New Jersey Health Foundation

About New Jersey Health Foundation

New Jersey Health Foundation Inc concentrates on early-stage health research in New Jersey, and its recent grant history is dominated by large research awards to Rutgers University in New Brunswick. The foundation’s support is aimed at helping researchers develop initial ideas into work that can qualify for larger external funding. It also backs affiliated New Jersey organizations that host clinicians, faculty, student researchers, and employees, combining project support with donor-directed endowment distributions for research, education programs, and scholarships. In the recent grants list, Rutgers University appears with multiple seven-million-dollar awards across 2023 and 2025, underscoring how the foundation supports research institutions over time rather than through isolated one-off checks. Other sizable awards went to Rowan University in Stratford, Hackensack Meridian Health in Edison, and New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, all for early-stage innovative ideas. The pattern shows a funder that works through New Jersey’s academic medical and research network, with a clear emphasis on advancing health-related research and innovation through institutional partners. The foundation also manages more than 300 donor-directed endowments, adding a second channel for sustained support across research, education, and scholarship activities.

What New Jersey Health Foundation Funds

Health-related research is the central focus, and the foundation has used research grants to support early-stage projects with high potential. A 2025 grant of $212,800 to Cooper University Hospital in Camden was described as support for researchers’ early stage innovative ideas, matching the foundation’s seed-funding approach. The foundation also funds community-facing work. It gave $35,000 to The OASIS Project Inc in Princeton for a women’s empowerment fair, and $35,000 to RWJBarnabas Health in Newark for projects tied to the foundation’s community health, behavioral health, social science, social services, and education grant area. Education and scholarship support appears in the donor-directed endowment activity. One recent distribution of $70,103 to Edward J Ill Excellence in Medicine Foundation in Princeton was designated for a scholarship program, showing that the foundation’s support extends beyond research projects into educational funding.

How New Jersey Health Foundation Gives