Human Services New York City Grant

The Human Services New York City program aims to alleviate poverty and reduce racial disparities through effective services and public benefits. Focused on early intervention, it supports vulnerable children and families, enhances housing stability, and increases access to essential resources. The initiative encourages collaboration among agencies to implement systemic solutions and improve the lives of low-income New Yorkers, ultimately fostering stability and independence.

Program goal
To mitigate the effects of poverty, increase opportunity through effective services and public benefits, and reduce racial disparities.
Grants are made to:

• Focus on early intervention and prevention to enable vulnerable children to grow up in stable families and succeed in school and life by:

supporting a continuum of early childhood programs from birth to kindergarten;strengthening services for families with children at-risk of foster care placement and for youth already in care;reducing entry and re-entry into the homeless shelter system and increasing long-term housing stability; andincreasing access to income supports and healthy, affordable food.
Expand proven and promising practices that help those in need lead productive lives by:
supporting research, policy, and programs that direct resources to alleviate hunger, homelessness, and poverty; and to move individuals to stability and independence;advocating for wide-ranging, quality services that help poor individuals and families succeed.
Build the capacity of government agencies and nonprofits serving low-income New Yorkers by:
supporting the coordination and integration of services across City agencies and service providers;training and supporting public and nonprofit human services workers; andadvancing efforts that improve the funding, contracting, and support of human services agencies.
Read the background paper that informed this grantmaking strategy here.

Eligibility

Most of our competitive grants go to public charities, or groups sponsored by one.
While our focus is on New York, we support some organizations headquartered outside the City.
Grantees (or fiscal agents) should have a board of directors with at least four members, and no more than one paid board member.
We fund programs that promote change in policy or systems, build capacity of organizations, and expand and/or improve direct service
Our general practice is to make grants for one year.

Ineligibility

We do not make grants to individuals, or for general operating support, capital and building campaigns, endowments, equipment, deficit financing, or religious purposes.