Stories of Our Impact

The Nicholson Foundation awarded more than $150 million in grants between 2002-2021 to improve the human and social service systems that serve vulnerable populations in New Jersey.

Over the years, the Foundation’s strategy focused on achieving broad-based, systems change by funding multiple and complementary initiatives that built upon each other, as well as single, one-time projects.

The following stories illustrate how this strategy enabled the Foundation to make a difference in distinct areas of healthcare and early childhood care and education, such as boosting the availability of behavioral healthcare in primary care settings, or expanding the role of community health workers to deliver key services to people needing them the most.

We hope that by sharing this information about major accomplishments, who we supported, and what we learned, others will continue and build upon these efforts to improve the health and well-being of New Jersey’s residents.

Case Study

Integrating Behavioral Health into Primary Care

Through many grant projects spanning several years, The Nicholson Foundation worked to integrate much-needed behavioral healthcare into the primary care system in New Jersey.

Case Study

Supporting the Growth of New Jersey's Regional Health Hubs

For more than a decade, The Nicholson Foundation worked to build up New Jersey’s Regional Health Hubs—groups of providers, hospitals, and local government agencies that pool their efforts so they can reach more people with quality services at lower cost.

Case Study

Making Early Childhood a Public Policy Priority

The early childhood years—birth to three—are now widely recognized as critical to a person’s long-term health and well-being. The Nicholson Foundation highlighted the importance of this developmental stage to make it a policy emphasis in New Jersey.

Case Study

Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences

The Nicholson Foundation began working in 2018 to make New Jersey a leader among states in how it addresses, treats, and prevents Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)—traumatic events that can cause lifelong physical, mental, and social damage.