Trinity Church spire straight up with sun showing through nearby buildings.

New York City Nonprofit Organizations Receive $24.4 Million from Trinity Church Wall Street in 2020

With focus on the most vulnerable, grants awarded in November totaling $10.8 million will go to 31 organizations actively working to end mass homelessness and advance racial justice in New York City  

NEW YORK, NY, December 9th – Trinity Church Wall Street, in its latest set of grants, has awarded $10.8 million to 31 organizations dedicated to addressing housing insecurity and racial justice in New York City.  This brings the total amount in grants Trinity has awarded to local organizations in 2020 to $24.4 million. Trinity has nearly tripled its New York City grant-making this year from 2019.

The most recent grants, which range from $74,000 to $2,000,000, go to organizations that are actively working with some of New York City’s most vulnerable residents, including undocumented immigrants, domestic violence survivors, homeless families, and formerly incarcerated adults and youth. 

“The pandemic has hit our nonprofit partners especially hard as the demand for their services has increased while funding has decreased,” said the Rev. Phillip A. Jackson, Priest-in-Charge and Vicar of Trinity Church Wall Street.  “Trinity is proud to work with this latest group of grantees that are addressing the needs of our neighbors who are often overlooked and left behind.”

Before COVID-19 hit New York City, the city was already facing a serious housing crisis. Now, with the eviction moratorium set to expire at the end of the year, thousands of additional New Yorkers face housing instability.  Recognizing the economic hardship many households continue to face, Trinity provided a $2 million grant to Project Parachute, a collaboration between Enterprise Community Partners, service providers and a group of landlords, to provide eviction prevention services. Trinity’s funding will specifically be used to assist households that do not qualify for federally funded services due to immigration status with rental arrears so they can stay in their homes.

Beatriz de la Torre, Managing Director for Housing and Homelessness at Trinity, said, “We are focused on breaking the cycle of mass homelessness and instability in New York City, and this pandemic is a further setback in a system that disproportionately impacts communities of color.  This is why we have chosen 22 organizations to receive $7.7 million dollars that will go towards addressing the needs of those at high risk for homelessness and preventing displacement.”

Services for the Underserved received $250,000 to rehabilitate and preserve 350 units of supportive housing across various buildings. Trinity also provided a series of grants to organizations that provide housing services to survivors of domestic violence and their children who are at an elevated risk of homelessness. Organizations such as Sakhi for South Asian Women and the Korean American Family Service Center received $125,000 and $74,000, respectively, to provide safe housing and fund services to stabilize the families in the communities they serve. This money comes at a time when  groups are seeing a spike in calls to domestic violence hotlines due to the pandemic. Trinity has committed $1.449 million in 2020 to organizations working on domestic violence, including new models to foster restorative justice practices in responding to intimate partner violence.

Trinity also funded 10 grantees, for a total of $4 million, whose work centers on racial justice. For example, African Communities Together, Make the Road New York, and New York Immigration Coalition are working to end the criminalization of immigrants by advancing laws and policies that protect immigrant communities.

“These organizations are ensuring that progress made in ending mass incarceration also carries over to the immigration enforcement system. This is central to advancing racial justice in New York City and in support of Trinity’s mission,” said Susan Shah, Managing Director of Racial Justice at Trinity Church Wall Street.  “COVID-19 has threatened to stifle organizations that are on the frontline of battling systemic racism in New York City, and we’re committed to aiding them in this fight.”

Trinity has made a commitment to focus its funding in New York City with the goal of ending the cycles of mass incarceration and mass homelessness, as  many New Yorkers are caught up in both cycles. Trinity is making a $1 million grant to The Osborne Association  to pilot the Kinship Reentry Program, an innovative program that will enable families with limited financial means to house family members who are at risk of homelessness upon release from prison or jail, as a more sustainable alternative to the homeless shelter system. Support for the planning of this program was previously provided by the New York County District Attorney’s Office (DANY) Criminal Justice Investment Initiative.

“Mass incarceration and mass homelessness are two pernicious examples of the need for racial justice in our city,” said Neill Coleman, Chief Philanthropy Officer at Trinity.  “Trinity’s philanthropic investment can help end these cycles by supporting innovative programs that put the needs of people first.”

These grants are in addition to nearly $1.5 million in emergency COVID-19 grants to international organizations in June and a further $5.4 million in grants to support financial capacity building and leadership development in churches and seminaries.

The November grantees are:

Enterprise Community for Project Parachute $1,000,000

Nonprofit Finance Fund $3,000,000

Brooklyn Community Housing and Services $150,000

Local Initiatives Support Corporation $100,000

Korean American Family Service Center $74,000

New Alternatives for Children $150,000

New York University: Furman Center $150,000

Sakhi for South Asian Women $125,000

Services for the Underserved $250,000

We are Not Afraid Community Resource Center: RDJ Shelter $50,000

Win $150,000

Corporation for Supportive Housing $125,000

Housing Plus Solutions $150,000

Neighbors Together $100,000

The Osborne Association $1,200,000

Research Foundation of the City of New York: John Jay College Institute for Justice and Opportunity $150,000

Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York $150,000

Funders for Housing and Opportunity $250,000

Housing Justice for all, a project of Voices of Community Activist and Leaders (VOCAL)$150,000

New Destiny Housing Corporation $150,000

New York Housing Conference $125,000

Supportive Housing Network of New York $120,000

Columbia University, Center for Justice $1,500,000

African Communities Together $150,000

Children’s Defense Fund- New York $150,000

Make the Road New York $175,000

The National Economic and Social Rights Initiative d/b/a Partners for Dignity & Rights$150,000

New York Immigration Coalition $150,000

Legal Action Center $150,000

Common Justice $150,000

The Marshall Project $200,000

About Trinity Church Wall Street

Now in its fourth century, Trinity Church Wall Street is a growing and inclusive Episcopal parish of more than 1,200 members that seeks to serve and heal the world by building neighborhoods that live Gospel truths, generations of faithful leaders, and sustainable communities. The parish is guided by its core values: faith, integrity, inclusiveness, compassion, social justice, and stewardship. Members come from the five boroughs of New York City and surrounding areas to form a racially, ethnically, and economically diverse congregation. More than 20 worship services are offered every week at its historic sanctuaries, Trinity Church and St. Paul’s Chapel, the cornerstones of the parish’s community life, worship, and mission, and online at trinitywallstreet.org. The parish welcomes approximately 2 million visitors per year.