STAND Central New Jersey is or was a left-of-center activist organization. It does not have its own nonprofit tax status but raises funds through Indivisible, a left-of-center advocacy coalition. When the organization was active, it was involved in promoting Democratic priorities on the state and federal level including the adoption of ranked-choice voting in New Jersey. ^{1 2 3}

Founding and History

STAND Central New Jersey was founded in 2017 to oppose the Trump administration by mobilizing activists in 16 of New Jersey’s legislative districts. It held educational meetings, engaged in activism, distributed mailers, and other activities into 2022, but its website and social media has not been updated at all in 2023 as of September, other than sharing one event hosted by another organization. ^{4 5}

Finances

STAND Central New Jersey is not an independent nonprofit, rather, it is affiliated with the left-of-center activist and organizing group Indivisible, which seeks to coordinate local activist groups around the country in opposition to Republicans and right-of-center priorities. Donations to STAND Central New Jersey are funneled to the organization via Indivisble’s 501(c)(4) through ActBlue via a link on STAND Central New Jersey’s website. ⁶

Relationship to Indivisible

STAND Central New Jersey is not registered with the IRS as a nonprofit organization. It appears to be affiliated with Indivisible, a project founded in 2016 to “resist” the Trump administration and Republicans more broadly. Indivisible itself has come under criticism for allegedly misleading statistics, such as that it represents nearly 6,000 left-of-center activist groups around the country. It has also been criticized for spending a disproportional amount of money it has raised on the national office, rather than passing this funding along to the activist groups on the ground. ⁷

STAND Central New Jersey’s fundraising is conducted through Indivisible. ⁸

Activist Activities/Policy Priorities

STAND Central New Jersey’s website discusses a very wide array of left-of-center policy priorities that it acted upon to various degrees. The organization’s research tab included issues as wide ranging as disability rights to gun control, racial justice, and environmental issues. It also promotes organizations such as Moms Demand Action, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Planned Parenthood. ⁹

the organization has issued calls to action on other policy issues including promoting changes to prescription drug pricing practices; various measures to change policing and the criminal justice system, such as civilian review boards and changes in the availability of police records; the adoption of ranked choice voting in New Jersey; and efforts to lobby for the Build Back Better Act. ¹⁰

The organization also hosted a candlelight vigil in 2022 on the anniversary of the January 6^th riot at the U.S. Capitol Building, stating that the people responsible for the riot were then currently working to undermine democracy by sabotaging elections and the right to vote. ¹¹

Leadership

Nick DiDomzio is the president of STAND New Jersey, according to the organization’s website. He works as a chemical engineer and was appointed to the Princeton Civil Rights Commission in 2019. ^{12 13}

1. “You Know Us: We Are STAND Central New Jersey.” STAND Central New Jersey. Accessed August 28, 2023. https://www.standcnj.org/you-know-us-we-are-stand-central-new-jersey/.
2. “Indivisible Project on a Local Level — Donate via ActBlue.” ActBlue. Accessed August 27, 2023. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/indivisiblecnj428450835.
3. “Calls to Action Archive.” STAND Central New Jersey. Accessed August 28, 2023. https://www.standcnj.org/cta/.
4. “You Know Us: We Are STAND Central New Jersey.” STAND Central New Jersey. Accessed August 28, 2023. https://www.standcnj.org/you-know-us-we-are-stand-central-new-jersey/.
5. “Stand Central New Jersey Facebook.” Facebook. Accessed August 28, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/standcnj/.
6. “Indivisible Project on a Local Level — Donate via ActBlue.” ActBlue. Accessed August 27, 2023. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/indivisiblecnj428450835.
7. Tervo, Caroline, and Theda Skocpol. “Resistance Disconnect.” The American Prospect, February 4, 2021. Accessed August 28, 2023.  https://prospect.org/api/content/d5cc5852-667d-11eb-b1ec-1244d5f7c7c6/.
8. “Indivisible Project on a Local Level — Donate via ActBlue.” ActBlue. Accessed August 27, 2023. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/indivisiblecnj428450835.
9. “Issue-Specific Resources.” STAND Central New Jersey. Accessed August 28, 2023. https://www.standcnj.org/resources/issue-specific/.
10. “Calls to Action Archive.” STAND Central New Jersey. Accessed August 28, 2023. https://www.standcnj.org/cta/.
11. “Candlelight Vigil January 6.” STAND Central New Jersey. Accessed August 28, 2023. https://www.standcnj.org/cta/8655/.
12. “Our Leadership Team.” STAND Central New Jersey. Accessed August 28, 2023. https://www.standcnj.org/about/our-leadership-team/
13. DiDomizio, Nick. “Nick DiDomizio, Author at Princeton Perspectives.” Princeton Perspectives, October 11, 2022. Accessed August 28, 2023.  https://princetonperspectives.com/author/nickd/.