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Community Foundation of New Jersey
The Community Foundation of New Jersey was founded in 1979 and has been led by President Hans Dekker since 2003. It functions as a collective giving vehicle,...
Community Foundation of New Jersey
The Community Foundation of New Jersey was founded in 1979 and has been led by President Hans Dekker since 2003. It functions as a collective giving vehicle, administering hundreds of donor-advised funds for individuals, families, and corporations. The underlying capital is not a single family fortune but an aggregation of charitable assets from across New Jersey, making CFNJ a permanent pool of philanthropic capital with donor intent as its governing mandate.\n\nThe foundation’s deployment spans direct co-investments, fund commitments, and program-related investments. Asset-class exposure includes real estate through the Affordable Housing Impact Investments initiative, venture capital at the seed and early stage, private credit, natural resources, secondaries, and fund-of-funds positions. One named co-investment is the Seelaus Housing Equality Fund, LP, seeded alongside the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, which targets affordable housing in New Jersey. A cryptocurrency donation program further signals a posture open to non-traditional assets and donor-directed liquidity events.\n\nGovernance sits with a board chaired by Harry O’Mealia, CEO of 1919 Investment Counsel, and includes Marc Adee, Chairman and CEO of insurer Crum & Forster, embedding institutional asset-management expertise. The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers was originally established as a project under CFNJ in 1990, and Dekker is a past CNJG Chair. The foundation operates from its owned commercial headquarters in Morristown. Philanthropic adjacency vehicles include the Community Foundation of South Jersey and the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, demonstrating a capacity to spin out regionally targeted and crisis-response structures.\n\nCFNJ’s structural differentiator lies in blending a community-foundation donor-advised fund chassis with the direct-investing activity of a family office. It can receive a donor’s concentrated stock or cryptocurrency, liquidate tax-efficiently, and redeploy into a mix of commingled funds and direct impact deals — an architecture that collapses the distance between charitable intent and catalytic capital deployment.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1979
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Morristown
Corporate office
Morristown, New Jersey, United States
Principals
Hans Dekker
President
Harry O'Mealia
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Marc Adee
Trustee
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the Community Foundation of New Jersey?
President Hans Dekker has led CFNJ since 2003 and is responsible for overall strategy, while the Board of Trustees — chaired by Harry O’Mealia (CEO of 1919 Investment Counsel) and including Marc Adee (Chairman and CEO of Crum & Forster) — provides institutional governance and investment oversight.
How does CFNJ source proprietary deal flow?
CFNJ leverages its deep New Jersey philanthropic network and board relationships. The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, for example, has co-invested with CFNJ in the Seelaus Housing Equality Fund, indicating a deal-sourcing ecosystem built on local grantmaker and corporate partnerships rather than a traditional GP origination funnel.
Is CFNJ's capital a single family fortune or pooled donor assets?
The capital is pooled from hundreds of donor-advised funds established by individuals, families, and corporations across New Jersey. There is no single underlying wealth origin; the foundation aggregates charitable assets and deploys them according to donor intent.
Does CFNJ make direct investments or only fund commitments?
CFNJ does both. Its strategy includes direct co-investments — such as the Seelaus Housing Equality Fund, LP — as well as venture capital, private credit, natural resources, secondaries, and fund-of-funds positions. The foundation also maintains a cryptocurrency donation program, converting non-traditional assets for reinvestment.
What philanthropic structures are adjacent to CFNJ?
Several vehicles have spun out of or been incubated by CFNJ, including the Community Foundation of South Jersey and the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund. The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers was founded as a CFNJ project in 1990, and Hans Dekker is a past CNJG Chair.
How is the Community Foundation of New Jersey different from a typical private foundation?
Unlike a single-family private foundation, CFNJ administers hundreds of distinct donor-advised funds under one operational roof. It functions like a charitable platform — accepting gifts of stock, cryptocurrency, and complex assets, then deploying into a mix of traditional commingled funds and direct impact deals — while offering donors administrative simplicity and tax efficiency.
What real estate investment activity does CFNJ engage in?
CFNJ runs an Affordable Housing Impact Investments program targeting residential projects in New Jersey. One known vehicle is the Seelaus Housing Equality Fund, LP, seeded with the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. The foundation also owns its commercial headquarters in Morristown as a real asset.
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