward resources, engage the public, and promote a rural economy in the Hunterdon County region. Program Area: Environment


• Ironbound Community Corporation (Newark, Essex County): $70,000 to support environmental restoration, stewardship, urban greening programs, and advocacy for a vibrant, sustainable, and resilient Ironbound neighborhood of Newark. Program Area: Environment


• Isles (Trenton, Mercer County): $70,000 to support urban greening and agriculture programming, and community based food system planning in Trenton. Program Area: Environment


• Land Conservancy of New Jersey (Boonton, Morris County): $40,000 general operating support to preserve land and water resources, restore native landscapes, increase locally grown food accessibility, and care for open spaces. Program Area: Environment


• Mile Square Theatre (Hoboken, Hudson County): $10,000 to provide general operating support for mainstage productions and educational programs. Program Area: Arts


• Monmouth County Arts Council (Red Bank, Monmouth County): $30,000 for general operating support to connect community and the arts and organizational capacity. Program Area: Arts


• Montclair Art Museum (Montclair, Essex County): $60,000 for general operating support for the Montclair Art Museum. Program Area: Arts


• Morris Museum (Morristown, Morris County): $40,000 for general operating support for the Morris Museum. Program Area: Arts


• New Jersey Conservation Foundation (Far Hills, Morris County): $100,000 general operating support to preserve New Jersey's land and natural resources through advocacy, land acquisition, stewardship and education and to support the statewide land trust network. Program Area:  Environment


• New Jersey Future (Trenton, Mercer County): $300,000 to support Jersey Water Works to advance innovative water infrastructure plans and projects and to implement Phase II of Build it Green, a design competition to scale-up the use of green, integrated infrastructure solutions. Program Area: Environment


• New Jersey Highlands Coalition (Boonton, Morris County): $35,000 General operating support of education, advocacy, and outreach programs to ensure implementation of the Highlands Regional Master Plan, and to promote protection and stewardship of the region's land and water resources. Program Area: Environment


• New Jersey Performing Arts Center (Newark, Essex County): $50,000 to support Jersey Moves! Festival of Dance and NJPAC Stage Exchange theater project. Program Area: Arts


• New Jersey Repertory Company (Long Branch, Monmouth County): $65,000 to support six new plays, 20 readings, and growth of administrative infrastructure, transition to new facility and pilot programs. Program Area: Arts


• New York-New Jersey Trail Conference (Mahwah, Bergen County): $20,000 to support the New Jersey Community Trails program, to improve public access to trails and public land in New Jersey, protect open space, and connect people to nature. Program Area: Environment


• Nimbus Dance Works (Jersey City, Hudson County): $25,000 for general operating support of Nimbus Dance Works' programmatic offerings, including professional dance performances, arts education initiatives, and community engagement. Program Area: Arts


• NY/NJ Baykeeper (Keyport, Monmouth County): $80,000 general operating support to protect, preserve, and restore the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary. Program Area: Environment


• Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn, Essex County): $45,000 For Paper Mill Playhouse productions and educational programs. Program Area: Arts


• Perkins Center for the Arts (Moorestown, Burlington County): $40,000 for general operating support to engage South Jersey communities with the arts through free and fee-based programs. Program Area: Arts


• Peters Valley School of Craft (Layton, Sussex County): $65,000 for general operating support for FY2017 programs. Program Area: Arts


• Printmaking Center of New Jersey (Branchburg, Somerset County): $15,000 to support programs for artists, children and general public. Program Area: Arts


• Raritan Headwaters Association (Gladstone, Somerset County): $20,000 general operating support to protect clean water in the North and South Branch regions of the Raritan River. Program Area: Environment


• Rowan University (Glassboro, Gloucester County): $65,000 to support maintenance and expansion of the New Jersey Municipal Asset Profiler web mapping portal to support environmental decision making and the Conservation Blueprint Initiative. Program Area: Environment


• Roxey Ballet Company (Lambertville, Hunterdon County): $22,500 to support Roxey Ballet performances, education initiatives and community outreach. Program Area: Arts


• South Orange Performing Arts Center (South Orange, Essex County): $15,000 to support presentation of New Jersey's preeminent choreographers and dance companies. Program Area: Arts


• Student Conservation Association, Inc. (Arlington, Essex County): $50,000 to support the NJ Park and Watershed Conservation Stewardship Program, connecting local high school youth to communities to enhance, restore, and increase accessibility to public lands in New Jersey. Program Area: Environment


• Symphony in C (Collingswood, Camden County): $45,000 for general operating support of Symphony in C's Professional Development Internship Program and Music Matters! education outreach programs. Program Area: Arts


• Trilogy: An Opera Company (Newark, Essex County): $10,000 for the production of four operas primarily featuring the work of African American composers and musicians. Program Area: Arts


• Trust for Public Land (Morristown, Morris County): $125,000 general operating support to advance greener communities in New Jersey through land conservation and urban park development. Program Area: Environment


• Two River Theater Company (Red Bank, Monmouth County): $40,000 to support Two River Theater's FY 2017-18 season and cultivate an engaged audience. Program Area: Arts


• Valley Arts (Orange, Essex County): $25,000 to enable Valley Arts to strengthen programs, enhance coalitions, and build community through the arts. Program Area: Arts


• Visual Arts Center of New Jersey (Summit, Union County): $10,000 for general operating support for the Art Center's exhibitions and programs. Program Area: Arts


• Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center (Millville, Cumberland County): $65,000 to advance Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center's mission to engage artists and audiences. Program Area: Arts


• Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (Princeton, Mercer County): $309,500 for continued support of the New Jersey Teacher Fellowship Program. Program Area: Education


• Writers Theatre of New Jersey (Madison, Morris County): $20,000 to support Writers Theatre's National New Play Development program and statewide education programs in schools and community organizations. Program Area: Arts

For more information on the Dodge Foundation and its grantmaking, visit grdodge.org.

About the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation was established in 1974 through the foresight and generosity of Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, daughter of William and Almira Rockefeller. For 43 years, Dodge has supported leadership, collaboration and innovation, with a focus on addressing the issues most pressing to New Jersey. Dodge also offers a comprehensive technical assistance program geared towards strengthening the capacity of New Jersey’s nonprofit community.