Back to All Updates
September 2026 Newsletter
NEWS FROM THE FUND
Written by: Naeema Campbell and Beauty Ademola
Summer here in the Garden State is inching towards the unofficial end of the season. We hope you have time to rest and recharge before the schools reopen and your fall event calendars fill up. This edition of the newsletter contains a variety of updates from The Fund and our Grantee partners.
Adrianna Abizadeh-Barbour, one of The Fund’s Trustees and Executive Director of Kensington Corridor Trust (KCT), was interviewed on The Ownership Economy podcast. In the recent episode, Adrianna discussed KCT’s neighborhood trust model, which is working to decommodify commercial real estate and guarantee intergenerational affordability and local community control.
Did you see that the State of New Jersey has launched a public engagement process to gather input to help shape its whole-of-government effort to increase access to affordable housing opportunities and build more housing, initiated by Governor Sherrill’s Executive Order 17? For any EO17-specific questions, please reach out to Housing.SIEO@nj.gov.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR NEW JERSEY?
Registration is officially open for the 2026 Crossroads NJ Democracy Forum on Tuesday, October 13, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark.
Presented by The Fund for New Jersey, in partnership with Victoria Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, this day-long gathering will bring together community leaders, policy experts, advocates, and residents to explore some of the most pressing issues shaping New Jersey’s future, including affordability, democracy, and immigration.
Building on the success of the 2025 Crossroads NJ Conversation series, this year’s forum will feature an inspiring lineup of speakers. Attendees will have opportunities to exchange ideas, hear diverse perspectives, explore solutions, and consider how we can work together to build the New Jersey we all deserve.
WHAT WE’RE READING
Education – The Conversation
Better Call Mom: Schools Still See Mothers as the Default Parent To Contact
Immigration – ACLU
Housing – The Department of What Works
GRANTEE NEWS
POLICY UPDATES
League of Women Voters of New Jersey (LWVNJ): In August 2025, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) enacted a policy banning nonpartisan groups from registering voters at federal naturalization ceremonies. In retaliation, the League of Women Voters and its other state chapters, including LWVNJ, filed a federal lawsuit challenging the policy. Last month, the U.S. District Court of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction blocking the rule while the case is litigated. This means civic engagement groups can resume registering new citizens to vote at naturalization ceremonies.
Make the Road New Jersey (MTRNJ): MTRNJ filed an amicus brief with the Rutgers Law School Housing Justice & Tenant Solidarity Clinic on behalf of 17 organizations, including the ACLU of New Jersey, Fair Share Housing Center, the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ, and the New Jersey Tenants Organization to allow a $20 rent cap to remain as a question on the ballot in the City of Elizabeth. On July 27, 2026, a Union County Superior Court judge dismissed Elizabeth-area landlords’ complaint, and the initiative will now go to Elizabeth voters to decide by referendum on November 3.
New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance (NJEJA): NJEJA joined legal cases as a friend of the court to provide technical expertise on the cumulative impacts of pollution and other environmental harms on environmental justice communities. NJEJA also challenged the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission’s plans to construct a fourth natural gas power plant in Newark’s Ironbound community.
GRANTEE REPORTS
Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey (HCDNNJ): A joint report published by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and HCDNNJ found that in 2026, New Jersey ranked the fifth-least affordable state in the country, with renters needing to earn $43.89 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment. According to the report, “The median wage of a full-time white worker is enough to afford a one-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rate, but the same is not true for Black or Latino workers.”
New Jersey Future (NJ Future): In June, NJ Future released a water affordability report examining affordability challenges in water and sewer utilities across five municipalities—Trenton, Paterson, Newark, Camden, and Atlantic City. In addition to having a high concentration of lead service lines, a common concern raised was the aging water and sewer infrastructure across all the cities.
LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP): NJPP has announced Peter Chen as its next President, succeeding Nicole Rodriguez, who joined NJPP in 2019 as Research Director and became President in 2022. Chen joined NJPP in 2021 and has focused on tax and budget policy. His research and advocacy helped lead to the creation of the state’s first-ever Child Tax Credit and the Corporate Transit Fee, a tax on large corporations that provides dedicated funding for NJ Transit.
NJ Spotlight: Montclair State University (MSU) announced that it will acquire NJ Spotlight’s assets, including its website domain and archive of articles. NJ PBS, which is operated by the university’s College of Communication and Media, plans to continue NJ Spotlight’s daily news coverage. NJ PBS will retain John Mooney, NJ Spotlight’s founding editor, who will help lead the transition. NJ Spotlight was founded in 2010 as a journalism outlet focused on public policy and has produced award-winning news coverage. NJ Spotlight News, the daily public affairs program that WNET currently airs, will end on September 30, and a new program, titled NJ PBS News, will air starting October 1.
GARDEN STATE GEM
The Pinelands Alliance launched the Pine Tree Center in July 2026 after acquiring the property from the Boy Scouts of America in 2025. The Pine Tree Center offers cabins, campsites, and lodge accommodations, providing individuals and large groups with a place to enjoy the beauty of the Pinelands.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- September 9-10: Gathering Ground 2026 Movement-Building Call to Collaboration (Gathering Ground)
- September 16: Whose Code Is It Anyway? Tax Reform as Democracy Reform (Roosevelt Institute)
- September 20: What the Constitution Means to Me (ACLU of New Jersey)
- September 24: Sick of Red Tape: Medicaid Work Requirements in New Jersey (New Jersey Policy Perspective)
- September 30: Powering the Future – Clean Energy Infrastructure from Wires to Watts (Jersey Renews)
- October 8: 2026 Community Based Private Provider Professional Development Conference (ACNJ & NJAEYC)
- October 13: Crossroads NJ Democracy Forum: Fighting for the Future (The Fund for New Jersey)
- October 23: Under One Roof: Annual Conference & Membership Meeting (HCDNNJ)
JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Fair Share Housing Center – Managing Director of Policy & Advocacy
- Ironbound Community Corporation – Multiple Positions
- New Jersey Work Environment Council – Campaign Organizer
- Pinelands Alliance – Part-Time Bookkeeper
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – Policy Officer
- Salvation and Social Justice – Policy and Organizing Coordinator
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.
