Dear Friends,
On October 4, The Russell Berrie Foundation, together with the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and the Bergen Volunteer Center, brought together an array of funders from the corporate, philanthropic and community arenas who are active in Bergen County. While many of us know one another and have partnered on discrete projects, this was the first time we had all gathered under one roof to examine how we might work collaboratively to elevate the quality of life and create a vision for inclusive growth in our shared community of northern New Jersey.
Our keynote speaker was Molly Cox, President and CEO of SA2020, a unique nonprofit in San Antonio, Texas that’s dedicated to driving progress toward a shared vision for a thriving city. Molly, who was named “best city advocate” by San Antonio Magazine last year, was a true inspiration to our group of northern New Jersey funders—laying out how a community can develop an authentic joint vision owned by the people who live there, and how well-defined and carefully tracked metrics can be used to activate and accelerate the achievement of that vision.
Having a common community vision leads to big, bold efforts that can transcend politics as usual. SA2020 combines objective data and convening power to ignite creativity and get the right people around the table to solve for what works. It is results driven, data informed, people powered and systems focused.
San Antonio, of course, bears little resemblance to Bergen County, the largest and most populous suburban county in New Jersey, with nearly a million people spread across 70 municipalities and 75 school districts. After hearing Molly speak, however, I became convinced that we can look to SA2020 for inspiration around how to create an authentic, inclusive, community-led vision for northern New Jersey, and the power of data for tracking our progress towards that vision.
As Lynne Algrant of the Bergen Volunteer Center described in a presentation to our gathering, the demographics of Bergen County are far more diverse than commonly recognized. In addition to having the state’s largest Jewish population, there is significant growth in the Hispanic and Korean communities. Sixteen percent of our population is comprised of seniors aging in place. Our millennial population is shrinking (an indicator going in the wrong direction).
Crafting a truly inclusive community vision means gathering multiple perspectives across the incredible diversity of Bergen County, and I see an opportunity for funders to come together to catalyze this conversation. Our initial gathering got me excited about the tremendous potential of such an endeavor. As a group, we are collectively tapped into many, if not all, of Bergen County’s “spheres of influence” and are therefore well-positioned to overcome the challenges (and take advantage of the opportunities) in our suburban community.
Together we can start a process to discover the needs, priorities and aspirations of Bergen County—and ensure that our philanthropic dollars are spent to maximum effect. Our community deserves no less.
Angelica Berrie
President, Board of Trustees
The Russell Berrie Foundation