Speaking Up for Change: Trinity Philanthropies & Grantees in the Press

Speaking truth to power, both in the press and in the pulpit, is pivotal to Trinity's mission to build neighborhoods, generations of faithful leadership, and financial capacity. Several members of the Philanthropies team have been published or featured in the news recently for their work in advancing systems change: 

• James Clark, Trinity’s Managing Director for Mission Real Estate Development, and Kate Mulloy, Director for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning, co-authored an op-ed, “Building a Double Bottom Line in Eswatini,” which ran in The Living Church. It discusses the findings of the ten-year retrospective analysis that the Mission Real Estate Development team conducted last year and incorporates the Anglican Diocese of Swaziland as a case study. With funding from Trinity, the diocese was able to construct a women’s dormitory at the University of Eswatini, Luyengo campus, which will generate income for its ministries while supporting the goal of gender parity in higher education. The op-ed also acknowledges the recent passing of Bishop Ellinah Wamukoya, who was an active participant in Trinity-planned workshops.  
• The New York Daily News published a letter to the editor by Trinity’s Managing Director for Racial Justice Susan Shah, “Right change 4 right now,” on May 27, in support of the Less is More Act and the Elder Parole and Fair and Timely Parole bills. The Less is More Act passed the State Assembly and Senate on June 10 and is awaiting the governor’s signature. Once made a law, it would prevent those on parole from being sent back to prison for technical violations. This would be a major victory for many of our Racial Justice grantee partners. 
• Rob Garris, Trinity’s Managing Director for Leadership Development, was interviewed by LeadersAtlas in a feature entitled “Leading with Faith.” He shares that while the traditional preaching and pastoral aspects of faith leaders’ work are critical, Trinity is developing programming for additional education and training in other areas in order for them to be broadly successful in serving their communities. Materials developed as part of Trinity’s faith and leadership fellows program will be made available online, free, and open access to anyone who’s interested in leadership at a connecting point with faith. 

In addition, several of Trinity’s grantee partners have been featured in the news recently:

• Stanley Richards, Executive Vice President of the Fortune Society, a grantee of both the Housing & Homelessness and Racial Justice initiatives, was featured in USA Today on his efforts to help close Rikers, referring to his lived experience as someone who was formerly incarcerated there. The New York City Department of Correction also recently appointed Stanley as First Deputy Commissioner of Programs and Operations.
• In addition, Jonathan Lippman, Chair of the Independent Commission on Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform, a Racial Justice initiative grantee, authored an op-ed in the Daily News urging the next mayor to continue—and improve—plans to shut Rikers.
• Housing & Homelessness initiative grantee Enterprise Community Partners was recognized in the Brooklyn Reader for its involvement in launching a new housing helpline to connect undocumented and mixed-status families in New York with legal advice and rent relief, as part of the Know Your Rights campaign.
• Women in Need (Win), another Housing & Homelessness initiative grantee that is a major advocate for the rights of formerly incarcerated women and their families, was featured in a New York Times article on the passage of Intro 146, which increases the value of CityFHEPS vouchers, and quotes Christine Quinn, its Executive Director.  

We are proud to continue supporting our grantee partners' efforts to shift narratives hand-in-hand with policy change; both are necessary to transform systems in long-lasting ways.