Public Affairs & Society Benefit | F. M. Kirby Foundation

NJ - PBS

The F.M. Kirby Foundation is pleased to celebrate 10 years of continuous partnership with NJ PBS. Headquartered in Newark, NJ PBS, New Jersey’s public television network, brings quality arts, education, and public affairs programming to all 21 NJ counties and the tri-state area. In addition to local programs like Table for All, Drive by History and Sound Check, the organization also presents trusted PBS programming like Nature, Amanpour & Company, Nova and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. The NJ PBS newsroom, NJ Spotlight News, produces multiplatform reporting, including the network’s flagship weeknight broadcast, NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi. Through its website, NJ PBS also offers free digital resources for educators and families for ages PreK-12, including Camp TV, an at-home camp experience, and NJTV Learning Live, with more than 200 hours of NJ public school teachers teaching lessons for third through sixth grade. NJ PBS is the only TV network that reaches the entire state of New Jersey and is the largest New Jersey-focused newsroom that does not require a paid subscription.

Recently, NJ PBS has expanded its programming to meet information gaps, engage audiences statewide, and celebrate the culture and history of the state. This includes creating original content that highlights NJ’s history, adding a multimedia social justice reporter to the NJ PBS team, and joining the Report for America cohort, a national program that places emerging journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. NJ PBS has also branched into podcasting with the popular Hazard NJ series, which blends personal storytelling with investigative journalism focusing on New Jersey’s 114 superfund sites. With its wide range of offerings across a variety of mediums, NJ PBS is an invaluable resource for reliable information and cultural programming for all New Jerseyans.

The F.M. Kirby Foundation’s support for grantees in Public Affairs and Society Benefit largely consists of organizations that have a central mission of raising awareness and advocating for public policy regarding topics, such as individual rights and free speech, that the Foundation holds as values. Included in this docket are organizations who create and provide research about their areas of interest, such as reproductive health research coupled with informed advocacy. In the same way that grantees in other Foundational areas of interest seek to meet immediate needs in local communities, grantees in Public Affairs and Society Benefit seek to create a national environment in which these same local communities can thrive. Descriptions of the major funding sub-categories in Public Affairs and Society Benefit are listed below.

Higher Education Reform

These organizations promote the preponderance of free speech and diverse political discourse on college campuses.

Drug and Alcohol Prevention Policy

Organizations with a focus on increased policy that advocates for the prevention of drug and alcohol addiction.

Sexuality and Reproductive Health and Rights

This category includes institutions that develop research focused on women’s reproductive health, reproductive health education, and accurate and helpful sexuality education.

Democratic Capitalism and Free Enterprise Think Tanks

Advocating for increasing the ability of local economies to prosper and thrive, these organizations are policy-focused and support free-markets and local business. Included here are policy think tanks that focus on limiting government interference in local economic growth.

Individual Rights and Free Speech Policy

Organizations who advocate for an increase in the prioritization of individual rights and liberties across all sectors. From legal advocacy to education reform, this sub-category also includes organizations dedicated to decreasing political polarization and regaining civil discourse.

Public News Media