FY16 Brings Renewal of Unparalleled NYC Council Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund

(May 19, 2016)—New York: The Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund (CCNSF) renewed their commitment to granting New York City-based nonprofits the support needed to increase capacity building for emerging and seasoned social services organizations. CCNSF, the first fund of its kind in New York City, was first announced in Fiscal Year 2015. In its second year, 77 nonprofit organizations received funding.

The coordinating organizations – the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, Hispanic Federation, New York Urban League, Asian American Federation and Black Agency Executives – leveraged $2.5 million from the New York City Council in 2014 to launch the initiative, which addresses the need for capacity-building funding for nonprofit organizations in communities of color. Due to its immense success, the Fund was renewed in 2015. CCNSF was championed by NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and has broad support among Council Members including the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus and the Bronx and Manhattan delegations. Oversight of the funding will be provided by the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD).

Through a competitive Request for Application (RFA) process, interested nonprofits were screened by the coordinating organizations. Grant awardees were selected by independent allocation committees including individuals with significant knowledge of the nonprofit sector and the capacity building challenges they face.

The 77 awardees are community-based organizations from all five boroughs. They offer a varying array of services to New Yorkers, and are being funded to address a comprehensive menu of infrastructural needs including leadership development, financial management, and outcomes system development, among others. In addition to awarding the capacity building awards, the coordinating organizations will conduct several trainings on board development, financial management and fundraising for the awardees.

"The Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund will provide valuable support for community based organizations across New York City," said New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. "The Council is proud to provide funding for vital programs including language services for immigrants, education for youth, and support services for seniors. Our community based organizations have the ability to strengthen neighborhoods and empower communities throughout all five boroughs."

“This $2.5 million investment in the Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund is a commitment by this Council to uplift those communities that have historically gone underserved,” said New York City Council Member and Finance Committee Chair Julissa Ferreras-Copeland. “Community based organizations have a way of reaching seniors, young people, immigrants and low-income families in a way that larger organizations do not. They are crucial players in the progress of our city and I am proud to partner with Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), Hispanic Federation (HF), and the New York Urban League (NYUL) to support their work.”

“We applaud the New York City Council for once again investing in New York City’s Black, Asian, and Latino nonprofits,” said José Calderón, President of the Hispanic Federation. “The Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund provides critical funds for nonprofits providing some of the City’s most essential services. We hope that CCNSF will become a staple in New York City, revitalizing the vast nonprofit network serving millions of New Yorkers each day.”

“The kinds of board, fundraising, finance and capacity building support that this initiative offers is vital to nonprofits organizations that are critical to New York City neighborhoods. NYUL is pleased to partner with Hispanic Federation, Asian American Federation, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, and Black Agency Executives to better serve New York City neighborhoods,” stated Arva Rice, President and CEO of the New York Urban League. “We thank Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, City Council Members Inez Dickens, Andy King and Debi Rose, who along with the Council Black, Latino and Asian Caucus and several borough delegations, made this initiative a major priority.”

"The Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund provides important support and resources to Asian Pacific American organizations that few other funding opportunities offer nowadays, and that is - Capacity Building which strengthens the backbone of nonprofit agencies providing vital services to millions of New Yorkers of all races and ethnicities," said Henrietta Ho-Asjoe, Interim Executive Director, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families.

“We thank the City Council for their leadership and support in continuing this wonderful program for our nonprofit organizations. Along with the grant, all the grantees are offered an amazing array of technical assistance classes, from board development, marketing and fundraising techniques, and financial management, where best practice models are taught,” said Jo-Ann Yoo, Executive Director, Asian American Federation. “These classes complement the funded projects of the grantee organzations, as well as a refresher on ways to strengthen their nonprofit instrastructure. NSF is transformative funding for our grantee agencies.”

“Black Agency Executives believes that fostering the development of diverse service providers who lead viable and sustainable organizations is vital to ending the racial and socio-economic disparities that have eroded some communities in our city,” stated Dr. Danielle Moss Lee, President of Black Agency Executives. “The City Council’s commitment to the Nonprofit Stabilization Fund is a courageous and necessary commitment to ensuring the viability of community-based organizations that often have transformative solutions to seemingly intractable social problems, but that lack the access to necessary to build structural capacity. NSF is living proof that when everyone has a seat at the table, everyone wins.”

“As a Latina led and staffed organization working with a very hidden community, we are constantly working around the scarcity of resources. The Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization grant is giving us the capacity to identify, document our success and with that critical information raise more money to keep doing our difficult work,” said Cecilia Gastón, Executive Director, Violence Intervention Program, Inc. “Including all our staff in the process has brought to the fore the importance of good data. It has raised staff morale because now they can clearly see the good work that they do!”

“Last year’s NSF grant allowed the Alliance to perform a program assessment of our work in the areas of membership and online community engagement. This spring, we are conducting a strategic planning process with board, staff, and key stakeholders. Only with the support of the NSF are small community-based organizations like the Alliance able to actually take the time and energy to take a hard look at the work we’re doing, and determine ways we can best serve members of the Asian American cultural workforce in New York City," said Andrea Louie, Executive Director, Asian American Arts Alliance.