BY BETH DEDMAN
The New York Community Trust is awarding $7 million in grants to 47 non-profit organizations that address issues including caring for cancer patients, fighting gerrymandering and providing better access to nutritious food.
The New York Community Trust is a grant-making foundation that is “dedicated to improving the lives of residents of New York City and its suburbs,” according to their website. The Trust connects donors to nonprofits to make a difference in the lives of communities, particularly in New York City, Westchester and Long Island.
This round of grant approvals is the first of five that the trust will award in 2020, said Amy Wolf, assistant director for digital media and marketing.
“Every year we give out $50 million in competitive grants,” Wolf said.
The trust employs program officers to vet proposals for the competitive grant programs, Wolf said. The officers review proposals year-round regarding their field of expertise.
The largest grant will provide $700,000 of financial aid to at least 2,200 cancer patients who need help offsetting the cost of transportation, child care, pain medications, insurance premiums and co-payments. The program will help ensure low-income people of color, immigrants and working parents are able to afford the care they need.
Another grant will help the LatinoJustic PRLDEF fight gerrymandering in the congressional, state and county legislative districts. This non-profit will use their $525,000 grant to engage New York City residents in the fight with a nonpartisan redistricting commission.
The trust is also providing four grants totaling $610,000 to increase access to nutritious food, according to the press release. The Urban Food Policy Institute at the CUNY School of Public Health and Health Policy, Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, United Community Centers and the West Side Campaign Against Hunger will use these grants to affect policy, create programming, support farms, coordinate food pantries and negotiate food prices, all for the sake of helping New Yorkers have easier access to healthy food.
The Transform Don’t Trash NYC Coalition will use a $130,000 grant to shape rules affecting the creation of a new zone system to manage the removal of four million tons of commercials waste produced annually as well as advocate for reducing pollution and bring attention to poor working conditions.
The trust will also help the New York Taxi Workers Alliance help debt-burdened drivers with an $85,000 grant, Urban Youth Alliance International to adopt requirements for a new Bronx prison facility that will help replace jails on Rikers Island with $80,000 and will also assist Hester Street Collaborative to help non-profit organizations find and negotiate for affordable work spaces with $150,000.
Among the 47 organizations, the trust also provided grants to nonprofits covering areas related to arts and culture, cancer research and care, health, conservation and environment, education, historic preservation, homelessness, human justice, human services, job development, people with disabilities and technical assistance.
More information about the New York Community Trust can be found at nycommunitytrust.org.
