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Peter Panepento
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With the new grants announced today, The Trust has now invested $24.7 million in 2024 to support thriving communities and a more equitable and vibrant New York.
NEW YORK (June 20, 2024) – The New York Community Trust today announced $7.1 million in new grants to 46 nonprofits working to meet the city’s pressing needs, from addressing food insecurity and supporting equitable access to affordable housing and civic participation to protecting pollinators and marine wildlife.
With these latest grants, The Trust has delivered $24.7 million so far this year to support nonprofits working to create a healthier and more equitable New York.
“We’re proud to support the work of extraordinary nonprofits that are empowering New York’s communities to influence public policies as well as bring needed resources—ranging from healthy food to permanent, affordable housing—to those who do not have them,” said Shawn V. Morehead, The Trust’s vice president for grants.
The newly announced grants include support for equity-focused civics education and participation ahead of this year’s presidential election, including engaging students in registering their peers to vote and increasing voting among formerly incarcerated New Yorkers.
Several grants will help nonprofits working to increase equitable access to affordable housing and reduce housing discrimination.
A grant to the Northfield Community Local Development Corporation will help the group explore opportunities for affordable, shared-equity homeownership on Staten Island’s North Shore, which is home to the city’s highest percentage of severely rent-burdened residents. And a grant to the Open Hearts Initiative will help it advocate for affordable housing development for shelter residents and those in need of supportive housing.
Grants will also support youth leadership initiatives focused on addressing inequitable access to nutritious food, a leading cause of poor health for the 25% of New Yorkers who experience food insecurity.
“As we celebrate our centennial anniversary, we recognize the incredible community of generous New Yorkers who have worked with us to turn their passions into charitable legacies,” said Amy Freitag, The Trust’s president. “This includes people like Marjorie Isaac, a dancer who studied under George Balanchine, whose legacy has helped us provide food and housing to people in need and also supports our animal welfare grantmaking.”
As New York’s community foundation, The Trust brings together the contributions of donors past and present to address the city’s immediate challenges and advance long-term systemic change, while also honoring the charitable goals of donors.
The following is a list of grants awarded today by The Trust. Longer descriptions of the programs supported are available upon request.
Expanding Health Care Services
Black Women’s Blueprint: $200,000 to provide prenatal and perinatal support to Black girls and young women ages 13 to 24.
I’RAISE Girls and Boys International: $220,000 to expand a school-based behavioral health program for New York public school students.
Improving Cancer Care and Education
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: $40,000 to cover the cost of fellowships for foreign physicians studying cancer treatment methods in the U.S.
Institute for Family Health: $275,000 to expand a coordinated, multi-cancer screening program at a federally qualified health center.
Furthering Education for People with Disabilities
Bridges from School to Work: $200,000 to help the city’s career and technical education programs prepare students with disabilities for jobs.
Kennedy Children’s Center: $100,000 to train low-income women to serve as teaching assistants in preschool special education classes.
Kings Bay YM-YWHA: $170,000 to expand a city-based summer camp for school-aged children with blindness.
New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations: $150,000 to make library services accessible for non-English speakers with visual disabilities.
Stuttering Association for the Young: $100,000 to train speech therapists working in public schools to effectively serve students who stutter.
Advocating for Animal Welfare
Animal Care Centers of NYC: $150,000 to provide free veterinary care and support to pets owned by low-income residents of the Bronx and Queens.
The Bee Conservancy: $172,000 to protect ground-dwelling bee species and other pollinators in the New York metropolitan area.
Flatbush Cats: $150,000 to expand an affordable veterinary clinic in Brooklyn.
NYC Bird Alliance: $172,000 to help migrating birds avoid colliding with buildings, which kills up to 230,000 birds in New York each year.
NYC Plover Project: $138,000 to protect the endangered piping plover, a shorebird whose population is less than 8,000 globally, during its nesting season.
Urban Cat League: $60,000 to eliminate the feral cat colony on Rikers Island.
Urban Resource Institute: $150,000 to test a program that allows companion animals in family shelters.
Wildlife Conservation Society: $150,000 to protect marine wildlife in New York waters.
World Animal Protection: $150,000 to lobby for a ban on all retail pet sales in New York City.
Progressing Human Rights and Justice
Immigrant Children Advocates Relief Effort: $300,000 to support and coordinate the efforts of nonprofits representing immigrant children in deportation proceedings.
RISE: $100,000 to develop and run a parent advocacy program in Spanish that provides families with legal resources to combat domestic violence.
Rising Ground: $250,000 to improve services for girls and young women who are survivors of commercial sexual exploitation.
Preventing Hunger and Homelessness
Fair Housing Justice Center: $150,000 to reduce housing discrimination by helping tenants ensure their homes are accessible.
Good Shepherd Services: $150,000 to coordinate food distribution, social services, and advocacy support for youth and families in East New York, Brooklyn.
Northfield Community Local Development Corporation: $115,000 to research and propose opportunities for residents to achieve affordable homeownership on Staten Island.
Open Hearts Initiative: $200,000 to train volunteers to advocate for the development of supportive housing, along with other affordable housing strategies, for formerly homeless New Yorkers.
Point Source Youth: $125,000 to test the efficacy of direct cash transfers to prevent youth homelessness.
West Side Campaign Against Hunger: $100,000 to increase the collective purchasing power and efficiency of emergency food providers.
Empowering Young People to Lead Change
Alliance of Families for Justice: $110,000 to expand a civil rights and criminal justice reform organizing program for young people in New York City.
Harlem Grown: $70,000 to expand a paid urban farming internship program for young people in Harlem.
Queens Botanical Garden: $152,000 to expand a food justice leadership program for young people in Flushing, Queens.
Youth Justice Network: $115,000 to provide legal information to teenagers detained in the city’s jail system and help them return to their communities.
Boosting Arts Education
We made the following grants to two organizations to improve and advance arts education for elementary and middle school students in Brooklyn Community School District 13:
BRIC: $225,000
Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet: $290,000
Promoting Civic Participation
College and Community Fellowship: $200,000 to increase voting and civic participation among formerly incarcerated New Yorkers.
Generation Citizen: $150,000 to prepare high schools to engage students in civic affairs and register their peers to vote.
New York Law School: $200,000 to reform New York’s redistricting process and prepare city residents for the 2030 census.
Building a Greener Future
Equitable Transportation Fund: $300,000 to reform state transportation systems to become equitable, climate-friendly infrastructures.
LatinoJustice PRLDEF: $150,000 to help nonprofits serving Latino communities access federal climate and clean energy resources.
New York University: $80,000 to run a national competition for young companies with promising technologies and services to help cities achieve climate and sustainability goals.
RMI: $125,000 to provide training and technical assistance on the global energy transition to officials in developing countries.
Save the Sound: $138,000 to help protect the Long Island Sound by providing enhanced water quality testing services to nonprofits.
University of Massachusetts’ Lowell Center For Sustainable Production: $130,000 to reduce the use of toxic chemicals in consumer products by developing and promoting sustainable chemistry practices throughout the economy.
Strengthening New York’s Nonprofits
Advocacy Institute: $75,000 to provide advanced training on legislative advocacy for experienced grassroots advocates and community organizers.
Human Services Council of New York City: $175,000 to reform city nonprofits’ contract procurement systems.
Nonprofit New York: $200,000 to offer nonprofit organizations shared retirement savings plans and human resources tools.
Historic Preservation
Rock Creek Conservancy: $35,000 to maintain and repair the Jeanne D’Arc statue in Washington D.C.’s Meridian Hill Park.
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About The New York Community Trust
As New York’s largest community foundation, The New York Community Trust fosters and engages in enduring and innovative philanthropy, making grants that bring together the diverse, local knowledge and expertise of its team, nonprofits, and partners to help donors fulfill their vision for the causes they love. From education and the arts to health care and the environment, The New York Community Trust seeks to improve every aspect of the cultural and civic life of New York City, Long Island, and Westchester. The New York Community Trust celebrates 100 years of impact and looks forward to the next 100 years of improving life for New Yorkers. This is philanthropy for New Yorkers, by New Yorkers.
