In 2024, many New Yorkers struggled to meet basic needs, including housing and food. Tens of thousands of migrants arrived in the region looking to start new lives. Our grants helped meet the needs of struggling New Yorkers regardless of when they set down roots here, coordinating food distribution, providing mental health support, and offering job training and placement in growing sectors.
Beyond helping secure these essentials, The Trust’s grants empowered community advocacy to improve the region’s public systems and infrastructure, from schools to transit and housing vouchers. Our grants raised the voices of New Yorkers who too often do not have the ear of decision makers.
The grants below, from 2024, represent just a handful of our region’s exemplary nonprofits and just a fraction of The Trust’s grantmaking. But I hope they’ll inspire you to join us as we combine services for those in need with advocacy to encourage a more equitable region.
Cleaner air for street vendors & pedestrians
Nearly all of New York City’s more than 6,000 food carts and trucks use unregulated gasoline-powered generators that pollute the air, creating health risks for vendors and anyone nearby. The Urban Justice Center’s Street Vendor Project is helping street food vendors adopt environmentally responsible practices and technologies. This includes finding ways to connect vendors to the electric grid and expanding battery use as alternatives to fossil fuel generators. Our Shaw Foundation (est. 1966), George T. Mortimer Foundation (est. 1970), and Seymour B. Wurzler Bequest (est. 1963) funds made this grant possible.
Free school meals for all New Yorkers
More than half of Long Island families cannot afford school lunch fees but are currently ineligible for free school meals. Providing free meals for all students, regardless of income, reduces food insecurity, supports students’ academic performance, and eliminates stigma. With a grant from The Trust, Community Food Advocates worked with schools and partnered with Hunger Solutions New York on local and state advocacy that led to a historic win in May 2025, when New York enacted statewide, universal free school meals for the 2025-2026 school year. Our Greentree Foundation Fund (est. 2003), which provides flexible funding for our strategic grantmaking, supported this grant.
“Nonprofits like Community Food Advocates are vital partners in addressing the food crisis facing 280,000 Long Islanders—including 58,000 children. We’re grateful to the generous donors whose legacy gifts help us support the nonprofits that are a lifeline for local communities.”
Stopping evictions before they start
Nearly one third of New York City’s affordable housing tenants are two or more months behind on rent, putting them at risk of eviction and homelessness. But many can access government-funded emergency rental assistance only after landlords take legal action. A Trust grant is helping Enterprise Community Partners work with affordable housing providers and tenants to address rent arrears and avoid eviction proceedings. Our Emil and Zerline Hahnloser-Richard Bak (est. 1975) and Lucy Wortham James Memorial (est. 1939) funds made this grant possible.
Higher wages for human service workers
The average nonprofit human service worker earns well below the cost of living. Many earn poverty-level wages, and many are eligible for the same public benefits they help deliver to clients. The Trust is partnering with the anti-poverty campaign Bring Up Minimum Pay to help it advocate for state legislation that would provide a living wage for nonprofit workers, including annual adjustments for inflation. Our Eugene Di Mattina Fund (est. 2013) supported this grant.
Ending cycles of domestic violence
Young children make up the majority of domestic violence shelter residents. And children who witness or are victims of domestic violence are more likely to end up in abusive relationships later in life. Urban Resource Institute is bringing its age-appropriate healthy relationship workshops to children in kindergarten through second grade living in domestic violence shelters to help them recognize abuse and establish healthy relationship boundaries. Our Mildred Anna Williams (est. 1940) and Davis Polk and Wardwell (est. 1999) funds supported this grant.
Improved instruction for struggling early readers
Roughly half of NYC public school students in third through eighth grades are proficient readers. Teaching Matters specializes in equipping educators with the skills and resources to become more effective. With a Trust grant, it is supporting teachers in small-group instruction for kindergarten-through-second-grade students who struggle to master “pre-reading” skills, such as assigning sounds to letters. It is also preparing schools to track and monitor student reading progress in future years. Our Drexel Burnham Lambert Fund (est. 1995) made this grant possible.
Fare discounts for paratransit riders
The MTA offers fare discounts for people with disabilities who ride the subway and buses but not for those who use Access-A-Ride paratransit, many of whom live on fixed incomes. New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and Mobilization for Justice, members of the Trust-supported Access-A-Ride Reform Group (AARRG!), achieved a decisive litigation victory in June 2024, when the NYS Supreme Court denied an MTA motion to dismiss, allowing a case to proceed that seeks to extend equal fare discounts to paratransit riders. Our Wilhelm Loewenstein Memorial Fund (est. 1940), which supports health and welfare in New York City, helped make this grant possible.
Education instead of incarceration for Westchester’s young people
Providing community support, case management, and education opportunities to people leaving prison and jail reduces their chances of reincarceration and helps break cycles of trauma and harm. 914United provides services and advocacy to justice-involved young people in Westchester and the Lower Hudson Valley. A Trust grant is helping it connect young people leaving county custody with educational and career development workshops, art therapy, peer mentoring, and ongoing case management and community services. Our DeWitt Wallace Fund for Youth (est. 2008) made this grant possible.
Learn more about the Westchester Index.
Better mental health help for LGBTQ+ young people
Young New Yorkers face an unprecedented mental health crisis and lengthy delays getting treatment. For LGBTQ+ young people, who experience bullying, discrimination, and higher rates of anxiety and depression, the need is particularly acute. With Trust support, the Brooklyn Community Pride Center, which is housed in the Major R. Owens Health and Wellness Community Center, is reaching additional young people with counseling and referrals to health care, housing, and employment services. Our Bruce Dresner Fund (est. 1993), which supports the gay and lesbian community, made this grant possible.
