From monitoring water quality and creating affordable housing to increasing STEM education and expanding restorative justice for young people, the grants address Long Island’s critical needs.
Contact
Lauren Stewart | Turn Two
lauren@turn-two.co | (804) 690-9966
Courtney Biggs | Senior Manager, Public Relations
cbiggs@thenytrust.org | (212) 889-3963
COMMACK, NY– (June 3, 2025) – The New York Community Trust’s Long Island office today announced more than $523,000 in new grants to 19 local nonprofits. The grants address Long Island’s critical needs, from monitoring water quality and creating affordable housing to increasing STEM education and expanding restorative justice for young people.
“We’re proud to partner with local nonprofits finding meaningful ways to support our young people through arts programs, create a more equitable justice system, and make sure all Long Islanders have the opportunity to thrive,” said David Okorn, The Trust’s vice president for Long Island. “We’re grateful to the donors who set up funds with us to care for future generations of Long Islanders.”
More than a third of the Island’s renters and homeowners spend over 30 percent of their income on housing. The newly announced grants will help address Long Island’s housing crisis by supporting projects that will increase affordable housing and build the capacity of nonprofit organizations serving people experiencing homelessness. A grant to the Uniondale Community Land Trust will help it acquire properties or land currently in the foreclosure process and help residents stay in or prepare for affordable homeownership.
Eight local nonprofits received grants for projects designed to build brighter futures for Long Island’s young people. Gigi’s Playhouse will engage young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in a job training program at a local cafe. It will also build partnerships with other local businesses and help participants find permanent employment.
Traditional court involvement often creates barriers to future academic success and employment prospects for young people. A $23,000 grant is helping Huntington Youth Court provide a peer-led alternative for young people referred to juvenile court. Participants will receive sanctions from their peers, such as community service or counseling, tailored to their individual needs. The program will also provide referrals to a range of supportive services for participants and their families.
One in five young people in the US live with a mental health disorder, but only 20 percent receive care from a mental health provider. A grant to Northwell Health will help remove barriers to care by using a digital platform to rapidly screen and treat young people experiencing mental health problems. The Trust’s Long Island grant is part of its $250,000 effort to support young people across Long Island, New York City, and Westchester.
As New York’s largest community foundation, The Trust brings together the contributions of donors past and present to champion local causes, address the region’s urgent challenges, and advance long-term systemic change.
The following is a list of grants awarded today by The Trust. Longer descriptions of the programs supported are available upon request.
Supporting Arts and Culture
Long Island University- Tilles Center: $20,000 to provide welcoming theater experiences for neurodiverse individuals.
Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio: $15,000 to celebrate and promote the work of Shinnecock artists.
Parrish Art Museum: $25,000 to provide arts education to economically and culturally diverse students on Long Island’s East End.
Supporting Health and Wellness
Health & Welfare Council of Long Island: $25,000 to meet the increasing demand for enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Northwell Health: $50,000 to develop a digital platform to provide mental health services to school aged young people.
Creating Affordable Housing
New York Communities Organizing Fund: $20,000 to increase housing stability for renters in the Village of Hempstead.
Uniondale Community Land Trust: $20,000 to increase affordable homeownership opportunities and promote housing stability in Uniondale.
Addressing Homelessness
Long Island Coalition for the Homeless: $25,000 to build the capacity of nonprofit organizations that serve individuals experiencing homelessness.
Promoting Economic Mobility
Long Island Economic Opportunity Collaborative: $30,000 to support a pooled fund to address economic disparities on Long Island.
Protecting the Environment
Concerned Citizens of Montauk: $30,000 to address Fort Pond’s water quality issues.
Save the Great South Bay: $50,000 to monitor water quality and produce a water– quality report card for Long Island’s south shore bays.
Investing in Young Long Islanders
Children’s Museum of the East End: $20,000 to provide elementary school students with afterschool STEM, literacy instruction, and social and emotional development.
I-TRI: Inspirational Triathlon Racing International: $20,000 to help middle school girls on the East End of Long Island build social and emotional resilience.
Long Island Children’s Museum: $25,000 for a school-museum STEM program for elementary school students and students with disabilities in the Westbury School District.
New York Edge: $20,000 to support a literacy and creative writing program for elementary students in Wyandanch School District.
The Sunshine Center: $20,000 to strengthen the social and emotional skills of high school students in an alternative learning environment.
Gigi’s Playhouse Long Island: $30,000 for a job training program in a cafe setting for young people with Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities.
Huntington Youth Bureau – Youth Development Research Institute: $23,000 for an alternative to juvenile court for young people referred to the court system.
Racetrack Chaplaincy of America, Metropolitan, NY Division: $15,000 for a mentoring program to support the children of Belmont Racetrack’s backstretch workers.
