We hope you are still finding ways to enjoy the spring as the weather finally (hopefully) warms up. Shore season will be here before we know it, so start making your plans for summer and getting outdoors with all our beautiful state has to offer! 

We appreciate everyone that joined us last month at Labyrinth Books for the conversation between Dorothy A. Brown and Brandon McKoy, President, where they discussed her recently published book, Getting to Reparations. The spirited discussion highlighted Brown’s legal research on the US government’s past instances of providing reparations. For example, when a group of Italian immigrants were lynched in 1892, President Harrison compensated Italy a total of $25,000 for their deaths—an equivalent to almost $766,000 today. Overall, Dorothy A. Brown’s book offers bold ideas, legal frameworks, and tested messages that public policy advocates, activists and researchers can use to bolster support for reparative justice and restitution.  

Speaking of reparative justice, the opposite occurred last week with the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, et al., which guts the Voting Rights Act, a landmark accomplishment of the Civil Rights Movement. With this decision, voters of color across the country are particularly vulnerable to disenfranchisement. Amol Sinha, Executive Director of the ACLU of New Jersey, reacted to the decision by encouraging strong support for the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey, which will “make voting freer and fairer” across the state. While we find ourselves in a deeply disturbing moment where our rights and freedoms are under constant attack, it is vital that we all find within us the courage and commitment to push forward the values of justice and equity for all. For several decades we have benefited from the labor of our forebears; it is now incumbent upon us to act so that future generations can enjoy the fruit of our efforts and live in a world filled with beauty and opportunity no matter who they are or where they are from.

John J. Farmer, Jr., one of The Fund’s Trustees and former Dean of Rutgers School of Law—Newark, recently published an op-ed in The Hill.  In, Enough Gerrymandering — The People Must Take Back Power from Two-Party Rule, Farmer provides insight into the dangers of partisan gerrymandering and how it could lead to political disenfranchisement for the electorate. He argues that the Court should require states, under the Due Process Clause of the 14^th Amendment, to use fair and inclusive redistricting institutions to prevent partisan domination of the state instead of attempting to judge the fairness of district maps directly. Read more here…  

Governor Sherrill debuted a new State budget tool. New Jersey Report Card is an interactive website designed to reveal how State programs are being funded in the proposed budget and compare historic funding levels. Every year, the Governor of New Jersey proposes a State budget for the Fiscal Year (July 1 to June 30), which is funded by income taxes, sales taxes, and other revenue sources.  

The Fund’s new digital home launched last month. Explore our work, learn about our initiatives, and stay up to date on the policy issues shaping New Jersey. Take a moment to visit the new site: 🔗 www.fundfornj.org 

What are we at The Fund reading and watching?

• You Share Other People’s Thoughts Because You Don’t Have Any of Your Own (Feifei’s Substack) 
• Hormuz closure threatens the global food supply – why grocery price hikes are coming (The Conversation) 
• Breaking Down School Funding in Governor Sherrill’s Proposed FY27 Budget (Education Law Center) 
• Fool’s Gold: The Hidden Costs of AI Data Centers for New Jersey (NJPP)
• Diners in New Jersey Are Struggling to Survive (New York Times) 
• Governor Mikie Sherrill reflected on her first 100 days and what she will tackle next for N.J.? (NJ.com) 

Grantee News

Policy Updates 

• The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ): ACLU-NJ and partner groups have filed an amicus brief in support of Congresswoman LaMonica McIver (NJ-10) following her federal indictment related to a confrontation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during a visit to Delaney Hall last May with Mayor Ras Baraka. The congresswoman has pleaded not guilty and is appealing her case in the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals on June 23 in Delaware. Read more here… 
• Eastern Environmental Law Center (EELC): EELC applauded a New Jersey appellate court’s rejection of a lawsuit filed by scrap recyclers which argued against the authority of the Department of Environmental Protection to enforce the state’s Environmental Justice (EJ) Law. Signed into law in 2020, the law requires additional reviews for projects in overburdened communities and authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to block projects that could worsen the wellbeing of individuals in those communities. Read more here…  
• During a CBS interview last month, EELC’s executive director, Christopher Miller condemned DEP’s approval of the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline (NESE), warning that the pipeline would dredge up contaminated sediment, harm marine life and degrade water quality where residents recreate, swim and fish around the Raritan Bay. Read more here… 
• Education Law Center (ELC): ELC submitted public comments opposing Executive Order 14398 that classifies ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) programs as unlawful discrimination and expands the certifications required for entities receiving grants from the federal government. ELC argues that the new certification contravenes existing law, fails to specify the DEI activities that the government is opposed to and, could potentially have dire financial consequences for state education agencies, school districts, and education-related nonprofit organizations that offer education services to low-income students. Read more here… 
• Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC): Following years of advocacy by NJ Future, FHSC and other housing groups in New Jersey, the Sherill administration signed an executive order allowing affordable housing development in state-owned land. Beyond accelerating the construction of affordable homes in the state, the law also aims to improve access to affordable homes that already exist and encourage the construction of new homes near transit. Read more here… 

Grantee Reports

• Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ): ACNJ released its Kids Count 2026 report outlining the state of child well-being across counties in New Jersey. The report highlights the lack of maternity hospitals in some counties and emphasizes the need for school districts to partner with licensed childcare centers and Head Start programs to address the limited capacity of many public-school facilities to serve all 3- and 4-year-old in their communities. Read more here…  
• Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC): Fair Share Housing Center released its 2026 Policy Agenda focused on protecting tenants and addressing New Jersey’s housing affordability challenges. The plan proposes a range of strategies to expand access to housing, including strengthening the First-Generation Homebuyer program, limiting the role of large institutional investors in the single-family housing market to improve opportunities for individual buyers, and supporting religious and nonprofit organizations in developing affordable housing on their property. Read more here…  
• New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance (NJEJA): Data centers are the hidden infrastructure that powers everyday life on the internet, and their rapid expansion over the past few years is creating a new set of environmental justice problems in New Jersey. In response to the increased construction proposals for hyperscale data centers, NJEJA released a community toolkit, Clean Air, Not AI. The toolkit contains policy updates, community tools, and best practices to support residents, advocates, policy makers, and allies. Learn more here… 
• New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP): NJPP released a report explaining the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The report titled TANF Explained: New Jersey’s Safety Net Steadily Falls Short shows that along with delays in federal funding and the diversion of TANF dollars into other programs, the maximum annual TANF grant amount for a family of three is less than $10,000 per year, far below the federal poverty level of $27,320 for a household of the same size. A follow-up report, A Safety Net in Retreat: An Obstacle Course Known as TANF, offers recommendations to the Sherill administration on ways to strengthen the program. Read more here… 

Leadership and Organizational Announcements

• WNYC/NJPR, WGBO and WHYY – The popular “Ask the Governor” public radio program is back! On “Ask Governor Sherrill,” — presented in partnership with WNYC/NJPR, WBGO of Newark, WHYY of Philadelphia and South Jersey, and Montclair State University — host Michael Hill and Gov. Mikie Sherrill explore the issues most important to New Jerseyans. The program airs bi-monthly on WNYC and partnered media and takes live calls at 844-745-8255 and collects audience questions. Listen to the latest episode.  

Events

• May 4 – Getting Ahead Program (Paterson Alliance) 
• May 5 – Calculating True Program Costs (NJCNP)  
• May 5 – How Are New Jersey’s Children Faring? (ACNJ) 
• May 7 – Budget and Brews (NJPP) 
• May 13 –  Statewide Community Call (NJISJ)  
• May 12-15 – Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP) Annual Convening in Philadelphia, PA 
• May 15 – Whitesboro Reparations Community Dialogue Session (NJISJ) 
• May 14 – Where is the PI in AAPI? Centering Oceania Histories in K-12 Classrooms (AAPI-NJ) 
• May 19 – Amicus Briefs in Advocacy: Practical Skills for Real Impact (NJISJ) 
• May 28 – Building Homes, Building Local Economies: How NJ’s Affordable Housing Law is Strengthening Local Communities (FSH) 
• May 29 – AI in 2026: From Insight to Impact – (RWJF) 
• June 3 – Understanding Today’s Public Education Landscape: How We Got Here and Where We’re Going (ELC) 
• June 3 – Pinelands Science Forum-Water: The Lifeblood of the Pines (Pinelands Alliance)   
• June 10 – New Jersey Planning and Redevelopment Conference (NJ Future) 
• June 17 – 2026 Spring Colloquium: A Conversation for the Social Sector (CNJG) 

Job Announcements

• AAPI New Jersey – Education Director 
• American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey – Multiple Positions 
• American Friends Service Committee – Multiple Positions 
• Fair Share Housing Center – Staff Attorney 
• Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey – Community Scholars Program Internship 
• Ironbound Community Corporation – Multiple Positions   
• Latino Action Network Foundation – In-person Internship 
• New Jersey Citizen Action Education Fund – Development Director 
• New Jersey Domestic Workers Alliance – Multiple Positions 
• NJ Environmental Justice Alliance – Youth Climate Ambassador Program Supervisor 
• New Labor – Domestic Worker Campaign Organizer 
• Pinelands Alliance – Part-Time Bookkeeper  

Keep up to date on the issues.

We welcome your policy updates, job announcements, and staff news. Please send submissions to Naeema Campbell, ncampbell@fundfornj.org or Beauty Ademola, bademola@fundfornj.org for inclusion in our newsletter.