To say the world has changed since the Victoria Foundation’s last update regarding our strategic planning journey would be an understatement.
The murders of so many Black and Brown people by police continue to plague our communities and has sparked a national movement that demands holistic police reforms which includes redirecting public resources from police departments to vital community-based programming. The COVID-19 pandemic has infected over 8 million Americans, with over 220,000 deaths and counting. This pandemic has laid bare serious racial and economic disparities in access to healthcare, economic opportunities, and quality education.
The world is on the precipice of major changes.
These moments are not lost on us at the Victoria Foundation. Foundation staff members have worked remotely since March 13th, and the timing of the strategic planning process has been extended through Spring 2021. As we deepen our strategic planning process, we intend to incorporate the lessons and learnings from these times to embrace new ways to use and leverage our resources to work collectively with our grantees, residents, and other stakeholders to affect change here in Newark. Victoria staff and trustees are trying to listen to local partners on where resources are needed. Since April, we have supported these efforts with $1.2 million in grants that addressed immediate needs stemming from the COVID-19 crisis in Newark and $250K for grassroots organizations fighting to dismantle racial injustice.
We recognize the Foundation has a lot to learn and it cannot do this work alone. We will need input and direction from partners like you along the journey of the organization’s transformation. The Foundation is working on ways for us to hear directly from ALL of our partners. More will be shared on this effort soon.