Trinity Church Awards $16.7 Million in Community Grants in Fall Distribution

November 20, 2025
Trinity church tower behind trees

 

November 20, 2025 — Trinity Church, an Episcopal parish in New York City, today announced $16.7 million in grants to 77 organizations, bringing Trinity’s total charitable giving to over $400 million since 2019. These grants reflect Trinity’s continued commitment to creating a more resilient nonprofit sector in the face of continued federal funding challenges, embracing learning and leadership across the globe, and expanding housing affordability in both our neighborhood and throughout the nation. 

“Church provides a space for us to find and share hope in all its forms, from participating in worship services to uplifting our community by supporting the nonprofits that provide for its most pressing needs,” said the Rev. Phillip A. Jackson, rector of Trinity Church. “We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves, and there is no better way to do that than by ensuring our neighbors have the resources they need to live happy and fulfilling lives.” 

 

Creating a More Resilient Nonprofit Sector 

According to a  recent survey by the Nonprofit Finance Fund, about half of New York City’s nonprofits don’t expect to be able to meet the increase in service demand this year. Our city alone is delinquent in over $5 billion in payments owed to community nonprofits. 

Trinity is committed to telling the story of how our nonprofit sector makes life in the city possible. We recently partnered with nonprofit media agency F.Y. Eye to launch The Heart of New York campaign, a citywide effort to remind New Yorkers of just how vital nonprofits are to their daily lives. The Heart of New York campaign uncovers the hidden stories behind nonprofits by amplifying the work of their staff, volunteers, and community supporters. 

“We do more than just fund the nonprofits that keep our city running. We walk alongside them at every step in their mission,” said Bea de la Torre, chief philanthropy officer at Trinity Church. “Trinity is incredibly grateful to be partnered with F.Y. Eye in sharing so many powerful stories of nonprofits in action.” 

Last month, Trinity convened 150 nonprofit leaders to help community organizations navigate the multiplying financial and legal risks they now face. We also continue to fund sector-wide responses to the nonprofit funding crisis, including issuing a $100,000 grant to the Human Services Council of New York that will aid the city’s nonprofit human services sector in responding to the ongoing impact of federal policy and budget shifts.  

“The nonprofit sector is needed now more than ever, as our communities are impacted by federal budget cuts and actions targeting our neighbors,” said Michelle Jackson, executive director of the Human Services Council. “With the support of Trinity Church Philanthropies, HSC can better prepare the sector and advocate for needed investments in our workforce and programs, not just so we can weather crises but also so that we can help our communities thrive. This grant, along with their recent launch of #TheHeartofNY campaign, shows Trinity Church Philanthropies’ strong commitment to the long-term success of the nonprofit sector.” 

 

Expanding Learning and Literacy 

Students deserve to thrive regardless of their race, household income, or current abilities. Trinity is committed to putting students first through a variety of targeted grants that address every aspect of a student’s life in and out of the classroom. These grants include: 

  • Read Alliance received $150,000 to train and employ teens to provide intensive literacy tutoring to elementary students in under-resourced communities. 
  • READ 718 was awarded $150,000 to close the literacy gap of Brooklyn youth by strengthening their fundamental reading skills. 
  • Brooklyn Book Bodega received $125,000 to build home libraries of 100+ books for NYC children ages 0–18 years, advance citywide literacy education initiatives, and foster a passion for reading through free, community-based programming. 

“At Read Alliance, we believe that the ability to read is a fundamental human right,” said Danielle Guindo, executive director of Read Alliance. “We thank Trinity Church for understanding, as we do, that teens have the power and potential to serve as literacy tutors and role models for their younger peers; this unique model equips both children and teens with the tools they need to thrive academically and in life.” 

 

Promoting Leadership Through Training 

We believe in ensuring that faith leaders have the space to develop new knowledge while sharpening existing skills. Alongside the Trinity Leadership Fellows program, our Leadership Development initiative is funding work that responds to changing patterns in church growth and integrating nonprofit skills into religious leaders’ toolkits. These grants include:  

  • Cooperatives for a Better World received $85,000 to provide new seminary graduates with practical skills, a peer network, online resources, and a structure of sustained support to enable the success of first-call Episcopal clergy. 
  • Center for Church Innovation was awarded $200,000 to develop first-call Episcopal priests as effective spiritual leaders amid new ministry challenges and opportunities. 
  • Iglesia Episcopal Puertorriqueña was awarded $150,000 to establish an online lay-leadership development program, offered in Spanish, to form new leadership for the growing number of house churches in Puerto Rico and throughout Spanish-speaking areas of the Americas. 
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Building Affordability Through Housing 

New York City residents are experiencing the highest rate of evictions since 2018, compounded by proposed cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development of up to 44 percent. Our latest grants increase affordability by providing pathways to affordable housing in New York City and catalyzing faith-based development across the nation. These grants include:  

  • Borough of Manhattan Community College received $1,000,000 in renewal funding to provide housing for a second cohort of homeless and housing-insecure students enrolled at CUNY’s Borough of Manhattan Community College. 
  • Anthos|Home was awarded $300,000 in renewal funding to support a program that centralizes the rental subsidy application, unit search, approval, and move-in processes for housing voucher holders. 
  • Enterprise Community Partners received an additional award of $1,600,000, for a total grant commitment of $3,000,000, to deepen pre-development support for NYC faith-based organizations, supply legal counsel, and help secure entitlements and construction financing for future groundbreaking. 
  • All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Palo Alto, California, received $43,000 to fund a feasibility study for a 37,000-square-foot site that would evaluate the possibility of creating a multipurpose community hub or affordable housing on its site. 
  • St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle was awarded $150,000 in renewal funding for pre-development support that would finalize a development agreement for affordable rental housing in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. 

"Borough of Manhattan Community College’s long-standing partnership with our neighbors at Trinity Church NYC continues to be a meaningful and successful collaboration,” said Anthony E. Munroe, president of Borough of Manhattan Community College. “We are profoundly grateful for Trinity’s ongoing support, which enables us to provide secure housing that is essential to our students’ well-being and success. Through their steadfast commitment and generosity, Trinity continues to make a lasting impact in the lives of our students by ensuring they have the stability they need to thrive, a contribution we truly value." 

The full list of grantees in this cycle is below. Learn more about all 77 organizations featured in our Fall cycle grants, here.  

 

GRANT LISTING 

Housing and Homelessness 

Anthos Home 
Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) 
Build Up Justice NYC (Brooklyn Legal Services Corp A) 
Center for Justice Innovation (Justice Innovation) 
Citizens Committee for Children of New York 
City Limits 
Community Voices Heard 
Covenant House New York (Under 21) 
Fund for Housing and Opportunity 
Girl Scout Council of Greater New York 
Hour Children 
Housing Rights Initiative 
JustFix  
Korean American Family Service Center 
Legal Aid Society 
Local Initiatives Support Corporation 
National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty d/b/a National Homelessness Law Center 
Neighbors Together 
New Alternatives for Homeless LGBTQ Youth 
New Destiny Housing Corporation 
New York Foundation (Neighborhood First Fund) 
New York Housing Conference 
New York University 
Open Hearts Initiative 
Open New York Education 
Pa'lante Harlem Inc. 
Regional Plan Association 
Sakhi for South Asian Survivors 
Settlement Housing Fund 

Supportive Housing Network of New York 
The Door - A Center of Alternatives 
Trinity Community Connection 
United Way of New York City 
West End Residences HDFC 
West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing 

Leadership Development 

Center for Church Innovation 
Cooperatives for a Better World 
Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles 
Iglesia Episcopal Puertorriqueña 
Sojourners 

Lower Manhattan 

Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) 
Gotham Park 
Grand Street Settlement 

Mission Real Estate Development 

All Saints Episcopal Church, Palo Alto, CA 
Diocese of Masvingo, Zimbabwe 
Enterprise Community Partners (NY Faith-Based Development Initiative) 
Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Burnsville, MN 
Episcopal Diocese of San Diego, CA 
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino, CA 
St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, Seattle, WA 
St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Mamaroneck, NY 

Racial Justice 

African Communities Together 
Brooklyn Book Bodega 
Children of Promise NYC 
Children's Defense Fund - New York 
Community Foundation of New Jersey 
Documented 
Fund for New York City Public Schools 
Girl Vow 
Good Call NYC 
Harlem Educational Activities Fund 
Justice Committee 
Make the Road New York 
Medgar Evers Educational Foundation 
Muslim Community Network 
New York Peace Institute 
Pure Legacee 
Pursuit Transformation Company 
READ 718 
Read Alliance 
Urban Youth Collaborative 
Worth Rises 

Special Opportunity 

Catholic Charities Community Services Archdiocese of New York 
Envision Freedom Fund (Brooklyn Community Bail Fund)
Human Services Council of New York 
Immigrant Justice Corps 
New York Immigration Coalition