Page 28 - MidJersey Business - September 2014

CHARITABLE GIVING IN MERCER COUNTY
Charity

to see that much of the money given out by the whole story. The city of Trenton, for

Mercer County foundations was not only example—Mercer County’s largest city— began as a Christian practice, dat-
leaving the county, but leaving New Jersey. does not share in the wealth and high levels ing back to the early settlers. These

These indings beg the question of how of education enjoyed by the rest of the Puritans used it as a means to serve others.
reasonable it is to assume that philanthro- county. With more than twice the poverty The purely religious element of giving

py is a local exercise. We can explain much rate and less than half of the per capita
changed later in American history, howev-
of this by understanding the impact of two and household income enjoyed by Mercer er, with the creation of large philanthropic

major entities in the county—Princeton County as a whole, there is a demand for institutions. Wealthy businessmen such as
University and the RWJ Foundation. The philanthropic programs that would beneit Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller

role that both these organizations have in Trenton. This problem is further ampliied created these institutions to advance cul-
the charitable funding streams in Mercer by factoring in the city’s low levels of edu- ture, academia, and provide services to the

underscores the importance of under- cation. There are considerably lower levels poor and needy. Not only did the formation
of these institutions give rise to the philan-
standing the community under analysis.
of high school graduates, and less than a
quarter of the percent of college graduates thropic sector in the United States, it led
to closer collaboration with government.
living in Trenton. Looking at Mercer with-
MERCER IS EXCEPTIONAL
Our report focused on Mercer County, out paying special attention to Trenton is Since the early days of these foundations,
the philanthropic sector has grown in both
which—in addition to being strongly a prime example of how the problems of
inluenced by Princeton University and the poverty and societal ills can be masked by size and economic signiicance. Today,
the non-proit sector is one of the top three
RWJ Foundation—is a non-homogenous surrounding communities. Additionally,
community. While the county as a whole there is little evidence to show that being employers in the United States, following
retail and manufacturing. Philanthropy has
enjoys low levels of poverty, high levels
surrounded by an abundance of resources
of wealth, and a well-educated populace, and philanthropic communities has had grown to play an increasingly important
role in bringing about social change.
these demographic indicators do not tell
any meaningful impact in Trenton. This

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