The Nicholson Foundation, a family foundation based in Newark, New Jersey, made its first grants in 2002 and its final awards in 2021. It closed on December 31, 2021. Over the course of two decades, the Foundation’s mission stayed constant: To improve the health and well-being of vulnerable populations in New Jersey. Vulnerable populations are those who face challenges in reaching their goals because of systemic inequities that place barriers in the way of obtaining the essentials of life—nutritious food, adequate housing and transportation, quality education, sufficient and appropriate healthcare, and the assurance of safety.
Our Focus Areas
Our strategic approach was to augment, upgrade, or redesign human services systems so they would better meet the needs of individuals, families, and communities. Over the course of its history, the Foundation sought to effect change in different social systems, including youth and family services, healthcare, criminal justice, early childhood care and education, and more. During our final years, the Foundation’s work was concentrated on bringing change to the following focus areas within health and early childhood:
Our Values and Beliefs
- Integrating physical and behavioral health and addressing the social determinants of health are essential to improving the health of individuals and communities.
- Health outcomes improve when communities and their residents are involved in, and assume responsibility for, their own health and well-being.
- The foundation for lifelong health and well-being is established in early childhood.
- The likelihood of future academic success and socioeconomic advancement is increased by quality early childhood programs.
- Partnerships that bring together diverse resources and expertise facilitate systems change.
- Improvements in health and early childhood delivery systems are more likely to succeed and be sustained when they are also supported by government policies and funding.
- Health and early childhood services are more effective when systems are coordinated and programs are data-driven and evidence-based.