The Trust and our community partners have been working together to help keep New Yorkers healthy and housed, even as our region’s affordability and quality-of-life challenges continue to grow more urgent. Today, one in four New Yorkers struggle to afford essentials like food, housing, and health care amid cuts to safety net services.
Here are our recommendations for how your giving can help drive meaningful and strategic change for local communities.
1. Invest in advocacy and policy change
Investing in advocacy offers a high return for donations of all sizes, because advocacy wins can create lasting change. Advocacy can protect New Yorkers’ rights, improve our education and quality of life, and help push governments to commit, in their budgets, to building a region where all New Yorkers can thrive.
Recent advocacy wins supported by philanthropy brought free school meals to public school students across the state and expanded free child care in New York City.
2. Give general operating support
General operating support is both essential and strategic. Flexible funding allows organizations to pivot quickly as policies shift and needs emerge. As you give, consider nonprofits supporting those facing some of the steepest barriers: immigrants, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, older adults, and people experiencing homelessness.
3. Support solutions to New York’s housing and child-care crises
Two key forces are pushing New York’s families to the brink economically: the lack of affordable housing, and the exorbitant costs of child care that drive many parents out of the workforce.
These issues affect all New Yorkers because they are intertwined with many other quality-of-life challenges. Affordable housing and child care can help keep families in New York, support a healthy local economy, and prevent homelessness.
Local nonprofits are making significant gains in both areas—from advancing innovative home-ownership strategies like community land trusts and protecting tenants’ rights to advocating for policies that serve parents and child care workers alike.
4. Support Direct Services and Frontline Organizations
These organizations help New Yorkers stay connected to benefits, access essential daily support, and maintain a sense of community. Strengthening them will help more people hold onto Medicaid, SNAP, and other supportive services even in the face of new administrative hurdles.
Together, we can secure a healthy, safe, and just region for future generations. The Trust is here for you if you’d like to talk about how we can support your charitable goals during this pivotal time.
For more information, contact our philanthropic advising expert, Julia Chang, at jchang@thenytrust.org or (212) 419-7470.
