2020-2021 Grants
How can we easily summarize FY 2020-21 in grantmaking?
With three words… more, more and more.
This was our first complete fiscal year in the pandemic. And there were more grants, more types of grants and more philanthropic partnerships. The only thing there was less of was paperwork. We slashed the renewal process down to a minimum, knowing that our grantees were still dealing with an overwhelming level of need.
The overall money that we moved in this year topped anything we have ever done in over 40 years of grantmaking. Our main grant programs moved just over $8 million – $3.2 million through our regular grantmaking and $5 million via philanthropic partnerships. Our Donor-Advised Funds moved almost $7 million dollars.
We were able to mobilize more funds from individual donors, more from institutional partnerships and more from Donor-Advised Funds.
We slightly increased our expanded grantmaking from the start of the pandemic, and began to fulfill our commitments for the expansion of our Let Us Breathe Fund.
Thank you for all of you who made gifts or commitments that made these grants possible.
Future of Organizing Fund | 110 Grants Totaling $1.1 Million
#100Sistas
ADELANTE Student Voices
African Communities Together
All Of Us
Alliance of Families for Justice
Arab American Association of New York
Audre Lorde Project
Beacon for Black Lives
Birth From The Earth
Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP)
Black Trans Media
Black Trans Nation
Black Youth Project 100 Education Fund
Brandworkers
Brooklyn Movement Center
CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities
Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement
Caribbean Equality Project
Carroll Gardens Association
CASA: Community Action for Safe Apartments / New Settlement
Centro Corona
Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association
Clemency Coalition of New York
Coalition of Institutionalized Aged and Disabled
Columbia County Sanctuary Movement
Communities United for Police Reform (CPR)
Community Governance & Development Council (CGDCNY)
Community Resource Center
Community Voices Heard
Cooper Square Committee
CUNY Rising Alliance
Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation
Damayan Migrant Workers Association
East Harlem/El Barrio Community Land Trust
East New York Community Land Trust
Equality for Flatbush
Evergreen Garden
Faith in New York
Families for Freedom
Families Organized in Unity for a New Democracy
Farm School NYC
FIERCE
Flanbwayan Haitian Literacy Project
Flatbush Development Corporation
Flushing Workers Center
Freedom Agenda
Freedom Food Alliance
G.L.I.T.S.
Girl Vow
Girls for Gender Equity
Grace Immigrant Outreach
Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network
HOPE (Housing Organizers for People Empowerment)
House Lives Matter (HLM)
Hudson/Catskill Housing Coalition
In Our Own Voices
IntegrateNYC
Jaago Hudson
Jahajee Sisters: Empowering Indo-Caribbean Women
Justice Committee
Justice for All Coalition
Kite’s Nest
La Colmena
Laundry Workers Center
Masa
Mekong NYC
Metropolitan Council on Housing/MCREF
MHAction
Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio
Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Neighbors Together
New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE)
New York State Youth Leadership Council
Newburgh LGBTQ+ Center
Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson Education Fund
NY Teamsters for a Democratic Union
NYC Coalition for Educational Justice
NYC Network of Worker Cooperatives
Open Doors NYC
Parent Legislation Action Network
Parole Preparation Project
Project Hajra
Proyecto Faro
Queer Detainee Empowerment Project
Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP)
Rise
Rise Up Kingston
Street Vendor Project
Sustainable Port Chester Alliance
Sylvia Rivera Law Project
Teachers Unite
Teens Take Charge
The Underground Center
UndocuBlack Network
Urban Youth Collaborative
Veterans Organizing Institute
Visión Futuro
VOCAL-NY
Voces Ciudadanas
We Rise
We Stay / Nos Quedamos
Women’s Community Justice Association
Worker Justice Center of New York
Worker’s Justice Project
YA-YA Network
Yonkers Sanctuary Movement
Young Women of Color Health Advocacy Coalition
Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice
Youth Power Coalition
Hudson Valley Organizing | 24 Grants Totaling $320,000
#100Sistas
ADELANTE Student Voices
Birth From The Earth
Columbia County Sanctuary Movement
Community Governance & Development Council (CGDCNY)
Community Resource Center
Evergreen Garden
Freedom Food Alliance
Grace Immigrant Outreach
Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network
Hudson/Catskill Housing Coalition
In Our Own Voices
Jaago Hudson
Kite’s Nest
MHAction
Newburgh LGBTQ+ Center
Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson Education Fund
Proyecto Faro
Rise Up Kingston
Sustainable Port Chester Alliance
The Underground Center
VOCAL-NY
Worker Justice Center of New York
Yonkers Sanctuary Movement
Let Us Breathe Fund | 23 Grants Totaling $805,000
African Communities Together
All Of Us
Alliance of Families for Justice
Beacon for Black Lives
Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP)
Black Trans Media
Black Trans Nation
Black Youth Project 100 Education Fund
Brooklyn Movement Center
Caribbean Equality Project
Communities United for Police Reform (CPR)
Community Governance & Development Council (CGDCNY)
Community Voices Heard
East New York Community Land Trust
Equality for Flatbush
Faith in New York
Families for Freedom
FIERCE
Freedom Agenda
G.L.I.T.S.
Girl Vow
Girls for Gender Equity
HOPE (Housing Organizers for People Empowerment)
Hudson/Catskill Housing Coalition
Justice Committee
Newburgh LGBTQ+ Center
Open Doors NYC
Parent Legislation Action Network
Picture the Homeless
Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP)
Rise
Rise Up Kingston
UndocuBlack Network
Urban Youth Collaborative
Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice
NYC Organizing | 68 Grants Totaling $805,000
African Communities Together
Alliance of Families for Justice
Arab American Association of New York
Audre Lorde Project
Black Youth Project 100 Education Fund
Brandworkers
Brooklyn Movement Center
CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities
Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement
Carroll Gardens Association
CASA: Community Action for Safe Apartments / New Settlement
Centro Corona
Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association
Clemency Coalition of New York
Coalition of Institutionalized Aged and Disabled
Cooper Square Committee
CUNY Rising Alliance
Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation
Damayan Migrant Workers Association
East Harlem/El Barrio Community Land Trust
Faith in New York
Families for Freedom
Families Organized in Unity for a New Democracy
Farm School NYC
FIERCE
Flanbwayan Haitian Literacy Project
Flatbush Development Corporation
Flushing Workers Center
FPA-Foundation
HOPE (Housing Organizers for People Empowerment)
House Lives Matter (HLM)
IntegrateNYC
Jahajee Sisters: Empowering Indo-Caribbean Women
Justice Committee
Justice for All Coalition
La Colmena
Laundry Workers Center
Masa
Mekong NYC
Metropolitan Council on Housing/MCREF
Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio
Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Neighbors Together
New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE)
New York State Youth Leadership Council
NY Teamsters for a Democratic Union
NYC Coalition for Educational Justice
NYC Network of Worker Cooperatives
Parole Preparation Project
Project Hajra
Queer Detainee Empowerment Project
Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP)
Street Vendor Project
Sylvia Rivera Law Project
Teachers Unite
Teens Take Charge
Urban Youth Collaborative
Veterans Organizing Institute
Visión Futuro
Voces Ciudadanas
We Rise
We Stay / Nos Quedamos
Women’s Community Justice Association
Worker’s Justice Project
YA-YA Network
Young Women of Color Health Advocacy Coalition
Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice
Youth Power Coalition
Rapid Response | 13 Grants Totaling $67,500
Black Women’s Blueprint
Center for Urban Pedagogy
Centro Corona
Equality New York
Families and Friends of the Wrongfully Convicted
Laundry Workers Center
Make the Road New York
Model Alliance
Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson Education Fund
NYC Coalition for Educational Justice
VOCAL-NY
Yonkers Sanctuary Movement
Young Advocates for Fair Education
We’re excited to have built and strengthened philanthropic partnerships with larger foundations, many of whom have endowments and are not yet practicing some form of community-led grantmaking. Our partnership with the Ford Foundation’s social bond investment program enabled us to make four large-scale grants to support racial justice grassroots organizing in New York.
Our philanthropic partnerships are a concrete way for bigger philanthropies to shift power, to move money to support hyperlocal organizing and to build the capacity of New York’s communities of color to participate in systems change.
Community Food Funders Collaborative | 25 Grants Totaling $385,000
Alianza Agricola
BK ROT
Black Farmer Fund
Brandworkers
Brooklyn Movement Center
CTCORE Organize Now!
CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute
Farm School NYC
Food for the Spirit
Freedom Food Alliance
Hunter College Food Policy Center
Kelly Street Garden
Mary Mitchell Center
Rock Steady Farm
Rockaway Youth Task Force
Semilla Collective
Soul Fire Farm
Teachers College of Columbia University
Traditional Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Healing
Innovative Activism | 10 Grants Totaling $100,000
Advocacy Institute
Center For Third World Organizing (CTWO)
Global Action Project
Hattie Carthan Community Food Projects
Rise
Sure We Can
The Black Feminist Project
Theatre of the Oppressed NYC
Women’s Organizing Network
Worker Owned Rockaway Cooperatives
*This program is ending in 2022 with a final round of small grants.
NYC Capacity Building Collaborative Healing Justice Fund | 13 Grants Totaling $65,000
Alex House Project
Custom Collaborative
Damayan Migrant Workers Association
Harlem Wellness Center
Jahajee Sisters: Empowering Indo-Caribbean Women
LIFT-NY
Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio
New York State Youth Leadership Council
Project Hajra
Theatre of the Oppressed NYC
viBe Theater Experience
W.O.W. Project
Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice
Special Initiative | 4 Grants Totaling $4.5 Million
Alliance for Quality Education
Communities United for Police Reform (CPR)
Community Voices Heard
VOCAL-NY
Other Special Initiatives | 4 Grants Totaling $67,000
Brandworkers
New York Community Trust
New York Foundation
The New York Women’s Foundation
Special Award Grants | 4 Grants Totaling $25,000
Community Food Funders Champion Award
BK ROT
Frederick Douglass Awards
New York State Youth Leadership Council
Rise Up Kingston
Worker’s Justice Project
Looking for Donor-Advised Grants?
These grants are possible because of gifts New Yorkers give us to support grassroots organizing.
An unprecedented number of New Yorkers joined us as donors in 2020, allowing us to expand grantmaking during the pandemic and then maintain that increase.
Do you want to be funding movements for justice?
We are committed to moving money in these challenging times to grassroots organizing based in BIPOC communities in New York City and the Hudson Valley. Join us — make a gift today. We’ll combine your gift with many others to support on-the-ground organizing.