As New York City struggles with an economic downturn, the impacts are especially difficult for low-income New Yorkers. The downturn is felt in the city’s underserved communities in numerous ways, including: disappearing jobs, rising health care costs as a share of income, home foreclosures, less affordable housing, and new vulnerability to abusive practices in the low-income workplace. Faced with daunting challenges, community groups throughout the city use a variety of methods, including grassroots organizing and advocacy, to address human needs and strengthen communities. Often such groups take on multiple issues, recognizing the connections between community problems, and work in partnership with other non-profit organizations and city agencies.

To support these efforts and to promote an equitable and sustainable city of vibrant communities, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation supports work in low-income neighborhoods that emerges from, and actively engages, local efforts while looking for opportunities to support collaborative campaigns.

The Program’s grants fall into three categories:

1. Support to community-based organizations working on multiple fronts; 
   
2. Support to technical assistance providers that help community-based organizations address organizational needs; and
3. Support to collaborative campaigns.

I. Community-based Organizations: Priority is given to existing community group partners that address multiple issues for their members and/or constituents and work in partnership with other non-profit organizations and city agencies.

Please note: The Foundation is not, unfortunately, considering new inquiries in this category. Given the economic downturn, it seeks to maintain existing levels of support for current community partners.

II. Technical Assistance Providers: The Foundation will provide funding to a select number of supporting organizations to provide assistance in such areas as law, planning, analysis, or advocacy assistance to help neighborhood groups achieve community aspirations. This could also include connecting community organizations working on similar issues in order to influence policy, scale up programs, or expand networks of activism. Priority will be given to inquiries that address the specific needs of the Foundation’s community-based partners, especially those working on issues of economic and environmental justice. Inquiries can be submitted by the technical assistance provider, but we encourage joint submissions. Letters of inquiry should include the following:

• Community organization need to be addressed and forms of assistance to be offered by grant-seeking organization.
• Brief background on the community-based partner(s) who may benefit from collaborative work.
• Summary of existing community partnerships or past experience with local groups.
• Proven methods for effectively conveying assistance.
• Specific purpose of the grant request.
• Annual budget figure for grant-seeking organization and requested grant amount.
• Draft budget for the project and other sources of funding (raised or requested).  

TO APPLY: Please send a 2-3 page letter of inquiry to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it   to help staff determine the possible fit with the Foundation’s criteria and program priorities. In addition to other information that you may wish to include, please address the specific criteria in the relevant funding category above. All submissions will be acknowledged in a reasonable time-frame, and a limited number of proposals will be invited each spring and fall.

Please note: If your proposed project fits the criteria above and your organization has recently submitted a letter of inquiry to the New York Foundation, you are welcome to re-submit the same inquiry without modifications to format.

The deadline for letters of inquiry for the fall 2010 board meeting is Friday, August 13th. Please note that earlier submissions are welcome, although final funding decisions are made in mid-November.

Battered Women's Resource Center (Voices of Women Organizing Project)
$90,000 over two years to provide general operating support for its work to organize domestic violence survivors to improve the systems that they rely on for safety, assistance, and justice. (Year 1)

Make the Road New York
$100,000 for one year to provide general operating support for its work to organize low-income communities to fight for social and economic justice.

National Mobilization Against SweatShops
$100,000 over two years to provide general operating support for its work to bring low-income workers together to organize for their rights and fight employer abuse. (Year 1)

Make the Road New York (MRNY)
$50,000 for one year to support a new partnership with the Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union to administer MRNY membership loans while providing other affordable financial services.

Collaborative Campaigns

Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies
$45,000 for one year to help those eligible for public assistance remove arbitrary and onerous obstacles to access, address their basic needs, and preserve their dignity.

MinKwon Center for Community Action
$50,000 for one year to advocate for more equitable city and state social services funding. 

Third Sector New England (Resource Generation)
$15,000 for one year to educate young people in New York City on social change philanthropy.