The New York City Communities Program envisions a just, equitable city made up of resilient, thriving communities, where all people live in peace and with dignity.
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Goal
We believe that people who are most impacted by injustice are in the best position to identify problems and develop solutions. The program aims to build the capacity of grassroots organizations working in disproportionately impacted and marginalized communities that are led by and accountable to their memberships. We support the work of these organizations to advance community self-determination and systemic change across a wide range of social and economic justice issues. This includes changes to policies, practices, and institutions at all levels.
strategies
We support the following strategies through three grantmaking funds: a core fund supporting community-based organizations and complementary funds for grantee capacity building and coalition campaigns. Grants are generally multi-year and for general support.
Key strategies:
Grassroots community-based organizations that use organizing, advocacy, coalition-building, and leadership development to build power
Capacity building and technical assistance, which take the form of:
Grants to capacity building and technical assistance providers that support organizing and advocacy groups
Small grants to grantees to address specific needs
Trainings on a range of organizational development topics, in partnership with the NYC Capacity Building Collaborative
Collaborative Campaigns: Strategic opportunities to support coalitions at critical stages of a campaign
Funding Guidance
Beginning in 2022, we will close our Letter of Inquiry process in the NYC Communities Program. We made this decision in an effort to be more transparent with grant-seekers.
Over time as the program developed, we have prioritized commitments to our current grant partners in the core fund supporting Community-based Organizations. As a result, we have fewer resources to offer to potential new grant partners in the Collaborative Campaign and Capacity Building funds.
We continue to explore ways for staff to remain open to inquiries from potential new partners, and hope to issue updated guidance for grant-seekers by the end of 2023. Until then, we seek your patience and understanding. As always, we appreciate the work that you do to advance our shared values.
