New York, NY – February 5, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The New York Community Trust is making grants to protect consumers from toxic chemicals, provide affordable housing in the Bronx for artists interested in giving back to the community, expand an early reading program to ease the transition to kindergarten for poor families, and help specialty food manufacturers in Brooklyn. In all, 38 groups are receiving $4.3 million.
“A highlight in this round includes a group of grants to strengthen the nonprofit sector—from improving wages to diversifying boards and rewarding excellence,” says Patricia Jenny, vice president for grants at The New York Community Trust.
Another example: An education grant to help New York City end confusion about the standards that define a community school. “We’re pleased to make a grant to help parents advocate for a consistent standard for community schools. With an $80,000 grant, NYC Coalition for Educational Justice will urge the City to adopt its proposed standard,” says Shawn Morehead, Trust senior program officer. “The group’s widely endorsed definition includes comprehensive social, emotional, and health services, rigorous academics including the arts, and meaningful parent engagement.”
A one page description of each of the following grants is available upon request. Please contact
aw (at) nyct-cfi (dot) org for a copy.
JOBS, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES
HOMELESS GAY YOUTH: Center for Anti-Violence Education, $40,000 to expand a 20-week anger management program for homeless gay young people, and to train staff at five agencies in all five boroughs to diffuse conflict.
SUPPORT FOR BROOKLYN MANUFACTURERS: East Williamsburg Valley Industrial Development Corporation, $60,000 to support the growth of specialty food manufacturing firms by connecting them with workers, and through research and advocacy.
REFORMING JUVENILE JUSTICE: NEO Philanthropy, $125,000 to make sure recommendations from the State’s commission on juvenile justice reform are enacted.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Picture the Homeless, $65,000 for research and advocacy to improve housing options for very low-income families and individuals.
YOUNG LEADERS: Public Allies, $100,000 to expand a leadership and nonprofit apprenticeship program for disadvantaged young New Yorkers, including veterans.
PREVENTING EVICTION IN FORT GREENE: University Settlement Society of New York, $60,000 to work with the City’s Housing Authority to prevent evictions of families in public housing in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
PROTECTION FROM TOXIC CHEMICALS: Coming Clean, $75,000 to limit consumer exposure to toxic chemicals by organizing communities across the country to address the safety of chemical facilities; strengthen laws protecting agricultural workers from pesticides; and pressure discount retailers to stop carrying toxic products; and Green Science Policy Institute, $75,000 to reduce use of organohalogen flame retardants and other toxic chemicals in furniture and baby products.
GREENER NYC BUILDINGS: Environmental Defense Fund, $100,000 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from City buildings by encouraging clean energy investments.
MAKING ENERGY EFFICIENCY AFFORDABLE: Environmental and Energy Study Institute,$100,000 to help rural electric cooperatives provide direct financing for home and business energy-efficiency retrofits.
NYC NONPROFITS: Fiscal Policy Institute, $125,000 to advocate for improved wage and employment practices in the nonprofit social services sector; charitySTRONG, $35,000 for a state-wide organization to improve the quality and diversity of nonprofit boards; and Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, $150,000 to support the New York City Nonprofit Excellence Awards.
BUILDING NEIGHBORHOODS: New York City Change Capital Fund, $100,000 to help community development groups develop innovative strategies to reduce poverty and track their results.
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: Taxpayers for Common Sense, $100,000 to protect vulnerable communities by reforming federal disaster preparedness and response programs.
MOBILIZING POOR COMMUNITIES ON ENERGY: West Harlem Environmental Action, $150,000 to ensure that national power sector reform efforts benefit poor communities.
ARTS
BACK OFFICE SUPPORT FOR ARTS GROUPS: Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, $125,000, to start ArtsPool, a cooperative back office service including financial management and human resource administration for small and mid-sized performing arts groups.
HOUSING FOR ARTISTS: chashama, $100,000 to provide artists with affordable housing in buildings managed by the Mid-Bronx Senior Citizens Council in exchange for community service, such as leading art workshops for seniors and children.
BRINGING EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING TO MUSEUMS: Cool Culture, $170,000 to help the Brooklyn Museum, Queens Museum, and Metropolitan Museum of Art develop early learning programs for poor families.
BRONX SPACES FOR ARTISTS: SpaceWorks, $100,000 to prepare for new artist work spaces in the Bronx, including a visual art studio space in Mott Haven and a multidisciplinary arts center in a former Fordham neighborhood library.
EDUCATION
BRONX HISTORY LESSONS: Bronx County Historical Society, $39,000 for a middle school history program at the Valentine-Varian House in Bedford Park.
FROM PRE-K TO K: Jumpstart for Young Children, $120,000 to expand an early reading program to help children transition from prekindergarten to kindergarten.
DEVELOPING SKILLS: Student Success Network-NYC, $150,000 to help schools and youth development groups use survey data to improve how they teach problem-solving and social skills.
HELP FOR IMMIGRANTS
UNACCOMPANIED MINORS: Children’s Health Fund, $55,000 to provide health and mental health care to immigrant girls who arrived without a parent.
HELPING IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES: Fund for New Citizens, $200,000 for a collaborative fund to assist immigrants and refugees in New York.
DEFERRED ACTION: Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, $120,000 to coordinate a citywide effort to provide information and legal help for immigrants newly eligible for deferred action.
ENGLISH FOR IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS: Queens Economic Development Corporation,$50,000 for a contextual English language skills program for immigrants running or starting their own businesses.
HEALTH
The “Cancer Safety Net”: Cancer Care, $700,000 for financial aid to needy cancer patients; God’s Love We Deliver, $100,000 to feed cancer patients; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center,$100,000 to help immigrants with cancer get treatment; New York Legal Assistance Group, $100,000 for legal assistance to help people with cancer get treatment.
VISION SCREENINGS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE: Helen Keller International, $50,000 to expand a vision screening program at Covenant House and the Ali Forney Center, agencies that both serve young homeless people.
BETTER SENIOR CENTERS: Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service, $130,000 to complete the evaluation of eight newly established innovative senior centers.
COVERAGE FOR SICK ELDERLY: Medicare Rights Center, $75,000 to advocate for chronically ill elders eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.
SENIOR DAY PROGRAM: Carter Burden Center for the Aging, $90,000 for an adult day care program for patients being transferred from a City nursing facility to independent housing.
HEALTH CARE FOR GAY SENIORS: Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE), $100,000 to help gay and lesbian elders in Harlem, Brooklyn, and the Bronx manage chronic diseases.
TRANSITION TO MANAGED CARE: Lawyers Alliance for New York, $80,000 to provide legal assistance to behavioral health agencies transitioning to managed care.
THE NEW YORK COMMUNITY TRUST
Since 1924, The New York Community Trust has been the home of charitable New Yorkers who share a passion for the City and its suburbs—and who are committed to improving them. The Trust supports an array of effective nonprofits that help make the City a vital and secure place to live, learn, work, and play, while building permanent resources for the future. The New York Community Trust ended 2014 with assets of nearly $2.6 billion in more than 2,000 charitable funds, and made grants totaling $165 million (unaudited). The Trust welcomes new donors. Information at nycommunitytrust.org.
