Cherry Grove Memorial Fund

05/26/2026

In Memoriam video shown at the Cherry Grove Memorial Gathering on May 25, 2026.

Cherry Grove Memorial Fund Cherry Grove Community House and Theater See all the full service (coming soon) and prior years services at www.cherrygrovemedia.com May 25, 2026 Video 2026 Copyright by and Courtesy of Ray Bagnuolo

05/17/2026

Cherry Grove Memorial Fund
Gathering Notice
Photo Request

Dear Cherry Grove Community,

You are invited to join the Memorial Day Gathering on Monday, May 25, 2026 at 12:00 noon at the Community House.

As we've done for the past few years, we plan to produce and screen an "In Memoriam" video containing photos and video clips of our recently departed ones.

Please kindly send us the following:

Names of those who have passed since last Memorial Day. Please also include a few sentences about the individual and their relationship to you and where they stayed in Cherry Grove. If a pet, please specify cat or dog and the age at passing.

Photos requested in JPEG or PNG format (we will work with what is sent).

Video Clips

Please submit by May 15, 2026 so that we have time to complete the presentation. We will do our best to accommodate later submissions.

Send your submissions to: [email protected]

Joshua David
Board Chair

12/30/2025

Happy Holidays! With the new year fast approaching, it's your last chance to double the power of your gift to Cherry Grove Memorial Fund (CGMF). Our board's $20,000 Matching Challenge expires on December 31.

Sadly, we've lost too many beloved Grove community members this year. I know you are as inspired as I am by their collective commitment to our hamlet by the sea. In the spirit of gratitude for all they did to make Cherry Grove beautiful, sustainable, and culturally vibrant, I hope you'll consider making a year-end gift to CGMF. It's a great way to honor the cherished friends and neighbors who came before us, and to ensure that Cherry Grove can forever welcome new generations to a lovingly stewarded beachside haven.

CGMF is the only Cherry Grove organization that offers support to all the local non-profits that make our community thrive. By giving now, you can help make our 2026 season an especially beautiful one.

You can give by Paypal or Venmo by visiting our website (https://www.cgmemorialfund.org/), or you can mail a check payable to Cherry Grove Memorial Fund to Steve Williams, 732 Green Street, Boonton, NJ, 07005. All donors will receive a copy of our book: "In Remembrance - 1990 to 2025", a tribute to those we've loved and lost in Cherry Grove. Gifts are tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law.

On behalf of CGMF's Board of Directors, I wish you the best for the new year and thank you for your support.

Joshua David
Board Chair

Since its founding in 1989, the Cherry Grove Memorial Fund (CGMF) has been a driving force behind community betterment projects, funded in part by contributions in memory of loved ones who have passed on. For over a decade, the Cherry Grove Memorial Fund has provided transformational grants to many....

10/21/2025

Your gift to Cherry Grove’s Future DOUBLED!

As we end our 2025 season - and start daydreaming about next summer - please consider a gift towards the future of Cherry Grove through the Cherry Grove Memorial Fund (CGMF).

This year, the power of your gift will be doubled, thanks to our Board of Directors, who will match up to $20,000 in contributions. You can give by Paypal or Venmo by visiting our web site: cgmemorialfund.org/donate, or you can write a check payable to Cherry Grove Memorial Fund and mail it to Steve Williams, 732 Green Street, Boonton, NJ, 07005.

Gifts to CGMF help make Cherry Grove the best it can be in the years to come. CGMF is the only organization that funds – in perpetuity – all the local non-profits that work to make our community beautiful, sustainable, and an enriching celebration of our diversity and values.

This year, we lit up events at the Community House by helping Arts Project of Cherry Grove purchase new spotlights. On our boardwalks, we upgraded our bulletin boards and helped the Archives Project mount engrossing exhibitions that celebrated our artists and rich history. We helped protect and sustain our bayfront by investing in CGCAI’s Climate Change Committee’s eel grass seeding program. And in 2026 we’ll fund a new portfolio of projects to make next summer a great one.

Founded when we were losing so many cherished community members to AIDS, CGMF pays tribute to those who’ve come before us while ensuring that future generations can enjoy the haven our founders worked so hard to create. With love for those we’ve lost, and in solidarity with those who will follow, I hope you’ll make a gift to CGMF today.

With gratitude,
Joshua David,
Chair, Board of Directors

By donating to the CGMF you are helping to ensure that we can continue our work, helping Cherry Grove keep our memories alive and to impact our community in positive ways that affect everyone who visits this safe haven.

09/05/2025

Exciting News! We now have a website: cgmemorialfund.org.

In this first release we have some basic information about our organization, donation links, and an online grant application form, so that our sister non-profits can more easily apply for funding. A hardcopy application form is also available on the site.

So far this year we’ve made 3 grants totaling $15,000:

• $10,000 to CGCAI’s Climate Change Committee for their Eel Grass expansion project on our Bayfront.
• $3,000 to the Cherry Grove Archive Collection for this season’s panel projects throughout the community
• $2,000 to the Cherry Grove Arts Project for new spotlights in our Community House.

We’re very proud to say that we’ve been investing in Cherry Grove for the past 36 years and will continue to do so with your support. Thank you!

The CGMF Board
Richard Schack, president
Joshua David, vice president
Evelyn Danko, treasurer
Roland Michely, secretary
Matt Baney, director
Sue Panzer, director
Steve Williams, director

Since its founding in 1989, the Cherry Grove Memorial Fund (CGMF) has been a driving force behind community betterment projects, funded in part by contributions in memory of loved ones who have passed on. For over a decade, the Cherry Grove Memorial Fund has provided transformational grants to many....

05/28/2025

The In Memoriam video from our 2025 Memorial Day Gathering.

With original songs written and performances by Dan Daly. Thanks, Dan. Thank you to all for remembering.

05/13/2025

02/01/2025

We were saddened to hear of Juan(ita)’s passing. Juan will be added to the list of beloved community members honored at our 2025 Memorial Day Gathering.

We were sorry to hear of Queen Juanita’s passing. Our condolences to his partner Robert and to all those who cared for Juan. Juan Dumas and Robert lived in Florida. Juan’s prior partner Bill Okkema previously passed a number of years ago. Juan and Bill had lived on the west end of Cherry Grove. Juanita was a much loved Cherry Grove Homecoming Queen in 1989. Juan’s memory is preserved in our Archives.

02/01/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1H8MpxCH2H/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Juanita, Invasion, downtown Cherry Grove, 1985. The CG Archives Collection was proud to include this image of Juanita in our Safe Haven Exhibition at the NY Historical Society Museum in NYC in 2021.