NOTE: This year, we are in the process of revising our guidelines to better reflect our two core commitments: advancing racial justice and emphasizing organizing, power shifting, and movement building in BIPOC communities across all our programs. During this transition, the Foundation is focused on providing final grants to current grantees that don’t fit this new direction and increased support for those grantees that do, as well as a very limited number of new organizations.

Scherman Foundation - Mission

The Scherman Foundation nurtures excellent nonprofit organizations and leaders in the fields of community development, environment, reproductive justice, human rights, the arts, and governmental accountability by providing long-term general operating support. It particularly values policy advocacy and grassroots organizing, believing that an engaged population creates multiple paths to equitable, sustainable, and structural social change. The Foundation has a special commitment to New York City, while also funding nationally and, in limited instances, internationally.

Core Fund – Arts

New York City’s world leading arts sector plays a critical role in the city’s life, enriching its spirit, attracting emerging and established artists from around the world, and creating significant economic activity and benefits. The Foundation funds a broad variety of professional performing arts organizations, as well as a limited number of visual arts groups. Its primary criteria are excellence, innovation, and intellectual relevance. Within those criteria, it values creative diversity without cultural boundaries. The Foundation seeks to support generative artistry—the composers, playwrights, and choreographers creating new work and the musicians, actors, dancers, and artist-driven companies that bring their work to life. The Core Fund Arts Program supports a wide range of organizations from small groups focused on the work of a single artist, to larger producing entities and museums, as well as groups providing the infrastructure to sustain the creative life, which is the focus of the project-based Rosin Fund Arts Program.

The Foundation emphasizes the provision of general operating support, believing that strong artistic leaders are empowered with flexible funding.

Type & Size of Grants

General operating and project grants considered. Grants average $35,000 over two-years.

NYCT: Healthy Lives

We help providers deliver efficient, patient-focused, equitable, and cost-effective health and behavioral health services to all New Yorkers. We support projects that develop the skills and independence of four groups of people with special needs: the elderly, the blind or visually impaired, children and youth with disabilities, and people with developmental disabilities. We also support biomedical research and projects for animal welfare. 

Funding Areas

Health and Behavioral Health

Program goal: to promote an equitable, patient-focused, and cost-effective health and behavioral health care delivery system.

Grants are made to:

• Advocate for successful health care reform implementation to ensure:
• maintenance of a strong and viable health and behavioral health care safety net;
• access to comprehensive and coordinated care for those who remain uninsured or underinsured; and
• availability of screening, early intervention, and referral for effective treatment of disease.
• Build the capacity of New York City’s health, behavioral health, and human service sectors to succeed in a reformed health care system by:
• developing effective skills training for the professional and paraprofessional health care workforce; and
• strengthening financial and information technology systems to allow transition to value-based payments.
• Reduce health disparities between low- and higher-income neighborhoods through investments in disadvantaged communities that:
• improve indoor and outdoor air quality;
• provide safe and inviting parks and open space;
• promote access to affordable and healthy food; and
• engage residents in efforts to encourage physical activity and healthy diets.
• Foster the independence of people with mental illness and substance use histories by:
• expanding innovative programs that offer clinical care as well as practical services, such as housing, employment, and education; and
• advocating for expansion of participant-led or informed service models that are sustainable and effective.

People With Special Needs

The Trust has a coordinated approach that reflects the common challenges and opportunities for four groups of people with special needs: the elderly, children and youth with disabilities, people with blindness and visual disabilities, and people with developmental disabilities. We support projects that target low-income individuals and communities.

Grants are made to:

• Make New York City communities—especially those that are under-resourced—accessible, welcoming, and inclusive for people with special needs by:
• supporting research and pilot efforts that demonstrate these principles; and
• ensuring that laws that fund services and expand opportunities are implemented fully and effectively.
• Ensure that health, social, education, and vocational services allow people with special needs to live up to their fullest potential by:
• supporting and replicating proven strategies that help these populations receive appropriate education, high quality vocational preparation, and equal employment opportunities;
• testing new approaches that use technology and other innovations to help people with special needs remain as independent as possible; and
• supporting families and caregivers of people with special needs.
• Build the capacity of nonprofits serving people with special needs by:
• ensuring the workforce serving these populations is provided effective training, better career pathways, and increased job quality;
• helping agencies create appropriate financial and management systems, and partnerships to benefit from new financing mechanisms through Medicaid and Medicare.

The Solon E. Summerfield Foundation (SESF) does not accept unsolicited grant applications. However, interested parties are invited to review the following description of our current areas of interest. If you believe that your organization and mission matches one or more of our grantmaking priorities, please reach out to us.

Grankmaking

We support programs that incorporate evidence-based and innovative approaches to improve postsecondary education access and completion outcomes for historically underserved students between the ages of 14 and 24.

Focus Areas

We make programmatic and general operating grants to nonprofit partners in New York City that prepare, inspire and support young people through programs focused on:

• College and Career Preparation
• Interest-Based Learning
• College Persistence and Completion

College and Career Preparation

These are high-touch college readiness and college access programs that inspire high school students to explore career and college pathways and support them in developing viable postsecondary education plans. Programs typically offer sustained supports during the complex transition from high school to college and career. Goals of these programs might include:

• College and career awareness and exploration
• Social and emotional capacities linked to college and career success
• “Best match” for college placement
• Financial aid and financial literacy training
• Ensuring college enrollment and matriculation

Interest-Based Learning

These work- and interest-based programs develop a range of hard and soft skills related to career and college readiness. Some build on student interest and talent in science, arts, technology, or other disciplines, while others focus more generally on career and workforce education. Programs typically fall into one of two categories:

Experiential Learning for Students in College or on a College Pathway:

Through hands-on learning opportunities and trainings, these programs help students develop a diverse set of skills and mindsets, some of which are specific to a particular field or interest area, and others that more generally impact success in college and the workplace. Programs typically prepare students for and then attach them to paid internships and networks of professional mentors from the industry sector they are learning about. Opportunities are geared toward college access, enrollment, and persistence.

Alternative Career Pathways:

These programs offer career education, workplace readiness training, and industry-recognized credentials followed by paid and mentored internships or apprenticeships. Sustained, high-touch support helps high school students and recent graduates identify and complete training for labor-facing opportunities that lead to employment after successful completion of the program. These programs are often created in partnership or consultation with trade unions or local corporations to ensure that the students’ acquired skills and credentials align with sector hiring needs.

College Persistence and Completion

These are high-touch support programs that increase student engagement on campus; help students maintain GPA’s that match their scholarship requirements; propel students to better map, achieve, and complete their college and career goals, and address barriers to persistence and degree completion. Programs may be located on college campuses, or they may be community-based programs that recruit students during high school and extend support to and through college.

How we give

The Weinberg Foundation fulfills its mission to help those in greatest need by providing grants within five focus areas. These focus areas serve different populations, as well as different geographic areas. However, the Community Services focus area is intended for large community organizations operating multiple programs that meet a range of needs. Most nonprofit grant requests should align with one of the four core focus areas: Housing, Health, Jobs, or Education.

The Small Grants Program (SGP)

The Weinberg Foundation recognizes that small, community-based organizations provide critical services to vulnerable individuals and families. Through the Small Grants Program (SGP), the Foundation supports smaller nonprofits with a streamlined grant application and review process. Grants awarded under the SGP must still align with the Foundation’s strategic priorities in the areas of Housing, Health, Jobs, and Education.

Funding requests through the Small Grants Program can be for operating, program, or capital grants. The maximum Small Grant amount is $50,000 over two years. Organizations are eligible to apply if they meet the Foundation’s eligibility criteria and maintain an annual organizational budget of $3 million or less.

Housing

Stable housing provides a foundation for individuals, children, and families to lead healthy and productive lives.

Without housing, people are unable to focus on education, employment, health care, and meeting other basic needs. The Foundation is dedicated to supporting organizations that provide safe and affordable housing.

The Foundation supports the creation of new housing units, as well as the renovation of existing housing, to provide and maintain affordable, quality, and supportive housing options. Projects should be integrated into the broader community and must incorporate supportive services. Priority is given to projects that add new units of housing into a community.

Affordable Housing Development and Renovation

Here are a few examples of appropriate projects:

• Affordable housing for older adults, including services that allow residents to age independently, within their communities, and with maximum quality of life.
• Permanent supportive housing serving people exiting homelessness. Project details must include the types of services offered, as well as a focus on financial management and job training and career development.
• Affordable housing that meets the needs of veterans, young adults with developmental disabilities, those escaping domestic violence, and other vulnerable populations.

Maintaining Stable Housing

The Foundation supports programs that allow people to remain housed within their communities by providing comprehensive services that meet a range of social, economic, and health needs.

Here are a few examples of appropriate projects:

• Aging in community programs that allow older adults to age independently and with maximum quality of life. Specifically, programs may include home modification and repair, which can also be used as a platform for delivery of a variety of services.
• Rapid Re-Housing programs for families, youth, veterans and others who have experienced homelessness. These programs include case management, limited financial assistance, and job services and career development.
• Independent living, including supportive services that allow young adults with disabilities to live in the least restrictive environment possible, within their community.

Health

Good health is a prerequisite for any other life pursuit.

Poor physical or mental health can prevent people from seeking education, employment, and other opportunities that would allow for economic mobility. The Foundation is dedicated to supporting organizations that help children, adults, and families lead healthy lives.

Health Care Access

The Foundation supports organizations that provide access to health care, as well as those that work to improve the health status of vulnerable patients.

Here are a few examples of appropriate projects:

• Capital projects that expand access to primary care. Grantees are typically Federally Qualified Health Centers, and other community health centers, that provide a single-access point for a range of services. Please note that the Foundation does not fund hospitals or free clinics.
• Oral and behavioral health programs that increase access to care through the construction of new facilities as well as operating support that leverages billing revenue.
• Health care transition programs that ensure young adults with developmental disabilities have access to qualified primary care providers as they move into adulthood.

Aging in Community

The Foundation supports projects that enable older adults to remain independent. Projects must incorporate a model that connects older adults and/or caregivers with a range of services that help them age independently, within their communities, and with maximum quality of life.

Here are a few examples of appropriate projects:

• PACE (Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) Centers or other capital projects that provide nursing home-eligible older adults with a single-access point for a range of services.
• Prevention models that address older adults’ social determinants of health, with the goal of preventing hospitalization, readmission, and institutionalization.
• Caregiver support programs that help with older adults’ daily personal care (bathing, dressing, walking, eating, etc.).

Veteran Mental Wellness

The Foundation supports programs that enhance the mental wellness of veterans who are reintegrating into civilian life.

Here are a few examples of appropriate projects:

• Retreat programs, including an intensive on-site experience with a minimum of one year of follow-up. Programs must use a proven curriculum.
• Post-traumatic mental health therapy that is evidence-based and proven to reduce symptoms.
• Coordinated resource networks that facilitate access to a range of supportive services. These networks have a single-access point that evaluates veterans and connects them with the most appropriate service providers.

Nutrition and Food Access

The Foundation supports organizations and programs that increase access to sufficient and nutritious food.

Here are a few examples of appropriate projects:

• Meal service programs that ensure homebound people living with severe, chronic illnesses have access to nutritious food.
• Food delivery models, including nonprofit grocery stores, which increase access to healthy foods in food deserts.
• Food bank expansions and other capital projects that increase warehouse space, add cold storage and handling, and make other modifications necessary to serve more people. Please note that the Foundation focuses on regional food banks and not on food pantries or feeding programs.

Trauma, Abuse, and Safety

The Foundation supports programs that promote child and family safety and that reduce the long-term traumatic effects of child abuse and neglect, sexual assault, intimate partner or family violence, elder abuse, and exposure to community violence.

Here are a few examples of appropriate projects:

• Domestic violence programs that provide safe shelter, counseling, legal assistance, and other support services.
• Shelters and multidisciplinary team projects, including comprehensive services, for older adults fleeing physical, mental, economic, and sexual abuse.
• Prevention and treatment programs that strive to reduce, and alleviate the effects of, child sexual and physical abuse, child trafficking, and child neglect.

Jobs

Employment provides the best opportunity for personal success and financial security.

Quality training programs that lead to employment enable individuals and families to achieve economic stability. The Foundation is dedicated to supporting organizations that help people secure and keep quality jobs with opportunities for advancement.

Job Training

The Foundation supports job-training programs that result in industry-recognized credentials, as well as job-placement and retention services. Employers must engage with the training organizations to verify program content and support placement and retention services. Organizations should track job retention and wages for at least two years.

Here are a few examples of appropriate projects:

• Sector-based training programs in the health care, manufacturing, construction, food service, information technology, biotechnology, manufacturing industries, and more.
• Life-skills and job-readiness training, including case management and referrals to technical-training programs or direct job placement.
• Capital costs for job-training centers, including construction or renovation projects or large equipment purchases, that result in an increased number of individuals served in a sector-based training program.
• Veterans programs that provide job-placement services for military members and their spouses.

Financial Literacy and Economic Stability

The Foundation supports programs that provide people with the financial tools necessary to achieve economic stability.

Here are a few examples of appropriate projects:

• Financial coaching programs to help participants decrease debt, increase savings, and set long-term financial goals.
• Free tax preparation for low-wage workers provided by IRS-trained and certified volunteers.

Youth Employment and Career Support

The Foundation supports programs that provide career exploration and work-based learning opportunities for youth.

Here are a few examples of appropriate projects:

• Hard and soft-skills training to help disconnected youth (neither in school nor working) reconnect with career-pathway opportunities.
• Paid internships that expose youth to a direct work experience.
• Summer jobs programs for youth citywide.
• Customized, community-based employment opportunities for young adults with disabilities who are transitioning from a school environment into the workplace.

Education

Education can help break the cycle of poverty.

Providing at-risk children and youth with academic opportunities helps prepare them for a stable and productive future. The Foundation is dedicated to supporting organizations that provide or supplement a high-quality education from kindergarten through high school.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)

The Foundation supports in-school and out-of-school STEM programs, professional development to strengthen STEM instruction, and programs proven to improve math proficiency, in order to prepare youth for evolving workforce needs that require STEM literacy.

Here are a few examples of appropriate projects:

• STEM programs, either in or out-of-school, that engage students in project-based learning. Programs should be able to demonstrate the academic impact of this work.
• Intensive, evidence-based math interventions proven to increase students’ math scores. Please note that the Foundation will not fund curriculum only.
• Programs that teach educators how to use and incorporate project-based STEM learning into their classrooms.
• Construction of STEM spaces, including labs, makerspaces, and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) centers.

Out-of-School Time

The Foundation supports after-school, weekend, and summer programs for students, kindergarten through grade 12. Funded programs must have an academic component with demonstrated academic outcomes.

Here are a few examples of appropriate projects:

• After-school, weekend, or summer programs that work with students for a minimum of six weeks over the summer and one year during the school year and blend academic learning with enriching activities to increase academic achievement, school attendance, and positive social behavior.
• Summer programs that blend academic learning with enriching activities and provide nutritious meals, as well as opportunities for physical activity. See Summer Funding Collaborative for more information.
• Job opportunities that introduce teens to the workforce and teach soft skills necessary for work and life. Ideally these programs will have opportunities for advancement, continued involvement, or handoff to another employer.

College and Career Preparedness

The Foundation supports programs that assist students in developing a post-secondary plan and position them for success after graduation from high school.

Here are a few examples of appropriate projects:

• College access programs that help students and families navigate the college application and admissions processes, including SAT/ACT testing, financial aid, and scholarship access. Priority will be shown to programs that also help students persist through college to obtain a degree.
• Career technology education (CTE) programs that help students achieve an industry-recognized certification that will allow them to graduate from high school in a position to enter the workforce and eventually earn a family-sustaining wage.

Background

A dedicated grant opportunity supporting childhood bereavement services in the United States.

1 in 13 children will experience the death of a parent or sibling by 18, and that number doubles by the age of 25. (Judi's House / JAG Institute, 2022) In 2011, in an effort to address the gap between the scale of the issue and the funding and resources available, the New York Life Foundation, one of the largest corporate funders in the childhood bereavement space, partnered with the National Alliance for Children's Grief, a national, professional alliance dedicated to education, advocacy and raising awareness about childhood bereavement to create Grief Reach. We have a shared belief that all bereaved children, no matter where they live or their circumstances, should have the support and resources they need to adapt positively to a loss in their lives. This dedicated funding opportunity is a critical support to a field that has been historically underfunded.

Goals

This competitive funding opportunity has the following goals:

• Increase access to bereavement support services in local communities, especially diverse communities
• Enhance the capacity of organizations providing bereavement support service
• Expand bereavement support services to address unmet needs
• Support communities dealing with grief and loss with tangible resources
• This funding opportunity is offered twice a year.

We would like to invite any organization that currently serves young people who have experienced a death of a loved one to apply for this competitive grant opportunity to enhance access to and increase grief support for youth and their families.

Capacity Building Grants: $10,000

Organizations with minimum annual organizational budgets of $50,000 will be eligible to apply for this grant level.

Applications should focus on enhancing organizational capacity, development, and effectiveness.

The grant must support one of six major categories:

• Planning activities
  • Organizational assessments; strategic planning; fund development; communications/marketing; recruiting or maintaining volunteer support; business planning.
• Staff/board development
  • Leadership training; defining the board's role; recruiting new board members; strengthening governance.
• Strategic relationships/collaboration
  • Technical assistance; consultant support; restructuring; mergers; or business planning.
• Internal operations
  • Improvements to financial management, human resources, or volunteer management; development of evaluation systems and training; facility planning.
• Technology improvements
  • Improving I.T. capacity through upgrades to hardware and software, networking, updating websites, and staff training to optimize the use of technology.
• New Organization
  • Specifically, for an organization under 3 years old to conduct an organizational needs assessment or strategic planning

Background

A dedicated grant opportunity supporting childhood bereavement services in the United States.

1 in 13 children will experience the death of a parent or sibling by 18, and that number doubles by the age of 25. (Judi's House / JAG Institute, 2022) In 2011, in an effort to address the gap between the scale of the issue and the funding and resources available, the New York Life Foundation, one of the largest corporate funders in the childhood bereavement space, partnered with the National Alliance for Children's Grief, a national, professional alliance dedicated to education, advocacy and raising awareness about childhood bereavement to create Grief Reach. We have a shared belief that all bereaved children, no matter where they live or their circumstances, should have the support and resources they need to adapt positively to a loss in their lives. This dedicated funding opportunity is a critical support to a field that has been historically underfunded.

Goals

This competitive funding opportunity has the following goals:

• Increase access to bereavement support services in local communities, especially diverse communities
• Enhance the capacity of organizations providing bereavement support service
• Expand bereavement support services to address unmet needs
• Support communities dealing with grief and loss with tangible resources
• This funding opportunity is offered twice a year.

We would like to invite any organization that currently serves young people who have experienced a death of a loved one to apply for this competitive grant opportunity to enhance access to and increase grief support for youth and their families.

Capacity Building Grants: $20,000

Organizations with minimum annual organizational budgets of $100,000 will be eligible to apply for this grant level.

Applications should focus on enhancing organizational capacity, development, and effectiveness.

The grant must support one of six major categories:

• Planning activities
  • Organizational assessments; strategic planning; fund development; communications/marketing; recruiting or maintaining volunteer support; business planning.
• Staff/board development
  • Leadership training; defining the board's role; recruiting new board members; strengthening governance.
• Strategic relationships/collaboration
  • Technical assistance; consultant support; restructuring; mergers; or business planning.
• Internal operations
  • Improvements to financial management, human resources, or volunteer management; development of evaluation systems and training; facility planning.
• Technology improvements
  • Improving I.T. capacity through upgrades to hardware and software, networking, updating websites, and staff training to optimize the use of technology.
• New Organization
  • Specifically, for an organization under 3 years old to conduct an organizational needs assessment or strategic planning

What WCF Funds

We are Westchester's community foundation, serving Westchester County. Our competitive grants are made possible primarily by funds set up by donor bequests and wills, supporting projects to improve the lives of Westchester residents.

Our Grantmaking Guidelines

Health & Behavioral Health

We support programs that address health disparities by improving the effectiveness, responsiveness, and equity of healthcare for marginalized and underserved communities. Preference is given to innovative programs addressing health and behavioral health that have countywide impact.

Human Justice

We support programs that protect civil liberties and human rights through access to civil legal services.

Human Services

We support programs that address basic human needs, including food and shelter, and programs that help individuals and families achieve greater long-term economic stability and self-sufficiency.

Workforce Development

We support programs that provide opportunities for Westchester residents ages 16+ to train for and get good jobs. Programs must demonstrate a clear connection between the training and jobs, and include strong employer partnerships. Preference is given to programs that lead to industry-recognized certification and include job placement and post-placement services.

Youth Development

We support programs that increase opportunities for youth up to age 24 to become resilient adults. Funding is provided in two areas:

• Programs that empower young people by teaching essential personal and practical skills that will serve them throughout life. Preference is given to programs that give youth a voice in the issues that affect their lives, and that offer diverse experiences, expand cultural horizons, and provide enriching opportunities for community engagement. We prioritize programs that utilize a Positive Youth Development framework.
• Innovative programs that create improved outcomes for youth before and after contact with the juvenile or criminal justice systems. Programs must provide critical social services supports, including mental health services. Preference is given to programs that use innovative strategies to steer youth away from school suspension and incarceration.

Arts

We support programs that broaden access to the arts for all and provide professional development opportunities for artists from diverse backgrounds. Funding support is available in these two areas only:

• Post-baccalaureate education and training fellowships to promising young, economically disadvantaged artists that will help them make the transition to professional careers
• Programs that bring to life the rich cultural history of Germany, including scholarships, research, and programs that promote Germanic arts, folklore, language, literature, and music.

Social Justice

We support community-based efforts that seek policy reforms that address social injustice through grassroots and community organizing. Programs must involve and be led by those most affected by the injustice, ensuring that they have a say in shaping policies that affect their lives. Current grantees are working to promote access to housing, employment and economic opportunity, and participating in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws.

Environment

We support programs that promote more environmentally sustainable, resilient, and just communities; that seek to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting energy efficiency and sustainability; promote conservation and preservation of shorelines, reduction of stormwater run-off, and better planning for weather-related emergencies; reduce risk of exposure to toxic substances, protect drinking water quality, and preserve open space; and preserve biological diversity through habitat conservation and protection.

Technical Assistance

The Foundation supports the capacity of nonprofits in Westchester through convenings, workshops, and cohort programs that foster a strong and connected nonprofit sector. We do not entertain requests for technical assistance funding for a single organization.

The Booth Ferris Foundation was established in 1957 under the wills of Willis H. Booth and his wife, Chancie Ferris Booth. Since that time, approximately $281 million has been contributed from the Foundation to worthy organizations for a variety of charitable purposes. 

Funding Interest: Arts & Culture

The Foundation supports arts and culture organizations located in New York City and working directly to enhance the vibrancy and cultural richness of New York City. Arts and culture organizations eligible to apply include performing, presenting, education, intermediary, advocacy, public policy and capacity-building organizations.

Support is available for capacity building or capital projects. 

Priority organizations will meet the following criteria:

• Demonstrate standards of artistic excellence
• Engage significant numbers and reach a diverse audience and constituency base
• Maintain an annual budget over $1 million
• Demonstrate a proven record of success in achieving measurable outcomes
• Maintain a strong track record of fiscal health including sound financial planning and robust funding from diverse sources.

Support is available for an organization’s own capacity building or for its capacity building activities on behalf of a group or network of nonprofits.

Guidelines for capacity building support:

The Foundation supports capacity building activities that build nonprofit infrastructure and sustainability, enabling organizations to achieve greater performance and impact. The Foundation supports activities to strengthen leadership and adaptive capacities, as well as management and technical capacities. Strong proposals will clearly articulate intended goals and a process for measuring capacity building outcomes.

Examples of capacity building activities supported by the Foundation include:

• Adaptive Capacity- Strategic planning, organizational assessment, needs assessment, strategic plan implementation, program evaluation, collaborations and mergers
• Leadership Capacity- Board development, professional leadership development and succession planning
• Management and Technical Capacity- Human resources management, financial management, fundraising, marketing/communications and technology

Guidelines for capital support:

• Capital campaigns and major capital improvement projects must have already met at least 50% of their fundraising goals in order to apply for support

The Booth Ferris Foundation was established in 1957 under the wills of Willis H. Booth and his wife, Chancie Ferris Booth. Since that time, approximately $281 million has been contributed from the Foundation to worthy organizations for a variety of charitable purposes. 

Funding Interest: Strengthening the Nonprofit Sector

The Foundation supports:

• Organizations which build the capacity and infrastructure of New York City’s nonprofit sector and work to address issues of systemic inequity.
• Support is available for an organization’s own capacity building or for its capacity building activities on behalf of the field.
• Eligible organizations include:
• Organizations providing capacity building, management or technical assistance to nonprofits in New York City
• Organizations engaged in advocacy or public policy work on behalf of underserved communities in New York City
• Organizations supporting and working on behalf of membership agencies or a network of nonprofits
• Organizations working directly to build vibrant communities and to promote equity for underserved populations in New York City.
• Support is available for capacity building or capital projects.
• Priority organizations will meet the following criteria:
• Maintain an annual budget over $1 million
• Be able to demonstrate a proven record of success in achieving measurable outcomes
• Requesting support for capacity building efforts directly linked to long-term planning efforts
• Requesting support at a period of transformative organizational growth or at a critical juncture in the organization’s lifecycle

Guidelines for capacity building support:

The Foundation supports capacity building activities that build nonprofit infrastructure and sustainability, enabling organizations to achieve greater performance and impact. The Foundation supports activities to strengthen leadership and adaptive capacities, as well as management and technical capacities. Strong proposals will clearly articulate intended goals and a process for measuring capacity building outcomes. 

Examples of capacity building activities supported by the Foundation include:

• Adaptive Capacity – Strategic planning, organizational assessment, needs assessment, strategic plan implementation, program evaluation, collaborations and mergers
• Leadership Capacity – Board development, professional leadership development and leadership transitions
• Management and Technical Capacity – Human resources management, financial management, fundraising, marketing/communications and technology

Guidelines for capital support:

Capital campaigns and major capital improvement projects must have already met at least 50% of their fundraising goals in order to apply for support.