New York City Competitive Grants

New York City Competitive Grants is a grant from The New York Community Trust that distributes approximately $50 million annually to nonprofits through a competitive grants program funded by hundreds of donor-created funds. The program supports projects in arts, culture, and historic preservation; environment; health and behavioral health; jobs and workforce development; and services for older adults and people with disabilities.

Grants are open to nonprofits serving New York City, Long Island, and Westchester and are submitted through the Trust's online Grantseeker Portal on a rolling basis. Applications require a five-page narrative proposal, itemized project budget, operating budget, and board list.

The Trust does not fund capital campaigns, building projects, or general operating support, and overhead costs are capped at five percent for universities and hospitals.

For Nonprofits - The New York Community Trust Apply for a grant from The Trust Our grants help nonprofits thrive and innovate in New York, Long Island, Westchester, and beyond. Alex Severino with Rocking the Boat students sailing off the Bronx shore. The Trust provided the group’s first grant in 2001 and continues its support.

Photo by Casey Kelbaugh How does The Trust support nonprofits? How does The Trust support nonprofits? Is my nonprofit eligible for a grant?

What does The Trust fund? How does the application process work? Does The Trust host events for nonprofits?

Open competitive grants program The Trust has many living donors who suggest grants from donor-advised funds. These donor-advised funds do not accept proposals. However, hundreds of donors have created funds that are part of our competitive grants program, which distributes about $50 million per year to nonprofits.

Some of these funds have no restrictions, while others have specific purposes, such as improving the quality of education in New York City, for the welfare of the borough of Queens, or for Germanic music in Westchester. The following resources can help your organization decide whether it makes sense to spend the time to submit a proposal—and if it does, to apply. Is My Organization Eligible?

In addition to the ongoing open competitive grants program, The Trust issues requests for proposals and/or letters of interest to address specific issues and for our national and international environment program.

We also are home to several targeted funds as well as funder collaboratives that bring foundations, corporations, and individuals together to address issues such as increasing local voting and census participation, helping immigrants, and developing our region’s workforce. These targeted and collaborative funds also issue requests for proposals or invite nonprofits to apply.

RFPs, LOIs & Additional Funding Before you spend time developing a proposal, make sure your nonprofit meets the eligibility criteria for our competitive grants program.

Arts, Culture & Historic Preservation Environment – New York City Health and Behavioral Health Jobs and Workforce Development Older Adults and People with Disabilities Health and Behavioral Health Before you spend time developing a proposal, make sure your nonprofit meets the eligibility criteria for our competitive grants program.

In general, you may submit a proposal anytime to our New York City competitive grants program through the Grantseeker Portal. Note that applicants to the national and international environment program should apply during specified time frames via an LOI on the Grantseeker Portal. Similarly, you may apply to one of The Trust’s targeted or collaborative funds through the appropriate LOI on the portal.

Applicants to the Long Island and Westchester programs should apply on the Grantseeker Portal during the specified time frames. You can apply online through our Grantseeker Portal. Info Session: National & International Environment Are you new to The Trust and interested in learning about our national and international environment program?

Join Program Director… March Info Session: Arts, Culture, and Historic Preservation Are you new to The Trust and interested in learning about our arts, culture, and historic preservation programs in New… April Info Session: Arts, Culture, and Historic Preservation Are you new to The Trust and interested in learning about our arts, culture, and historic preservation programs in New… June Info Session: Technical Assistance Are you new to The Trust and interested in learning about our NYC Technical Assistance program?

Join Program Director Rachel… June Info Session: Gender Equity and Early Childhood Are you new to The Trust and interested in learning about our NYC Gender Equity and Early Childhood programs?

Join… June Info Session: Housing, Community Development, and Workforce Development Are you new to The Trust and interested in learning about our community development, housing, and workforce development programs in… The Competitive Grantmaking Process for Nonprofits Serving NYC Please include the following in applications for grants serving New York City. 1.

A brief cover letter on the organization’s letterhead signed by the paid staff head or designee confirming the organizational commitment to the project. 2. A narrative proposal (no more than 5 numbered pages) that includes: A description of your agency’s background (mission, major activities, and credentials for carrying out the project).

A brief statement of the public policy or systemic service delivery problem you seek to address. A description of your plans to address the problem, including the project’s: planned activities, including who will benefit and how policies, systems, or services will improve. expected outcomes and plan for measuring results.

For requests for renewed Trust funding, progress made with earlier Trust support. A brief statement of how the project will be sustained after The Trust’s support ends. The narrative need not address the topics in order, or even one at a time.

Rather, the narrative should make a compelling case for the needed changes, how the proposed activities will lead to the desired change, and why your agency is prepared to carry out the project. 3. An itemized project budget that reflects the full costs of carrying out the project (as opposed to just the amount requested from The Trust).

The budget should also list other pending and/or confirmed income to support the project and any in-kind contributions. Please round up to the nearest thousand for all line items in the project budget. 4.

Your current year’s annual operating budget and, for arts and culture groups only, actual income and expenses for the most recently completed fiscal year. 5. A list of your board of directors, including affiliations.

The Trust generally requires a board to have at least four members (we prefer at least five). All board members should be unrelated, and no more than one board member should be paid, typically the paid staff head.

Note: For grants to universities, hospitals, academic medical centers, and affiliated nonprofit fiscal sponsors (e.g., research foundations affiliated with fundraising vehicles of government agencies), overhead costs for grant administration may not exceed five percent of the total project budget.

Administrative costs related to carrying out the proposed grant activities, including space, materials and supplies, and technology for project staff, are not subject to the five percent limit and should be identified separately in the proposed itemized project budget. For additional information, please contact Liza Lagunoff at llagunoff@thenytrust. org .

New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau NY Combating Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Lawyers Alliance for New York National Council of Nonprofits Adelphi Center for Nonprofit Leadership Association of Fundraising Professionals – Long Island Chapter Association of Fundraising Professionals – Hudson Valley Chapter Grant Professionals of the Lower Hudson Valley Association of Development Officers Chronicle of Philanthropy Our competitive grants support projects that improve the lives of all New Yorkers, with an emphasis on promoting healthy lives, promising futures, and thriving communities.

Are you seeking support for the following? Capital and building campaigns General operating support/routine operational expenses Unfortunately, we don’t make grants in these areas. Where will the activities you plan to request support for take place?

Only select National or International if your work falls outside of New York City, Long Island, or Westchester. Select all relevant impact areas to your nonprofit. Details on your impact areas