Meet the Grantees

We are proud to have incredible partners and leaders in our community. Below are a few organizations who work towards that vision.  

Learn more about and view the entire grantee directory of organizations in our community.  

Eva’s Village: Stabilizing Families and Creating Mobility Pathways in Paterson 

For more than four decades, Eva’s Village has been one of Paterson’s most trusted anchors and a comprehensive social service provider offering more than 20 integrated programs. They reach deep into the heart of our target communities, supporting residents facing acute housing instability, food insecurity, unemployment, substance use challenges, and the compounding effects of poverty. 

We are supporting their work over the next year to achieve significant impact: 

• At least 200 clients will be supported by emergency and transitional housing paired with case management services that provide stability and dignity. 
• More than 350 residents will be supported in job training, financial literacy courses, and credit-building workshops. 
• Their integrated model connects housing with employment, recovery support, and family services. 

Eva’s Village provides wrap-around services to residents across Paterson including people like Stan, a Paterson resident who came to Eva’s Village after years of housing instability and substance use had disrupted nearly every part of his life. When Stan arrived at Eva’s Village, he found more than immediate support. He found a clear pathway toward stability. He began his journey at Eva’s Halfway House for Men, where integrated services helped him focus on sobriety, strengthen his mental health, and begin rebuilding a sense of direction. What stood out most to him was the culture of care. As Stan shared, “For anyone that really wants to get their life together, Eva’s is the place to come. Everything you need is here, and they helped me get my life back on track.” 

As he prepared to take the next step, Stan transitioned to Eva’s Men’s Shelter, where staff worked closely with him to navigate the process of securing permanent housing. After five months, Stan moved into his own apartment, living independently, paying his bills, preparing his own meals, and returning each day to a place he can call home. He now regularly returns to Eva’s Men’s Shelter to mentor other residents, proud to serve, in his words, as “an example, not a sample.” 

Eva’s Village demonstrates what happens when organizations ensure residents don’t just stabilize, but have a path forward.  

Trenton Health Team: Harnessing Data to Drive Systems-Level Change 

In Trenton, Trenton Health Team (THT) is redefining what it means to align health, housing, and economic stability. Trusted by residents and respected by policymakers, THT is uniquely positioned as the region’s data backbone—one with access to state administrative data systems that reveal how families interact with public benefits and services. 

This includes data from programs like SNAP, Medicaid, and Unemployment Insurance, which are essential for understanding residents’ lived realities and the systemic barriers they face. 

THT’s contributions to our strategy are invaluable: 

• They are helping us build robust baseline data sets that will allow the Foundation to track the short- and long-term impact of our investments across our target communities. 
• Their rapid-cycle evaluation approach allows us to test ideas, assess real-time outcomes, and refine strategies more quickly. 
• They provide deep insight into how policy, benefits access, housing, and health intersect—ensuring we focus our investments where the potential for impact is greatest. 

In a state where data is often siloed or outdated, THT offers something rare: a clear, trusted window into the experiences of the communities we aim to serve. 

As Gregory Paulson, CEO of Trenton Health Team, said: “This grant strengthens our ability to combine community experience with rigorous data analysis to help build effective, equitable solutions. We are proud to be collaborating with the Foundation to tackle New Jersey’s racial wealth gap.” 

Braven: Launching First-Generation Graduates Into High-Mobility Careers 

At Rutgers–Newark, Braven is transforming what economic mobility looks like for first-generation and low-income college students. Their model is rooted in a simple but powerful truth: career readiness and degree completion are among the strongest predictors of lifetime earnings and wealth-building. 

And Braven’s results are remarkable. 

• Rutgers–Newark’s graduation rate for first-time, full-time students in 2023–24 was 65%, compared to 91% for Braven Fellows. 
• Braven Newark Fellows achieve 26 percentage points higher job attainment within six months of graduation than their national peers. 
• In 2026, Braven will expand its Accelerator Course to at least 950 Rutgers students, helping ensure they secure strong first jobs or graduate school placement within six months of graduation. 

This work matters because a strong first job is often a lifetime turning point.  

Take Asare Bampoe-Parry, an undergraduate student at Rutgers University-Newark (RU-N) who went through the Braven Accelerator in Spring 2025. When he started at Rutgers, he wasn’t certain where his academic journey would lead, and he didn’t yet envision a clear career path or see graduate school in his future. However, after participating in the Braven Accelerator, his outlook had shifted dramatically. After graduating in May 2025, he moved forward with both a strong first job and plans to begin graduate school in the fall. 

“I give credit to the opportunities offered at Rutgers and Braven for, honestly, being a catalyst in terms of how I turned my life around academically,” Bampoe-Parry shared.  

Braven is proof that with targeted support, the path to wealth-building can widen for thousands of New Jersey students. 

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