As New Jersey’s most populous and diverse city, Newark is running full-speed into the future with a united front of corporate and community partners invested in transformational change. This ecosystem of partners, anchor institutions, corporations, startups, and nonprofits, including the Newark Alliance, are helping to nurture innovation and creative solutions that are accelerating Newark into one of America’s great cities.
Newark is currently experiencing some of its greatest revitalization, including nearly $5 billion in development underway and more than 11,000 new residential units, it is vital that the city has prioritized being both pro-development and pro-equity.
Beyond the resiliency and deep history, this is what makes Newark’s growth so unique and it has only just begun.
Newark Alliance is a leading nonprofit dedicated to the ongoing economic revitalization of Newark, striving to revolutionize the city into an in-demand place to work, live, learn, play, and do business.
It has led a compelling and unified economic development agenda that remains committed to the ongoing economic rejuvenation of the city.
To pursue the vision of Newark as a true “regional city,” Newark Alliance has successfully leveraged Newark’s competitive assets to generate economic growth for the city, state, region and beyond.
The Alliance aims to build collective action to harness the energy of Newark to support and grow business and innovation, and enhance the quality of place and inclusive economic growth of the city.
In 2019, Newark was chosen to host Next City’s first-ever regional Vanguard Conference where 40 rising urban professionals from across the region convened to induct a new cohort of “Vanguards” to formulate new solutions to improve cities.
Hundreds attended the three-day conference that culminated in the annual Big Idea Challenge, where teams came up with unique programming ideas for the newly, opened Mulberry Commons Park. This past summer, Newark Alliance also helped to attract the inaugural Forbes Opportunity Zones Summit to the city.
Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka welcomed attendees and a host of world-class speakers for the event at the iconic Newark Museum of Art in the heart of the city’s core opportunity zone (OZ) community. Forbes gathered together more than 250 top leaders for a deep discussion on impact investing.
The OZ summit delivered insider tips and clarity on the new OZ regulations, set the national OZ agenda, and forged compelling partnerships to fuel transformative impact on America’s long-underserved communities, including the City of Newark. In addition, the city is beginning to build awareness for the real work being done by Newark’s many important stakeholders.
Audible, an Amazon Company, was named one of the 100 Most Brilliant Companies by Entrepreneur Magazine because of its social mission; Rutgers University ranked 4th in the country, tied with Howard University, for social mobility; the New Jersey Performing Arts Center is among the most diverse cultural institutions in the nation; RWJ Barnabas Health created an entire department to address social determinants of health and is the first in the country to combine policy efforts with outreach; and Prudential Financial has a range of investments, programs, and partnerships that directly address inclusive economic growth and was designated a “Change the World” company by Fortune Magazine.
The Alliance, in partnership with the City of Newark and the administration of Mayor Ras J. Baraka, continues to make significant strides toward making Newark a better city for its residents and workforce.
As Newark continues to be a strong, diverse city, it is clear that the city and its partners’ priorities are in the right place.
