SIGN UP TODAY FOR OUR NEXT FREE WORKSHOP ON FEB. 14th

"Doing the Importance Work of Governance"

Spend your Valentine’s Day with OceanFirst Foundation and learn successful tools for developing and retaining committed and passionate board members.

How – and how well – a not for profit board functions has serious consequences for the organization, its constituents, and the community it serves. This workshop, “Doing the Important Work of Governance”, is designed for board members and senior managers and will focus on strategies for developing an effective, high performance board by looking at the roles of the board in the life of a not for profit, including its responsibility to its stakeholders, obligations to the organization, and accountability to the community.

This workshop will look at the characteristics that make a successful board, techniques for building a board, recruiting strategies, and the tools for developing and retaining committed and passionate board members. The workshop will also cover methods for assessing and diagnosing the current state of your organization’s board as well as individual board members, including self-assessment and the importance of delivering a positive and engaging board member experience.

This program is designed for Executive Directors, Senior Staff and Board Members. It will take place at the Ocean County Library, Toms River Branch, Mancini Room from 9:45 am to 2:30 pm on February 14, 2012.

Joel Sobo of SoboConsulting will lead this lively and informative session. Joel is a thirty-year veteran of not-for-profit boards including American Repertory Ballet where he served as Chair from 2002-2005 and subsequently chaired its Governance Committee from 2006-2008.

Betsy Sobo, former Director of Development at Two River Theater Company in Red Bank and Principal of SoboConsulting, will provide the much-needed perspective of a Senior Staff member, having been the staff liaison to Two River Theater Company’s Nominating Committee during her tenure there.

For more information or to register call 732-341-4676 or email the names of attendees to info@oceanfirstfdn.org

OceanFirst Foundation Awards $656,125 in Year-End Grants to 12 Local Community Organizations

OceanFirst Foundation has awarded $656,125 in grants to twelve Ocean and Monmouth County organizations to help address such needs as transportation for seniors, hunger, healthcare and before and after school care for children.

Grant recipients and the programs for which each was awarded a grant are:

Caregiver Volunteers of Central Jersey, Transportation Program; Catholic Charities - Diocese of Trenton, The Caring Cupboard; Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Improving Rehabilitation Services; K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital, Improving Pediatric Rehabilitation Services; Move for Hunger, General Operating Support; National Multiple Sclerosis Society - NJ Metro Chapter, Kershaw Commons; Ocean County YMCA, Y-Kids Before/After School Care; Ocean Medical Center Foundation, Transforming the Healthcare and Patient Experience at Ocean Medical Center; Ocean's Harbor House, Project LEAP (Life Skills, Education, Advancement, Prevention); Southern Ocean Medical Center Foundation, World Class Emergency Care: A Promise Fulfilled; 21 Plus, Inc., Improving Living Environments of Residential Programs and Visiting HomeCare Service of Ocean County, Adult Day Care Minivan Purchase.

To learn more about applying for a grant, call 732-341-4676.

OceanFirst Foundation Awards $267,000 in Grants to Support Arts and Cultural Programs

OceanFirst Foundation has awarded $267,000 in grants to twenty-three local organizations through the 2011-2012 Arts and Cultural Grant program. Grants range from $1,500 to $30,000 and will provide general operating support at a critical time when many arts and cultural organizations face serious economic challenges and struggle to maintain programs and services.

The 2011-2012 Recipients of Arts and Cultural Grants are: Algonquin Arts Theatre, Manasquan; Axelrod Performing Arts Center Inc., Deal Park; Barnegat Bay Decoy & Baymen’s Museum, Inc., Tuckerton; Belmar Arts Council, Belmar; Brick Children’s Community Theatre, Brick; Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank; Garden State Philharmonic Symphony Society, Toms River; The Historic Village at Allaire, Farmingdale; Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation, Red Bank; Joseph P. Hayes Theatre, Beach Haven; Little Egg Theatre Company, Little Egg Harbor; Monmouth County Arts Council, Red Bank; Monmouth Museum and Cultural Center, Lincroft; Monroe Township Patrons of the Arts, Monroe; New Jersey Repertory Company, Long Branch; Ocean County Artists’ Guild, Island Heights; Ocean County Foundation for Vocational and Technical Education, Lakehurst; Ocean County Historical Society, Toms River; Ocean County Library Foundation, Toms River; Pine Shores Art Association, Manahawkin; Spring Lake Shakespeare in the Park, Spring Lake; Strand Ventures, Lakewood; and Two River Theater Company, Red Bank.

John R. Garbarino, Chairman of OceanFirst Foundation as well as Chairman of OceanFirst Bank, commented, “Supporting local arts and cultural organizations is important to the quality of life in our Jersey Shore communities. Each of these organizations has proven that they are a positive catalyst for enriching arts and cultural opportunities for people of all ages."

Grant recipients were selected based on criteria including: artistic excellence or the ability to enhance cultural richness within the OceanFirst service area; a broad benefit to the community; potential to increase participation in Arts and Cultural programs among underserved populations; collaboration with other community organizations that maximizes opportunities to reach larger and more diverse audiences and patrons; a fiscal and managerial ability to implement programming and a successful track record of presenting programs and activities.

Students from the Ocean County Vocational and Technical School's Performing Arts Academy, a 2011 grantee, entertained guests at the recently held Arts and Cultural Grantee Reception.