It is with tremendous sadness that the Princeton Area Community Foundation announces the passing of Jeffrey M. Vega, President & CEO, after a battle with a very rare and aggressive form of cancer. He fought very hard, but he was taken by the disease.
“The Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees and staff mourn his loss, and we extend our deepest condolences to Jeff’s family,” said Board Chair Sonia Delgado. “Jeff was an exceptional leader and a wonderful man, who was deeply committed to making a difference in our communities. He dedicated his career to helping others. This is an enormous loss.”
Laura Longman, who was the CFO and COO, was appointed acting president & CEO last week when Vega took medical leave.
“Jeff took great pride in the stellar team that he led at the Community Foundation,” said Delgado. “Laura is an outstanding executive who joined the organization more than a decade ago, and the Board of Trustees knows that she will continue that tradition of excellence.”
Vega became President & CEO of the Princeton Area Community Foundation in 2015. With a unique talent for working with the community, he helped grow the organization’s assets and expand its grantmaking to deepen impact.
“Jeff was dedicated to our organization, to our communities, and especially to his family. His wife, Angie, their son, Nico, and his extended family are in our thoughts during this incredibly difficult time,” Longman said. “We also want to assure our partners in the community that we will honor his memory through our commitment to our mission of promoting philanthropy to advance the well-being of our communities forever.”
During Vega’s tenure, the Community Foundation’s charitable assets grew to more than $250 million, and its grantmaking reached a new milestone: a total of $200 million in grants awarded since its founding in 1991, including more than $50 million in the last three years.
Under his leadership, the organization created its signature strategic grantmaking initiative, All Kids Thrive, a five-year, $3 million investment in a partnership of schools and nonprofits to help increase student attendance rates. Additionally, the Community Foundation created new partnerships with the Burke Foundation and Janssen to award Community Impact Grants to nonprofits helping under-resourced people in the region.
He also oversaw the creation of the Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund, which awarded more than $3.5 million to over 70 nonprofits in the region.
In 2023, Vega completed his term of service as Chair of the Board of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers.
Before joining the Community Foundation, he spent 22 years at New Brunswick Tomorrow, including 14 as its president. He earned bachelor’s degrees in human ecology, international environmental studies, and urban studies from Rutgers University, and a master’s in political science and public policy from the Eagleton Institute of Politics.
Our thoughts are with his wife, Angela Klizos, and their son Nico, as well as his extended family.
