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Department of State

New Jersey Cultural Trust

The Hon. Tahesha Way, Lt. Governor and Secretary of State
Morristown

Trust Information

The New Jersey Cultural Trust was created in July 2000 as a public/private partnership to help ensure a stable and healthy nonprofit cultural industry in New Jersey that is sustainable for years to come and under fluctuating economic conditions.

The Trust provides grants to support capital projects, endowments and institutional and financial stabilization of arts, history and humanities organizations in New Jersey. Funding for the grants comes from interest earned on the Cultural Trust Fund, which is a permanent investment fund.

Legislation & Rules

Culture Trust FAQs

  • A public-private partnership: The New Jersey Cultural Trust is funded by both public (State) dollars and by private contributions. Every year, the State of New Jersey appropriates a dedicated portion of the revenue generated by the hotel/motel occupancy fee to the Cultural Trust Fund. These annual appropriations are a 1:1 match leveraged by private donations to the endowments of cultural nonprofits as well as by private donations made directly to the Fund.
  • A permanent endowment: The Cultural Trust is a permanent investment fund that yields annual interest income to support grant programs in perpetuity. Annual legislative appropriations and private donations made directly to the Cultural Trust Fund make up the invested principal of the Fund. The interest income generated by the Fund provides a sustainable source of additional and specialized funding for nonprofit cultural organizations.
  • A grant funder: The Cultural Trust provides grants that:
  • -Build the endowments of nonprofit arts, history and humanities organizations.
    -Finance important capital projects.
    -Grow the organizational and financial capacity of cultural organizations.

In 2000, the New Jersey Legislature passed the New Jersey Cultural Trust Act without a single dissenting vote in either house, creating the New Jersey Cultural Trust as a State agency governed by a 15-member board with a unique mandate.

The Cultural Trust Act recognizes that arts, history, and humanities contribute immeasurably to the quality of life in New Jersey; to the tourism industry and the economy; to the health and vitality of our cities, towns, and neighborhoods; to sound education; to the advancement of inclusion and understanding; and to the celebration of our rich cultural diversity and identity. Nonprofit cultural organizations in New Jersey play an invaluable role in ensuring that the benefits of the arts, history, and humanities are extended to the people of New Jersey.

However, the Cultural Trust Act found that these important arts, history, and humanities nonprofits were, as a whole, undercapitalized, making them financially and institutionally vulnerable. Stable cultural organizations can contribute the most to their communities and to the state. Investments in these organizations' institutional and financial resilience safeguard the future of New Jersey's cultural community.

The Cultural Trust represents a unique and innovative way to ensure that New Jersey’s cherished nonprofit arts and culture institutions continue to thrive for years to come:

  • The New Jersey Cultural Trust is one of fewer than a dozen state-level “cultural endowments” in the nation.
  • The Trust’s structure as a permanent endowment provides income year after year to serve as an additional, permanent source of State funding to ensure the cultural sector’s long-term stability.
  • Additionally, the Trust’s specific mandate to address undercapitalization allows it to provide funding for critical capital, infrastructure, and capacity needs that are often not eligible for funding from other State agencies.

Since 2001, through its Certified Donation Program and grant programs, the Cultural Trust has helped build the long-term financial strength and sustainability of the state’s cherished cultural organizations.

Through its Certified Donation Program, the Cultural Trust has incentivized and produced over $47 million in endowment principal growth at cultural nonprofits, which includes over $40 million in private gifts and nearly $7 million in direct matching contributions from the Trust. The Trust estimates that these permanent endowments, through standard investment practices, independently generate approximately $3 million in additional income for cultural organizations every year.

Additionally, with the FY 2024 grant awards, the Cultural Trust has awarded over $10.4 million to 209 organizations throughout the State for institutional and financial stabilization and historic preservation projects. Please see the “Grants Awarded” section of the website for a complete listing of recipients and funded projects.

The “Featured Grant Recipients” section of the website profiles the impact of selected recent grants, with grantees sharing in their own words how the grants have strengthened their long-term stability and transformed their ability to deliver their cultural missions.

The New Jersey Cultural Trust Fund is a permanent investment fund. The interest income generated by the Fund supports the Cultural Trust’s three grant programs:

Organizations must first be designated "qualified" in order to be eligible to participate in the programs of the Trust. To become qualified, an organization must:

  • Be a separately incorporated non-profit organization.
  • Be tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
  • Be incorporated and operating for at least four consecutive years prior to applying.
  • Have a primary mission to promote the performing, visual and creative arts in New Jersey or to promote or preserve history and humanities in New Jersey.
  • Be in good standing with NJ Charities Registration and Division of Revenue filings.
  • Be able to submit the required support material as described in the qualification application.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and are presented to the Cultural Trust Board for its consideration at the next available opportunity, several times each year. The qualification guidelines and application form are available on the Grant Opportunities page of this website.

As called for in the Cultural Trust Act, grants are made based on the recommendations from the New Jersey Council on the Arts, the New Jersey Historical Commission, and the New Jersey Historic Trust. The recommending agencies establish guidelines and evaluation criteria for the grants programs, manage the application process, and make recommendations annually to the Cultural Trust for funding.

Qualified organizations are notified when new grant programs are announced.

As of November 2023, the principal in the Cultural Trust Fund has reached nearly $25 million and has earned over $10 million in lifetime interest.

The Cultural Trust is a public-private partnership in which private donations leverage State funds. The donations that trigger State funds include both private donations that are made to the endowments of nonprofit cultural organizations and private donations made directly to the Cultural Trust Fund.

When a donor makes a gift to the endowment of a cultural nonprofit that has been designated qualified by the Cultural Trust, the nonprofit may submit documentation of the donation to the Cultural Trust for certification through the Certified Donation Program. When the Cultural Trust certifies a donation, it triggers a 1:1 match from the State, subject to available appropriations, which is deposited into the principal of the Cultural Trust Fund.

The Trust’s Certified Donation Program provides an incentive to increase private philanthropy to New Jersey's nonprofit cultural organizations. Certified private donations of $100,000 or more are considered “large gift donations.” When a large gift donation is certified, 20% of the 1:1 State match is granted to the endowment of the nonprofit that received the original certified donation. The remaining 80% is kept in the Cultural Trust Fund to earn ongoing interest.

Donors may also give directly to the Trust Fund, which also triggers a 1:1 State match.

State funding for the 1:1 State match comes from annual legislative appropriations funded by a dedicated portion of the revenue generated by the hotel/motel occupancy fee.

The Cultural Trust Act called on the State of New Jersey annually, beginning in FY01, to appropriate $10 million for ten years for a total of $100 million to be leveraged into the Fund when private donations directly to the Fund, or to the endowments of qualified organizations, are certified.

To date, with the following annual appropriations, the State has contributed $33,491,000 toward the 1:1 match for certified donations:

State Appropriations

FY25 - $720,000 FY24 - $2,189,000 FY23 - $720,000 FY22 - $720,000 FY21 - $621,000 FY20 - $500,000
FY19 - $500,000 FY18 - $500,000 FY17 - $500,000 FY16 - $500,000 FY15 - $500,000 FY14 - $500,000
FY13 - $500,000 FY12 - $500,000 FY11 - $500,000 FY10 - $500,000 FY09 - $621,000 FY08 - $720,000
FY07 - $720,000 FY06 - $720,000 FY05 - $720,000 FY04 - $500,000 FY03 - $10,000,00 FY02 - $10,000,000
FY01 - $3,020,000

The Cultural Trust is not currently accepting applications to certify endowment donations.

In order to certify a donation, an organization must first be designated “qualified.” In order to be eligible for certification, a donation — defined as money, property, or other object(s) with monetary value given directly to a qualified organization — must be expressly dedicated for endowment. Only donations received since January 1, 2000 are eligible for certification.

When the Certified Donation Program is opened for applications, an application to certify donations must be completed, signed by the appropriate officials of the organization and submitted with required documentation on or before the deadline, as established and announced by the Cultural Trust.

Required documentation includes:

  • A copy of the donation documents received by the organization from the donor, designating the gift for the organization's endowment.
  • A copy of the board minutes accepting the gift for the permanently restricted endowment of the organization.
  • In the case of the donation of real property or other item(s) of monetary value, a certified appraisal, deed, or other documentation describing the real property or item of monetary value that states its fair market value as of the close of business on the day the donation is made. (The Cultural Trust Board reserves the right to require additional proofs of value.)
  • Proof of receipt of the donation and its deposit into the organization's permanently restricted endowment fund, the financial institution and account numbers.
  • A copy of the official organization board minutes establishing an endowment.
  • Copies of the organization's policies and procedures governing the use and management of the endowment.

The donation must be held in the organization's endowment in perpetuity and be classified as "net assets with donor restrictions" in audited financial statements of the organization.

After receiving and processing the application, the Cultural Trust then certifies the donation to the State Treasurer, who transfers any available State appropriations into the Cultural Trust Fund to constitute the one-to-one match. At that time, any 20% large donation matches (or available portions thereof) are distributed by the Cultural Trust to the eligible organization.

Once certified by the Cultural Trust, future annual audits of the organization must identify in audit notes that the amount certified as well as any large gift matching funds received from the Cultural Trust are held in the permanently restricted endowment(s).

Certified donations help to bolster the stability of the organization holding the endowment and help to build the principal of the Trust Fund, paying dividends to the entire cultural sector through annual grants from investment income forever.

Since September 2003, applications to certify donations have been closed, pending the ability of the State to provide matching funds for previously certified donations. However, when the process resumes, notification of deadlines and application guidelines and criteria will be broadly distributed and may be obtained from the Cultural Trust through this website.

 

Page Last Updated: 10/18/24

 

 


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