Victoria Foundation began 2020 with a commitment to learning and organizational transformation. The foundation entered this year asking what they can do differently to attack the root causes of intergenerational poverty and community disinvestment. What can be done to shift the dynamics that reproduce them, year after year? Strongly believing history teaches us these dynamics stem from structural and institutional racism and segregation, a critical first step for Victoria Foundation was hearing from and learning about the perspectives of their grantees and other external stakeholders of these important questions. To do this, Victoria Foundation undertook an extensive survey and interview process of grantees and key community leaders and stakeholders. Creed Strategies administered the Victoria Foundation Grantee Survey in January 2020 and conducted 26 one-on-one interviews with a combination of grantee leaders and other external stakeholders in March 2020.

This inquiry of Victoria Foundation grantees took place prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread social protests. The severe impact of COVID-19, as well as those of the racial justice protests, on the City of Newark and its residents make these findings, and their implications for grantees, even more timely and consequential to the dynamics Victoria Foundation seeks to understand.

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June 4, 2019

Dear Victoria Foundation Grantee:

As Victoria Foundation approaches the end of a century of giving, we feel the time is right to take a step back and consider how to have the greatest possible impact in light of the needs, challenges, and opportunities Newark faces today.

Much has changed since Victoria trustees decided, in the aftermath of the 1967 rebellion, to direct most of the Foundation’s giving to assist children and families in Newark. In many ways, today’s Newark is a thriving city. Crime and unemployment have declined, and downtown enjoys a real estate boom. But progress is, to say the least, uneven. Most families in Newark struggle daily to make ends meet as they confront the debilitatingly narrow range of choices their economic situation offers.

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Why does the Victoria Foundation think it needs to reassess its grantmaking at this time?

As Victoria Foundation approaches the end of a century of giving, we feel the time is right to take a step back and consider how to have the greatest possible impact in light of the needs, challenges, and opportunities Newark faces today. 

Most families in Newark struggle daily to make ends meet as they confront the debilitatingly narrow range of choices their economic situation offers. The persistence of poverty and inequality in Newark, despite decades of dedicated efforts by nonprofits, community leaders, and local funders, is causing Victoria Foundation to reassess how best to use our resources. Like many of you, we are asking ourselves what we can do differently to attack the root causes of intergenerational poverty and community disinvestment. What can be done to shift the dynamics that reproduce them, year after year? History teaches us that these dynamics stem from structural and institutional racism and segregation, and that shifting them will not be easy. Trustees and staff feel the need to take stock of the possibilities for ending entrenched economic scarcity and find the strategies needed to make Newark a place of broadly-shared prosperity and opportunity for all its residents.