Trinity Church Awards $16.3 Million in Community Grants in Spring 2025 Distribution

NEW YORK, June 25, 2025 – Trinity Church, an Episcopal parish in New York City, today announced $16.3 million in grants and program-related investments to a total of 87 organizations, bringing Trinity’s total charitable giving since 2019 to over $370 million. Amid reduced aid and increased need, these grants demonstrate the potential for community leaders to improve student achievement, address the housing affordability crisis, and support faith-based community outreach.

“Need is rising across our community, not only among individuals but also among the nonprofits that do the daily work of serving our community. Our Gospel call to service has never been more relevant or more needed,” said the Rev. Phillip A. Jackson, rector of Trinity Church. “Our community nonprofits are the best window we have into understanding the needs of our community, and Trinity Church is proud to support their critical missions — from protecting tenants and helping churches build new housing to addressing the continuing migrant crisis in our city.” 
 

Protecting the Nonprofit Sector 

Nonprofits across the country face new legal and financial risks, with the sector shedding 14,430 full-time jobs in just the first four months of the year. In New York, these threats are exacerbated by years of contracting delays. Recent reporting shows that the city government owes nonprofits billions of dollars in overdue payments and late registrations. 

“Nonprofits are the backbone of our communities,” said Bea de la Torre, chief philanthropy officer at Trinity Church NYC. “By supporting nonprofit organizations and protecting the nonprofit sector as a whole, we help protect and improve the lives of the people we serve, whether they are children who are trying to succeed, people who are trying to stay in their homes, or the newest New Yorkers.”  

Nonprofit organizations address structural gaps in public services, and Trinity is committed to actively supporting the health and security of those who work tirelessly to keep those public services running. A grant to New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) will help nonprofit organizations manage risk and connect them to pro bono legal counsel.   

“A relentless wave of federal actions has targeted New York communities and our nonprofit programs,” said McGregor Smyth, executive director of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. “These local programs provide essential services, supporting immigrants, promoting diversity, and fighting for causes that conflict with the White House’s worldview.  These groups face termination of funding, investigations, revocation of tax-exempt status, and other hostile actions.  With the critical support of Trinity Church Philanthropies, NYLPI’s Nonprofit Resiliency Network provides legal guides, webinars and training workshops, and direct legal representation to strengthen and protect New York’s nonprofit sector.” 

Trinity continues to position our grantees for long-term success through targeted capacity-building support, including offering guidance on financial management amid budget cuts and creating cross-sector peer mentorship opportunities for chief executives. 

Nonprofits continue to help New Yorkers in need even as government sources retract crucial funding. We continue to proudly support Hot Bread Kitchen with a $150,000 grant to implement culinary industry job training for underserved communities. In addition, Trinity is proud to announce a new $50,000 grant that will enable South Brooklyn Sanctuary to expand legal access and education for new New Yorkers. 
 

Supporting and Housing Students 

Amid reports that a record one in eight public school students in New York City is homeless, Trinity Church’s grantmaking demonstrates a renewed, holistic commitment to youth.    

Trinity’s Racial Justice initiative continues to shift toward upstream, preventative work that centers youth development and education. A two-year grant totaling $250,000 will renew the Alliance for Quality Education’s statewide advocacy for progressive reform and policies to end mass incarceration and the school-to-prison pipeline. New grants of $200,000 to the Arthur Project and the BMCC Urban Male Leadership Academy will invest in mentorship to increase academic engagement and college enrollment.  

“This grant from Trinity Church is more than just funding—it’s a statement that our kids matter,” said Jessica Greenawalt of the Arthur Project. “It means that young people growing up in systems stacked against them will have a consistent, caring adult walking alongside them. It means that students who’ve experienced trauma will have space to heal, to be heard, and to imagine a future for themselves.” 

Housing and Homelessness grants include a focus on youth experiencing housing instability. As LGBTQ youth programs face severe funding cuts, Trinity is renewing a $100,000 grant that enables the Hetrick-Martin Institute to provide essential, coordinated services that reach youth across city agencies and nonprofit service providers. Funding for youth also includes $250,000 in renewed support for the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter’s innovative model of housing students so they can complete their degrees at City University of New York (CUNY) colleges.  
 

Protecting Tenants and Helping Churches Build Housing 
Trinity’s Housing and Homelessness grants are ensuring New Yorkers have fair access to quality housing despite a lack of investment in fair housing enforcement. This includes $150,000 so that the Fair Housing Justice Center can pursue investigations, enforcement actions, and advocacy to prevent housing discrimination. It also includes $150,000 to Urban Homesteading’s Revolving Defense Fund, which provides escrow support for tenants suing landlords for extremely poor housing conditions that are significant violations of New York State’s Multiple Dwelling Law. 

“We are thrilled to be renewing our partnership with Trinity Church for a third consecutive year, fighting to ensure that all people—regardless of whether they use housing subsidies or have been impacted by the criminal legal system—have a fair chance at stable, secure housing. This grant is an example of Trinity’s commitment to justice, and we thank them wholeheartedly,” said Michele Cortese of the Fair Housing Justice Center. 

Just months after the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a new guide on working with faith-based organizations to develop affordable housing, Trinity is announcing six Mission Real Estate Development grants proving what's possible across denominations and across the country.  

First Baptist Cares in Chattanooga, Tennessee, will utilize a $115,000 grant to assess the potential to develop affordable housing for seniors, while Emory United Methodist Church will use a $100,000 grant to design multifamily affordable housing in the fast-growing Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Atlanta and the Diocese of Rhode Island’s Cathedral of St. John will both deploy $50,000 grants to evaluate phased strategies for mission real estate developments on their campuses.  
 

Faithful Responses to Change 

Trinity’s grantmaking is supporting creative leadership and empowering Anglican churches to carry out their ministry across the world.  

Leadership Development grants do this by building the practical skills of clergy and lay leaders. A grant of $360,000 will allow Mothers’ Union to establish digital learning hubs across eight dioceses in Africa to train 600 lay women leaders, while $150,000 will enable the University of St. Joseph in Macao to develop a graduate degree in business administration for laypeople administering faith-based organizations across Southeast Asia.  

"The Trinity grant was nothing short of transformational,” said Reid Shafer-Rey of Mountaintop International. “Our Anglican leaders have turned spiritual conviction into bold, systems-changing action that has helped them to enrich the lives of thousands of sub-Saharan Africans through improved health, education, and economic opportunity, all while enabling Mountaintop to double its annual revenues through leveraging the grant to attract other funders and partners.” 

Mission Real Estate Development grants are helping local churches to build income-generating projects that help support communities left in need by international aid shortages. New conference, restaurant, and event facilities developed by the Diocese of Bujumbura, Burundi, and the Diocese of Accra, Ghana, for example, will subsidize medical care, support people with disabilities, and bolster agricultural programs. 

“This facility represents not just a building but a beacon of hope and a powerful symbol of unity and community spirit,” said Bishop Dr. Daniel Sylvanus Mensah Torto of the Diocese of Accra, Ghana. “As stated in Matthew 25:40, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” 

The full list of grantees in this cycle is below. Learn more about all 87 of our Spring cycle grants here.  
 

Housing and Homelessness 

Alliance for Downtown New York 
Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development 
Center for Family Representation 
Chhaya Community Development 
Citizens Housing and Planning Council of New York 
City Report 
CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities 
Enterprise Community Partners 
Fair Housing Justice Center 
Fifth Avenue Committee (PRI) 
FJC – A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds 
Hetrick-Martin Institute 
Homelessness Services United 
Housing Court Answers 
Housing Justice for All 
Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing 
The Ladies of Hope Ministries 
Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter 
New York Public Radio 
The Partnership to End Homelessness 
Project Renewal 
Providence House 
Restore NYC 
RiseBoro Community Partnership 
TakeRoot Justice  
Unlock NYC, a project of the Fund for the City of New York 
UHAB (Urban Homesteading Assistance Board) 
 

Leadership Development 

Community of Hope International 
Diocese of Los Angeles 
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary 
Interfaith Alliance Foundation 
Mentora Foundation 
Mothers’ Union 
Mountaintop International 
Revitalise Trust 
University of St. Joseph, Macao 
Yale University, Berkeley Divinity School 
 

Mission Real Estate Development 

All Saints’ Episcopal Church - Atlanta, Georgia
Diocese of Accra, Ghana 
Diocese of Biharamulo, Tanzania 
Diocese of Bujumbura, Burundi 
Diocese of Lweru, Tanzania 
Diocese of Muyinga, Burundi 
Diocese of Rhode Island 
Diocese of Rumonge, Burundi *modification 
Diocese of Rumonge, Burundi 
Diocese of Tema, Ghana 
Emory United Methodist Church - Washington, D.C. 
First Baptist Cares - Chattanooga, Tennessee 
Oikos Institute for Social Impact 
St. John’s Getty Square - Yonkers, New York 
St. Mark’s in-the-Bowery - New York, New York 
 

Racial Justice 

Alliance for Quality Education 
Alliance of Families for Justice 
Arthur Project 
Avenues for Justice 
Center for Community Alternatives 
Center for Nuleadership on Urban Solutions 
Drive Change 
Desis Rising Up & Moving (DRUM) 
Elite Learners 
Girls for Gender Equity 
Immigrant Defense Project, a project of the Fund for the City of New York 
Kings Against Violence Initiative 
Living Redemption Community Development Corporation 
The New School (Institute for Transformative Mentoring) 
New York Communities for Change 
New York Focus 
North Star Fund 
Parole Preparation Project 
Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, a project of Social Environment Entrepreneurs 
Research Foundation of the City University of New York (Urban Male Leadership Academy) 
Restorative Justice Initiative, a project of the Fund for the City of New York 
Staten Island Urban Center 
Tomorrow’s Leaders NYC 
Union Theological Seminary 
Vera Action 
VOCAL-NY Action Fund 
Youth Justice Network 
Youth Represent 
 

Special Opportunity 

Bricks and Mortals 
Ellis Island Initiative, a project of New York Immigration Coalition 
Hot Bread Kitchen 
Interfaith Center of New York 
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest 
South Brooklyn Sanctuary 

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 About  Trinity Church

Trinity Church is an Episcopal parish in New York City founded in 1697. We work for justice, serve our neighbors, and bring people together to experience God’s love in community. Trinity’s outreach in the city includes 20 weekly worship services, food assistance seven days a week for people in need, support for asylum seekers, housing for the elderly and people living with disabilities, youth programs, and a wide array of free music and educational events throughout the year. The church also supports communities and ministries serving the world in Africa, Asia, and across the Americas.