The NJ Tree Foundation is starting strong in 2016 thanks to our 2015 partners and supporters. We are so appreciative of everyone who donated to our Annual Appeal. In the end we were just short of our $10,000 goal. Thank you to everyone who helped us start strong in 2016 by donating!
We would like to thank Ground Swell, Inc., who recently completed an email migration to put the NJ Tree Foundation staff email on Google Apps. This important switch brings us into the cloud, keeping our records safe from computer crashes and improving our connectivity.
Ground Swell
is a managed service provider headquartered in Egg Harbor City, NJ. They are a small business providing locally outsourced IT for other small and medium-sized businesses across New Jersey. If your business is losing time and money to IT issues we recommend contacting Ground Swell to see how they can help you improve your infrastructure and move your business forward. The in-kind services Ground Swell provided the NJ Tree Foundation saved us enough money to purchase 25 trees at least ten feet tall!
“The NJ Tree Foundation had a great experience working with Ground Swell. They focused on what would improve our organization’s IT, which ultimately was a cloud-based system since we work from multiple places,” explains Lisa Simms, Executive Director of the NJ Tree Foundation. “Not only did they do a great job with our email migration, they were also friendly and easy to work with.”
Additionally, the NJ Tree Foundation was awarded several grants in December 2015, helping us start 2016 strong. These include:
– The Watershed Institute, Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association grant of $9,500. This funding will be used to provide TreeKeepers workshops in Camden and Newark, as well as create and print new tree care booklets for all tree recipients, increasing public knowledge of trees as green infrastructure and the public’s ability to care for street trees.
– Campbell Soup Foundation grant of $25,000. This funding will be used in the City of Camden to plant 50 new fruit trees through a volunteer planting event and fruit tree giveaway. Fruit trees will increase public access to fresh, affordable produce and improve quality of life.
– Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation grant of $20,000. This general support funding for the NJ Tree Foundation will help the organization with all projects in 2016.
– The Victoria Foundation grant of $15,000. This funding will allow the NJ Tree Foundation’s Renaissance Trees Program to remove concrete and plant trees in the Ironbound Neighborhood in the City of Newark, increasing the tree canopy and improving watershed health.
The NJ Tree Foundation would also like to thank its major in-kind supporters in 2015, including: City of Camden, City of Jersey City, City of Newark, MAFCO Worldwide Corporation, Spruce Goose Farm, Smith’s Ace Hardware, and United Water Camden.
Here’s to another great year, improving New Jersey’s tree canopy one tree at a time!