The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (NNJCF) builds connections, pools resources, and provides leadership to enrich quality of life in the eight counties we serve: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Union and Warren.

Much of our work involves placemaking. We help shape the shared places where people live, work and interact – from a small park or street corner to the entire North Jersey region.

NNJCF works to grow:

• More Creative and Inspiring Places
• Greener and Healthier Places
• More Places of Belonging and Opportunity

NNJCF has been supporting North Jersey since 1998. We help residents to address critical issues affecting their communities, have produced many community-inspired public art works through our creative placemaking initiatives, and distributed more than $1 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and schools.  Learn more about our history.

NNJCF’s vision for North New Jersey:

A Northern New Jersey where communities are more livable and inclusive for all residents to work, play and thrive.

We believe North Jersey should be a place:

• Where all people feel heard and connected, and have more opportunities to live work and play to their greatest potential;
• That is greener, healthier and more beautiful;
• That is more inclusive and accessible to all residents; and
• That is a more attractive destination.

The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation enhances quality of life in North Jersey by:

• Building diverse and productive partnerships and convening stakeholders to address pressing social issues.
• Producing community-oriented public art to enhance public spaces. The NNJCF is one of Bergen County’s most active producers of public art.
• Partnering with communities on green infrastructure and environmental justice initiatives.
• Providing knowledge about climate change and developing programs for its remediation.
• Advocating for practices and government policies that support goals we share with friends and partners.
• Focusing attention and providing education on issues through webinars, workshops and conferences.
• Advising donors who seek to support causes, communities and places in North Jersey or around the world.
• Providing grants to nonprofits which work to enhance places in North Jersey.

NNJCF provides collaborative leadership, builds effective partnerships, and pools diverse resources to enrich quality of life in Northern New Jersey.

Doing together what can’t be done alone, NNJCF:

• Collaborates with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and public agencies who also want to enhance quality of life in North Jersey,
• Empowers and enables allies to achieve shared goals,
• Enhances and expedites the work of other who are attempting to reach shared goals; and
• Provide leadership that grows pools of collaborative leaders who can influence the systems that affect our communities;
• Helps create innovative strategies to address difficult challenges;
• Models the types of inclusiveness and responsiveness we want to inspire in others;
• Is engaged and invested in the places and communities we serve; and
• Works to effect lasting positive change in North Jersey by reducing barriers to collaborative exchange between local municipalities and their residents
• Encourages and assists donors who want to support their communities to pursue their charitable and philanthropic goals.

Our guiding values:

Collaboration | Empowerment | Leadership | Creativity | Innovation | Inclusivity | Responsiveness | Commitment