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: Client Impact : The New Jersey Campus Diversity Initiative
The New Jersey Campus Diversity Initiative
This issue of Initiatives focuses on tolerance and inter-group understanding. Read the article, "The Donor Perspective."
Growing a Program
The New Jersey Campus Diversity Initiative officially began in September, 2001, with a personal letter from Allen and Joan Bildner addressed to the president of every college and university in New Jersey. It stated that “Allen and Joan Bildner and the Bildner Family Foundation are pleased to announce the New Jersey Campus Diversity Initiative, aimed at reducing prejudice and promoting intergroup understanding on college and university campuses.” The letter invited all New Jersey institutions of higher education to submit proposals for multi-year grants. The goal, according to the Bildners, was “…to support those campuses that are committed not simply to an individual project or program but to institutional transformation.”
The concept of the New Jersey Campus Diversity Initiative, which represented the deepest values of Allen and Joan Bildner, evolved over eight years, beginning in 1993 when TPI began working with the Bildner Family Foundation. At the very first meeting, Allen spoke passionately about the problem of bigotry in this country and how he wanted to make a difference, beginning with the schools.
Through data analysis, research and interviews, TPI explored the various ways the Bildners could address the issues of intolerance and bigotry. In a comprehensive report, TPI presented the findings and ideas for strategic initiatives. Every step of the way, Allen and Joan Bildner gained knowledge and sharpened their philanthropic goals. Ultimately they decided that they could most effectively make a difference through investments in higher education because of their belief that colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to teach young people the essential skills of effectively living and working in an increasingly diverse society.
The accomplishments of the New Jersey Campus Diversity Initiative were recently profiled in a book called Reconnecting Education & Foundations (The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2007).
Download the full article, "Growing a Program"
Read detailed descriptions of each campus’ work through the NJCDI
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