MELVILLE (January 3, 2024) – The New York Community Trust – Long Island announces $706,500 in grants to 28 nonprofits working to advance economic and educational opportunities for Long Islanders and improve lives throughout the region and beyond. This latest round of grants brings this year’s total to $3,178,685, supporting nearly 100 nonprofits through its competitive and collaborative funds grantmaking programs.
“These grants represent how philanthropy fuels innovation, tests new approaches to longstanding challenges, and meets the needs of some of the Island’s most vulnerable populations,” said Sol Marie Alfonso Jones, The Trust’s Long Island program director.
As the Island’s community foundation, The Trust – Long Island brings together the contributions of donors past and present to address immediate challenges and advance long-term systemic change while also honoring the charitable goals of donors.
Below is a list of the recent year-end grants. Click here to view all grant awards in 2023. Longer descriptions of the programs supported are available upon request.
ARTS & CULTURE
Stage The Change: $20,000 to use the arts to connect high school students from racially and economically diverse communities.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
New York Communities Organizing Fund, Inc.: $25,000 to increase housing stability for renters in the Village of Hempstead.
COMMUNITY RESPONSE
Family & Children’s Association: $25,000 for a peer navigator program to connect individuals struggling with mental health issues and their families to appropriate treatment and support.
CONSERVATION & ENVIRONMENT
Atlantic Marine Conservation Society: $25,000 to support sea turtle conservation.
Audubon New York – Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary: $27,000 to pilot an endorsement program for landscape professionals and promote the use of native plants by landscapers and homeowners.
Citizens Campaign Fund for the Environment: $40,000 for a campaign to raise awareness and educate elected officials and the public on the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act to address the solid waste management crisis.
Peconic Land Trust: $50,000 for invasive plant removal and habitat restoration in Broad Cove.
Sisters of St. Joseph: $23,000 to restore a woodland habitat.
EDUCATION
Belmont Child Care Association: $15,000 for academic and cultural enrichment programs for the children of Belmont Racetrack’s backstretch workers.
Woman’s Opportunity Rehabilitation Center: $25,000 to expose middle school students to science, engineering, technology, and math.
HEALTH SERVICES & MENTAL HEALTH
Docs for Tots: $20,000 to connect families of young children with case management services to address social determinants of health.
Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research: $35,000 to advance medical research and identify new therapies for Alzheimer’s disease.
Latina Sisters Support: $20,000 to raise awareness of cancer prevention among the Latina community.
Long Island FQHC d/b/a Harmony Health Care Long Island: $50,000 to expand the availability of a mobile clinic to bring healthcare directly to underserved communities.
Northwell Health: $50,000 to coordinate mental health assessments and services through schools.
The Opening Word: $20,000 to improve healthcare and health outcomes for newly arrived immigrant women.
HUNGER & HOMELESSNESS
Cornell Cooperative Extension Suffolk County: $25,000 to increase access to fresh produce and provide nutritional education to people with diabetes.
Heart of the Hamptons: $15,000 to provide children in the Hampton Bays area with meals when schools are closed.
Lighthouse Mission: $11,500 for mobile food distribution in Suffolk County communities.
Long Island Cares: $25,000 for the Nassau Center for Collaborative Assistance in Freeport.
Mercy Haven: $20,000 to decrease food insecurity for Long Island’s homeless population.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Long Island Racial Equity Funder Collaborative: $25,000 to pool local philanthropic resources to address racial economic disparities on Long Island.
Long Island Sound Stewardship Fund: $25,000 for a funder collaborative dedicated to protecting and restoring the Long Island Sound.
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
The two grants below provide support and increase opportunities to help girls of color participate more fully in the social and economic life of their communities.
Butterfly Effect Project: $35,000
Girls Inc. of Long Island: $20,000
In addition to these two grants, LICF made awards to the following organizations:
Best Buddies: $5,000 for a program that promotes emotional wellness and skills development for young people with disabilities.
Destiny Bound: $15,000 to provide a financial literacy and entrepreneurship program to Wyandanch High School students.
Friends Of L’arche Long Island: $15,000 to prepare young people with disabilities for jobs in the culinary arts.
