Draft:New York Community Trust

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The New York Community Trust is the community foundation for New York City, with divisions in Westchester and Long Island. It is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the United States and one of the largest funders of New York City's nonprofits.

As a public charity, the trust administers more than 2,000 charitable funds created by individuals, families, and businesses. From these funds, it makes grants to nonprofits that improve the quality of life of New Yorkers, primarily in the metropolitan area. The foundation's competitive grantmaking program focuses on improving the lives of all New Yorkers, with an emphasis on promoting healthy lives, promising futures, and thriving communities. It relies on experts, creativity, and resources to address challenging issues, create opportunities, and ensure a better quality of life for all New Yorkers today and tomorrow.

Financials[edit]

In 2020, The New York Community Trust made grants of more than $274 million from assets of $3.1 billion in more than 2,000 charitable funds. As of 2018, the trust is ranked as the Foundation Center's 5th largest community foundation by asset size, and the 11th largest foundation in New York by asset size in Crain's New York Business.

History[edit]

The New York Community Trust was founded in 1920 by a consortium of 11 banks.[1] The original charter of the organization required that no more than three of the members of the board could belong to the same religious sect or denomination, and no person holding public office could serve on the board.[1]

It was founded to more effectively make grants from the charitable trusts they held. The first fund in the trust was established by Rosebel G. Schiff, who gave $1,000 to create the Theresa E. Bernholz Fund. Schiff asked that the prize go to a girl from P.S. 9 who “earned the highest respect of her teachers.”

Plaque installed in 1965

In 1931, with the help of electrical engineer and philanthropist William S. Barstow and his wife, Francoise Barstow, The trust established the nation's first donor-advised fund. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, The trust focused all available discretionary funds on helping the unemployed. In 1957, The trust installed the first of 309 "Landmarks of New York" plaques, which are still visible today on architecturally and historically important buildings all over the city.

The Westchester and Long Island Community Foundations were founded by the trust in 1975 and 1978, respectively. In 1983, in the early years of the AIDS crisis, the foundation made the first grant for HIV research from a private institution. It then created the New York City AIDS Fund, which operated from 1989 to 2014. In the wake of the terrorist attacks in 2001, The trust and the United Way of New York City created the September 11th Fund, which distributed more than $528 million to victims, families, and affected communities. Businesses and nonprofits received grants to help rebuild and revitalize lower Manhattan.

The trust also made early grants to plan the High Line, convert Governors Island into a public park, create the Brooklyn Greenway, and garner public support for an overhaul of St. Mary's Park in the Bronx.

It made around 11,000 grants in 2017 which ranged from $250 to $15 million.[2]

Special programs[edit]

In 2015, anticipating the need to train a diverse new generation of nonprofit leaders, the organization created The New York Community Trust Leadership Fellows program at the Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College. Fellows attend classes at Baruch and graduate with a certificate in Nonprofit Management. A book was written that provides a new leadership framework for the next generation of nonprofit professionals based on five years of data collected from the New York Community Trust Leadership Fellowship. The free book is called Leadership Standpoints: A Practical Framework for the Next Generation of Nonprofit Leaders, was published online by Cambridge University Press in 2021 [1]

The trust provides additional support to grantees through recurring grants to technical assistance groups, including Lawyers’ Alliance, Community Resource Exchange, Support Center for Nonprofit Management, and Cause Effective. Workshops on topics including program evaluation and racial equity also are available to grantees by invitation.

Publications[edit]

The trust publishes the following periodicals. They are free and subscribers can receive them by mail or email.

It has also published the following reports

  • Power of Permanence analyzes 20 years of philanthropic data from New York City to understand the causes donors care about most, alongside the various trends in philanthropy over time.
  • The Power of Funder Collaboration explores 40 years of collaborative funds, efforts designed to combine philanthropic power to address a particular area or any acute long-term and short-term needs.

In the news[edit]

The trust regularly appears in the press. Media coverage includes projects funded by the trust, as well as expertise on the philanthropic sector and policy issues facing New York.

  • Health grants featured in Crain's Health Pulse include an effort to combat the opioid crisis in New York.
  • Inside Philanthropy reported on the trust's rapid-response philanthropy and grants to bolster early childhood programs.
  • Forbes featured the trust-funded “Culture Pass” program that provides access to museums and cultural centers for any New Yorker with a library card.
  • City & State Magazine ranked the trust on its 2018 “Nonprofit Power 50” list.
  • NBC New York reported on the Self-Sufficiency Report on poverty in New York, funded by the trust.
  • A grant to the NYU Silver School of Social Work will train those with a master's in social work for nonprofit leadership positions and fund the establishment of a Social Work Leadership Development Institute.
  • The New York Times highlighted The trust's NYC COVID-19 Response and Impact Fund, established to help nonprofits survive during the pandemic.
  • During the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that charitable giving had risen during the pandemic, including giving to the trust.
  • The Wall Street Journal reported on the Bridge to Craft Careers program that helps underrepresented young New Yorkers acquire skills in masonry, and eventually well-paying jobs.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Community Trust Now on Working Basis", New-York Tribune (March 30, 1920), p. 15.
  2. ^ Sullivan, Paul (2018-08-17). "When a $1,000 Gift Is Better Than $1 Million". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-14.


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