Racial Justice and Eviction Prevention Dominant Themes in $15 million in Grants Awarded by Trinity Church Wall Street

June 17, 2021

A view of Trinity Church and the surrounding neighborhood from 76 Trinity Place

Funding supports 100 grantees, most with strong focus on criminal justice and keeping people stably housed

NEW YORK, NY, June 17 – Trinity Church Wall Street has awarded more than $15 million in grants to 100 grantees to support their work, with a focus on social-justice initiatives.

Most of the grants, which range from $40,000 to $750,000, are going to organizations that are focused on fighting for racial justice through breaking the cycles of mass incarceration and homelessness in New York City. These groups are working on priorities from immigrant rights to restorative justice to Black-led community organizing to eviction prevention.

“While it was inspiring to see thousands of New Yorkers last year take to the streets united on the call for racial justice, it was also a reminder of all the organizations that have been doing this work for years,” said the Rev. Phillip A. Jackson, Priest-in-charge of Trinity Church Wall Street. “Trinity supports these nonprofits and hopes to further their work, especially as we respond to a racial reckoning and a looming eviction crisis.”

These grants continue Trinity’s commitment to focusing its funding in New York City, including its own downtown neighborhood. For example, Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility will use a $300,000 grant to partner with Trinity’s neighbor, Leadership and Public Service High School (LPSHS).

The high school is grappling with the effects of the pandemic on its school population. A small school with 361 students, LPSHS’s school population is 60% Hispanic, 25% Black, and 8% Asian. Over 80% of students receive free or reduced-cost lunch. As students return to in-person learning, school leaders want to strengthen teacher and staff capacity to foster a more collaborative and equitable school, where students feel they belong and can learn the skills they need to thrive.

Freedom Agenda, a project of the Urban Justice Center, is receiving $150,000 to support their community organizing and mobilization to ensure the equitable and timely closure of the Rikers Island jail complex, alongside decarceration and community investments. Freedom Agenda is engaging New Yorkers who have been directly impacted by criminalization to advocate to reduce the total jail capacity by 75%, improve conditions of confinement, and make direct investments in community-led public safety alternatives.

“As a faith-based institution, we at Trinity understand decarceration is a moral imperative and we must end the brutal treatment of poor and underserved New Yorkers of color at the Rikers jails.” said Susan Shah, Managing Director for Racial Justice at Trinity. “We support the work of advocates who are on the frontlines of the movement to close Rikers. Our next mayor and city leadership must keep the commitment to permanently close Rikers Island on the fastest timeline possible and be accountable to communities most harmed by the jail system.”

More than $4.5 million in grants are going to organizations focused on housing and homelessness in New York City, including groups that help people impacted economically by the COVID-19 pandemic to access federal rental assistance and stay in their homes once the eviction moratorium expires.

For example, a $150,000 grant will allow Chhaya to establish the Housing Security Emergency Fund, a program that will combine direct financial assistance with case management and wraparound services to prevent evictions and foreclosures for low-to-moderate-income South Asian and Indo-Caribbean households in Queens. The Center for New York City Neighborhoods will use its $100,000 grant to help landlords of small buildings stabilize their properties and keep their tenants in their homes.

“More than 300,000 renters are at risk of eviction and tens of thousands of homeowners are at risk of foreclosure. Even before the pandemic, 76,000 people in New York City were homeless on any given night,” said Beatriz de la Torre, Managing Director, Housing and Homelessness at Trinity. “In these funding awards, Trinity’s Housing and Homelessness initiative focused on keeping people in their homes and breaking the cycle of mass homelessness and instability in New York City that disproportionally impacts communities of color.”

Among the 100 grants awarded by Trinity, 24 will support Episcopal and Anglican communities in the U.S. and around the world.

“As our city re-opens, the focus for Trinity’s philanthropy is on a resilient and equitable recovery,” said Neill Coleman, Chief Philanthropy Officer at Trinity Church Wall Street. “COVID magnified the inequities in our city and now we must ensure we rebuild differently and in transformational ways. From preventing evictions, to advancing restorative justice, to more housing options for the formerly incarcerated, we have a deep commitment to a more just and equitable recovery in these grants.”

The grantees are:

Alliance for Downtown New York $175,000
Center for New York City Neighborhoods $100,000
Chhaya Community Development $150,000
Churches United for Fair Housing $100,000
Coalition for the Homeless $250,000
Community Mediation Services $100,000
Fifth Avenue Committee $150,000
Nazareth Housing $100,000
Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter $100,000
New York State Council of Churches $100,000
New York State Tenants & Neighbors $125,000
Riseboro $250,000
TakeRoot Justice $250,000
University of Pennsylvania $225,000
University Settlement $150,000
Win $200,000
A Little Piece of Light $100,000
The Fortune Society $200,000
Hour Children $200,000
The Ladies of Hope Ministries $150,000
Lifeway Network $75,000
Providence House $200,000
Urban Pathways $200,000
Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development $125,000
Citizens Housing & Planning Council $100,000
Enterprise Community Partners $100,000
FJC-New York City Youth and Family Homelessness Fund $250,000
Homeless Services United $100,000
New York Public Radio $100,000
The City $100,000
Brotherhood Sister Sol $100,000
Brooklyn Community Bail Fund $150,000
Brooklyn Movement Center $250,000
Center for Community Alternatives $100,000
DRUM – Desis Rising Up and Moving $125,000
Freedom Agenda $150,000
Immigrant Defense Project $125,000
Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC (Credible Messenger Justice Center) $200,000
Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility $125,000
Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility- Leadership and Public Service High School $300,000
North Star Fund- Let Us Breathe Fund $75,000
Vera Institute of Justice $200,000
Youth Represent $150,000
Alliance for Quality Education $125,000
Citizen Action of New York $125,000
New York Communities for Change $150,000
New York State Immigrant Action Fund $100,000
Vocal-NY Action Fund $125,000
Alliance of Families for Justice $150,000
Borough of Manhattan Community College $125,000
Drive Change $80,000
Exodus Transitional Community $200,000
Getting Out and Staying Out $125,000
Hudson Link for Higher Education $125,000
New York Theological Seminary $100,000
Youth Justice Network $200,000
American Friends Service Committee $100,000
Centers for NuLeadership for Urban Solutions $125,000
Elite Learners $50,000
Fountain House $150,000
Girls for Gender Equity $125,000
Interfaith Center of New York $150,000
Kings Against Violence Initiative $150,000
Restorative Justice Initiative $150,000
Soul Sisters Leadership Collective $150,000
Urban Youth Alliance $150,000
Center for Court Innovation $175,000
Circle for Justice Innovation $175,000
A Little Piece of Light $60,000
Arab American Family Support Center $60,000
Black Women’s Blueprint $60,000
Connect $60,000
How Our Lives Linked Altogether! $60,000
New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project $60,000
Rising Ground- Steps to End Family Violence $60,000
Violence Intervention Project $60,000
Nonprofit Finance Fund $500,000
Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, NY $200,000
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church $200,000
New York State Council of Churches $100,000
Diocese of Mbeere, Kenya $480,000
Diocese of Nakuru, Kenya $375,000
Diocese of Central Zimbabwe $300,000
Diocese of Freetown, Sierra Leone $275,000
Diocese of Rift Valley, Tanzania $114,000
Diocese of Lweru, Tanzania $42,000
Diocese of Honduras $60,000
Berkeley Divinity School at Yale $150,000
Union Theological Seminary $750,000
Diocese of Western Tanganyika $40,000
Partnership for Renewal $100,000
Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina $120,000
Wesley Theological Seminary $100,000
Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities $100,000
Boston University Seminary (Hispanic Youth Leadership Academy) $90,000
The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St. George in the East $60,000
The Episcopal Church Foundation $100,000
Princeton Theological Seminary $100,000
The Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan $100,000
United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia $50,000
Auburn Theological Seminary $100,000

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.