Geraldine Dodge Foundation Is Moving HQ To Newark

NEWARK, NJ — The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation is planning to move its headquarters from Morristown to Newark, the organization recently announced.

The Dodge Foundation will be moving to 550 Broad Street in Newark. It’s new headquarters will include a shared conference space open to community partners, nonprofits and grantee partners, according to the project developer, Fidelco Realty Group.

The relocation will occur in 2024, bringing 15 employees to the historic 550 Broad Street building.

Why Newark? Here’s what the foundation had to say in a news release:

“Over the past few years, the Dodge Foundation has undergone a strategic transformation to center its work and funding priorities toward a vision of a just and equitable New Jersey. As part of aligning its operations with this new vision, the Dodge Foundation decided to relocate its headquarters to Newark in order to better engage with and learn from one of the communities where it already had numerous partners and where there is an active and shared commitment to dismantling systemic inequities. Newark – with its vibrant diversity, dynamic community, and a rich history of being at the forefront of activism and the fight for racial justice – provides the ideal environment for the Dodge Foundation to immerse itself, strengthen its impact, and forge new collaborations while continuing to build upon its legacy of helping to strengthen the nonprofit ecosystem in New Jersey.”

The office, located at the historic 550 Broad Street building, will sit across from the revitalized Harriet Tubman Square, which Mayor Ras Baraka alluded to in a statement about the move. Read More: Goodbye Columbus, Hello Tubman: Statue Marks New Age In Newark

“It is an honor to have been chosen as the foundation’s new home – and how fitting that their office overlooking Harriet Tubman Square will be energized by the hero’s fierce commitment to the conditions that cause freedom,” Baraka said.

Meanwhile, the foundation said it hasn’t forgotten its roots in Morristown:

“To continue to honor the legacy of the foundation’s benefactor, Mrs. Dodge, and the foundation’s long-term commitment to the Morristown area, the Dodge Foundation is establishing a new grantmaking fund, housed and operated at the Community Foundation of New Jersey in Morris County. The fund for a Just and Equitable Morris County will provide support to organizations in the county working towards the overall vibrancy of the region and will prioritize nonprofit organizations that intentionally serve and support historically underrepresented communities in Morris County.”

The foundation has distributed more than $500 million in grants and technical support to New Jersey nonprofits since launching in 1974. It aims to foster a “just and equitable New Jersey, where people of all races and communities have equitable access to opportunities to thrive.”

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