For nearly 100 years, The New York Community Trust has brought the art of professional grantmaking to those who want to make their charitable giving more effective.
Individuals, families, foundations, and corporations use The Trust to amplify their giving to make a healthier, more fair, and thriving region for everyone. They turn to The Trust because our deep bench of local experts and commitment to meeting donors needs enables us to efficiently identify groups that align with donors’ values and objectives.
Philanthropic advising clients have included national and family foundations, public charities like the Heisman Trophy Trust, and government entities including the New York State Attorney General.
New Yorkers want advising tailored to their charitable interests, values, and goals. That’s why every charitable plan we create is different.
Some clients use The Trust in lieu of hiring full-time staff. For some, we provide local expertise outside the focus of their current giving. For others, we create flexible long-term philanthropic plans designed to adapt to tomorrow’s challenges. No matter how you use The Trust, our flexible model provides a powerful and cost-effective way to make an impact.
The Trust manages a diverse array of more than 2,100 charitable funds. When you create a fund with us, your contribution is amplified by The Trust’s other grantmaking. Whether you care about helping the arts, the environment, education, or social justice, your investment is in good company.
Using The Trust is an effective way to deepen your charitable giving and expand your expertise without hiring staff.
We have decades of experience managing grantmaking programs for a variety of family and private foundations, We can:
Do you want to make a difference in a strategic and thoughtful way? At The Trust, you can learn about promising nonprofits working on the causes you care about and nonprofits off the beaten path. Then, together we can turn your concern into impact.
Let us create a custom philanthropic plan with you. The Trust’s program experts can help you define your charitable goals and craft a strategy to meet them. We can:
Many corporations want to give charitably in a way that elevates their brand and echoes their core values. With The New York Community Trust, value-aligned companies have a partner that can help them develop a giving strategy; bolster their presence in local communities; and make grants that have an impact. A partnership with The Trust is a way to outsource professional grantmaking that is flexible, efficient, and cost-effective.
Let us create a custom philanthropic plan together. That may include some of the following:
Since 1935, the Heisman Trophy has become nationally recognized as the most prestigious honor in college football. When the nonprofit behind the award wanted to build on its philanthropic legacy, it chose the team at The New York Community Trust. In 2017, the Heisman Trophy Trust approached us to identify effective nonprofits helping New York kids succeed in academics and sports. Over three years, we’ve helped Heisman distribute more than $4 million to dozens of local organizations.
“The expertise of New York Community Trust’s team within this specific space has been exemplary. The Trust has completely streamlined and professionalized the Heisman Trust’s entire grantmaking program, from the application itself to the vetting of each organization as well as the follow up reviews after donations have been made.” – Tim Henning, Associate Director at Heisman Trophy Trust
The New York Community Trust administered the New York Life Foundation’s Love Takes Action Awards to mark the organization’s 175th anniversary in 2020. The awards program made general operating support grants to nonprofits in honor of 35 selfless individuals throughout the country who went above and beyond in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The grant program engaged New York Life employees and agents, uncovered stories of resilience in the face of adversity, and identified nonprofits making a difference. Pleased with the results, New York Life will run the program again in 2021.
“I have greatly enjoyed working with the team at The Trust. In addition to helping us shape the program (and then reshape after the pandemic hit), they worked with us to develop the application, manage a team of reviewers, and helped inform the grant decisions.” – Marlyn Torres, Senior Program Officer at the New York Life Foundation