Members of Bronx PrYde– Bronx Defenders. photo: Clairvoyance Media

Our grant decisions weigh whether pressing human needs will be alleviated, but place greater emphasis on whether, in the process of carrying out their work, individuals and groups will become more educated and active participants in the overall life of the city. The Board has reaffirmed the Foundation's strong interest in community organizing and advocacy. In limited circumstances we will support direct service programs, giving preference to organizations that look likely to move toward advocacy and organizing.

Although our grants cover a great diversity of issues crucial to New York City's neighborhoods, they fall into one of the following categories:

• start-up grants to new, untested programs, frequently involving a high element of risk
• grants to established institutions for new projects with a high probability of ongoing support in the future, or that anticipate only a limited life
• general support to organizations that meet our guidelines, usually relatively new programs or programs in transition
• grants offering technical assistance, either by support of organizations providing technical assistance or by direct provision of services to grantees

Those applications stand the best chance of receiving a grant from the New York Foundation that:

• involve New York City or a particular neighborhood of the city
• emphasize advocacy and community organizing
• address a critical need of a disadvantaged population, particularly youth or the elderly
• are strongly identified with a particular community
• require an amount of funding to which a Foundation grant would make a substantial contribution
• can show a clear role for the Foundation's funds

The Foundation places a high value on nondiscriminatory policies, services, and hiring practices of applicant organizations. We review the composition of the board, the staff, and the client profiles of applicant organizations, and look for diversity and inclusiveness in all these areas. In projects serving women, we are interested in programs that offer or provide access to full information on the options available as to whether and when to bear children, and that provide services to women regardless of which of those options they choose.

The Foundation never makes grants to individuals or to capital campaigns. We do not consider support of research studies, films, conferences, or publications. We do not consider requests outside New York City except from organizations working on statewide issues of concern to youth, the elderly, or the poor. Our charter prohibits us from making grants outside the United States.