Shape Direction
Members help inform the Fund’s priorities, strategies, and areas of focus based on what they are seeing and experiencing across Newark’s nonprofit ecosystem.
Governance Committee
Newark’s Experience Belongs at the Decision-Making Table
The Governance Committee brings Newark nonprofit leaders and philanthropic partners together to shape the Fund’s direction, priorities, investments, and learning.
Community Voice Is Part of How the Fund Works
NNLRF was designed so that Newark nonprofit leaders are not simply recipients of funding or participants in programming. They have a meaningful role in shaping the Fund itself.
Governance Committee members bring knowledge of Newark’s organizations, neighborhoods, communities, and funding landscape to the Fund’s decision-making. Together, nonprofit and philanthropic representatives provide strategic guidance, stewardship, and accountability as NNLRF responds to current needs, learns from its work, and considers what comes next.
The Committee’s work is supported by Willow Bees Group, with Nicole K.F. Butler serving as Fund Lead and Kareem Willis, PhD, as Project Manager.
How the Governance Committee Works
The Governance Committee serves as a shared stewardship body for the Fund. Members bring different perspectives, expertise, and relationships to a common responsibility: ensuring that NNLRF remains responsive to Newark’s nonprofit sector and accountable to the purpose for which the Fund was created.
Guide Investment
The Committee contributes community knowledge and perspective to discussions about how Fund resources can be deployed to strengthen nonprofit leaders and organizations.
Review Progress & Learning
Members examine what NNLRF is learning from its initiatives, grantee partners, programming, and evaluation and consider how those insights should inform future decisions.
Strengthen Accountability
The Committee helps ensure that the Fund remains connected to Newark nonprofit leaders, transparent in its approach, and responsive as community conditions and organizational needs evolve.
A Committee Designed to Reflect Newark
The Governance Committee was intentionally constituted to bring together a range of nonprofit and philanthropic perspectives. Nonprofit members were selected with attention to organizational size, sector, leadership experience, geography, demographic diversity, collaborative orientation, and alignment with the Fund’s mission.
Committee Members
Community Representatives
Philanthropic Partners
Our values
The Values That Guide Our Governance
These values shape how the Governance Committee works, makes decisions, and stewards the Fund.
Trust & Equity
Centering the lived experiences of leaders and prioritizing equity in decision-making.
Collaboration
Shared responsibility among nonprofit leaders, philanthropic partners, and those supporting the Fund’s work.
Sustainability
Ensuring long-term viability of the Fund and most importantly the sustainability and resiliency of Newark’s nonprofit sector.
Transparency & Accountability
Clear processes, open communication, and responsible stewardship of resources.
Flexibility & Responsiveness
Adapting to the evolving needs of Newark’s nonprofit ecosystem.
Excellence & Innovation
Supporting organizations that deliver high-quality, community-centered interventions. The Fund seeks bold ideas, emerging models, and proven practices to elevate the standard of impact and learning across Newark’s nonprofit ecosystem (and beyond).