When I joined The Trust in January 2024, I was energized by the opportunity to connect with a community of donors whose passion and generosity are reshaping what is possible for New York.
It didn’t take long for me to witness that passion and generosity in action.
During my first year at The Trust, legacy funds created by donors over the past century, and donor-advised funds that current donors use to recommend grants, helped bring New Yorkers cleaner water and air, improved literacy education, better access to mental health care, and much more.
When a government shutdown froze SNAP benefits last November, Trust donors didn’t hesitate to show up for their neighbors. Within days, they helped us grant over $1.7 million to local nonprofits responding to the crisis. Today, they are rallying behind our urgent efforts to support immigrants on Long Island and civic engagement in Westchester. They are also donating record amounts to our Community Needs Fund, to help us address our region’s rapidly evolving challenges.
What all of these efforts share is the power of collective action—donors partnering with us and with each other to strengthen the region we call home.
Creating more pathways for this kind of partnership is a cornerstone of our new five-year strategic plan, which is grounded in welcoming more community members into our work and strengthening relationships to effect meaningful change throughout our region.
Part of this involves upgrading our technology, including improvements to our online grantmaking portal, to ensure donors can give more easily and joyfully to make the impact they envision. At the same time, we’re creating more opportunities to engage in person, including through our role as a charitable matchmaker—where our donors can connect with our issue-area and philanthropic expertise.
Last fall, we invited donors interested in innovative climate solutions to join us for a tour of GrowNYC’s urban farm on Governors Island, followed by a panel discussion with nonprofit leaders and Trust staff. In addition to grantee visits, we’re hosting more donor exchanges, discussions with our grantmakers, and personalized sessions with our philanthropic advisors.
As needs grow throughout our region, we’re also focused on another core tenet of our strategic plan: growing our community of generous New Yorkers. We’re proud that for more than 100 years, people from all walks of life have chosen The Trust as their charitable partner.
For DeWitt and Lila Acheson Wallace, the founders of Readers Digest, this meant setting up funds at The Trust that would support our region in perpetuity. For a young Con-Ed worker who started a donor-advised fund with just a small amount to invest, it meant honoring her brother’s memory with every grant she recommended.
As we continue to grow, I look forward to deepening existing relationships, discovering new ways to collaborate, and welcoming more donors. Together, we can create brighter futures across the region.
