Grant Details

The New York Community Trust supports programs in 16 different areas.

Healthy Lives:

• Animal Welfare: humane treatment and medical care of animals
• Biomedical Research: help early- and mid-career researchers start projects and gather data needed to apply for larger government or private grants. Primarily support research projects for cancer, heart disease, leprosy, and incurable diseases
• Health and Behavioral Health: promote an equitable, patient-focused, and cost-effective health and behavioral health care delivery system. Grants are made to advocate for successful health care reform implementation; build the capacity of New York City's health, behavioral health, and human services sectors to succeed in reformed health care system; reduce health disparities between low- and higher-income neighborhoods through investments in disadvantaged communities; and foster the independence of people with mental illness and substance use histories
• Older Adults and People with Disabilities: the Trust has a coordinated approach that reflects the common challenges and opportunities for the following groups of people: the elderly, children and youth with disabilities, people with blindness and visual disabilities, and people with developmental disabilities. They support projects that target low-income individuals and communities. Grants are made to make New York City communities - especially those that are under-resourced - accessible, welcoming, and inclusive; ensure that health, social, education, and vocational services allow older adults and people with disabilities to live up to their fullest potential; and build the capacity of nonprofits serving older adults and people with disabilities

Promising Futures:

• Education: ensure New York City's public schools prepare students for success in college and the workforce, and for participating in public life as creative and responsible citizens. Grants are made to build and mobilize public will for greater equity and quality in the school system through policy research, education advocacy, and grassroots organizing; increase accountability and transparency of schools and the school system to parents and students in low-income communities, communities of color, and immigrant communities; expand innovative strategies for improving middle and high schools in the areas of principal instructional leadership, positive school cultures, and student leadership and academic supports
  • The Trust does not make grants to individual public or private schools, charter schools, or programs that involve limited numbers of students.
• Human Justice: promote a more effective and fair civil and criminal justice system through research and monitoring of practices and procedures in City courts, and advocacy to improve local court practices and procedures. Grants are made to provide advocacy, information, and representation in emerging and/or urgent areas of civil law where other funding sources are limited; and identify effective ways to help low-income New Yorkers resolve legals problems and thereby improve their quality of life
• Human Services: mitigate the effects of poverty, increase opportunity through effective services and public benefits, and reduce racial disparities. Grants are made to focus on early intervention and prevention to enable vulnerable children to grow up in stable families and succeed in school and life, expand proven and promising practices that help those in need lead productive lives, and build the capacity of government agencies and nonprofits serving low-income New Yorkers
• Jobs and Workforce Development: provide more opportunities for New York City job seekers to get trained for work and careers, while helping employers find a ready, willing, and able workforce. Grants are made to develop employer-driven workforce partnerships that link nonprofits, institutions, and businesses in a particular economic sector or for a particular constituency or community; expand the number of industry alliances or workforce intermediaries that provide education and training and improve industry hiring practices, working conditions, and opportunities for advancement; promote a stronger, more effective workforce development system of services for job seekers in New York City through partnerships with government and capacity building for workforce providers; and advocate for better jobs in particular sectors or through public policies
• Youth Development: help young, low-income New Yorkers up to the age of 24 overcome obstacles and succeed in life and careers. Grants are made to expand leadership opportunities for disadvantaged young people, expand or improve employer-driven youth workforce programs, expand the capacity of youth development organizations, and promote policy reforms on issues that affect young people

Thriving Communities:

• Arts and Culture: promote diversity in the arts, and expand access for artists and audiences; strengthen the management of arts groups serving communities in the five borough; develop talented young historically underrepresented artists and improve arts education in the public schools; and strengthen arts advocacy
• Civic Affairs: ensure a representative political process and improve the function of government by encouraging voting, holding state and local government accountable, and promoting civic literacy for children and new immigrants.
• Community Development: build and sustain strong communities and create economic opportunities for residents of low-income neighborhoods. The Trust supports a mix of citywide and local community development activities as well as citywide technical assistance, policy research, and advocacy.
• New York City Environment: become a climate-smart metropolis; create healthier, more livable communities; and protect urban ecologies.
• National Environment: mitigate climate change; make communities more resilient to climate change; protect public health from the hazards of toxic chemicals and pollutants; and preserve biological diversity
• International Environment: each year, the Trust makes two or three international grants to U.S. organizations that are building the capacity of government, academic institutions, private sector entities, and nonprofits to protect biodiversity, improve environmental health, and reduce greenhouse gases around the world
• Historic Preservation: support preservation in low-income and minority communities and the boroughs outside of Manhattan, and to restore historic places that represent significant and overlooked aspects of City history.
• Technical Assistance: improve the management capacity of nonprofits and strengthen the sector.