Trinity Church Awards $15.9 Million in Community Grants in Spring Distribution

New targeted grants raise total support for asylum seekers in New York to $3.5 million since 2022.

NEW YORK, June 13, 2024 - Trinity Church Wall Street today announced its spring grant cycle awards, providing $15.9 million to 94 grantees, raising the total support for asylum seekers in New York to $3.5 million since 2022. Trinity’s continued financial support comes as city efforts fail to meet the growing need for housing, job training, education and mental health among migrant communities.   

 "We are called to help the stranger among us, and Trinity Church will continue to financially support the asylum seekers in our community without hesitation. But problems this large can’t be solved with piecemeal solutions,” said Rev. Phillip A. Jackson, Rector of Trinity Church. “Our leaders have a fundamental responsibility to address these issues in a coordinated and comprehensive manner, and I urge them to do so."

More than 200,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the city since spring 2022. The city has failed to protect the right to shelter for these newcomers, erecting tents in precarious places and evicting more than 10,000 migrant families from city-run shelters. While asylum seekers consistently express a desire to work, only 5% of state spending supporting them is focused on legal services that can help them achieve work authorization.

Trinity issued four grants totaling $650,000 to support migrants arriving in New York. These build on the 28 grants totaling $3 million that Trinity has issued since 2022 to provide support to the over 180,000 asylum seekers currently in our city. Grants include $500,000 for the Funds for the Newest New Yorkers to provide case management, legal services, housing, education and English language instruction, and represent an expanded commitment to integrating migrants into their new lives as New Yorkers.

"Every New Yorker deserves to thrive in our city, regardless of where they came from. That means setting up migrants for success and stability in every facet of their lives,” said Chief Philanthropy Officer Bea de la Torre. “Trinity is proud to support the Funds for the Newest New Yorkers, as well as providing culinary industry job training for migrants through a $100,000 grant to Hot Bread Kitchen.”

“New York City and the thousands of asylum seekers are grateful for the contribution from Trinity,” said NYC Comptroller Brad Lander. “For two years, the city has attempted to stand up shelter and services to aid asylum seekers on their journey to become our newest New Yorkers. Many everyday New Yorkers have stepped up to create neighborhood programs, clothing drives, and food aid, while nonprofit organizations, houses of worship, and legal organizations have contributed by providing legal assistance, case management, and community programs. These funds will support these ongoing efforts to provide coordinated, wraparound services that allow our newest arrivals to not only survive, but thrive.”

Trinity is doubling down on its commitment to prevent housing insecurity through targeted investments in eviction prevention. Those investments include a $150,000 grant to Housing Court Answers, which provides legal assistance to people facing eviction without legal representation, and a continuing grant to the Partnership to End Homelessness’ mental health and housing assistance initiatives.

“We are so grateful for Trinity Church Wall Street's decision to fund the work of Housing Court Answers,” said Jenny Laurie, Executive Director, Housing Court Answers. “This contribution expands our capacity to support tenants in Housing Court as they fight to save their housing and avoid homelessness. We are gratified that Trinity Church recognizes and supports our commitment to expanding access to justice for tenants facing eviction.”

As we seek to support communities externally, Trinity renewed its commitment to meet the needs of individuals facing intimate partner violence (IPV). A total of $670,000 across nine renewal grants supports organizations cultivating restorative justice practices that offer healing and accountability. Trinity’s continued funding of these programs builds on a growing national consensus that restorative justice has a vital role to play in addressing IPV.

“Because of funding from Trinity Church Wall Street, we are launching the City’s first Latinx and survivor-led restorative justice program to address intimate partner violence within our own communities,” said Margarita Guzmán, Executive Director, Violence Intervention Program. “By offering an option that does not rely on law enforcement and courts, we are shifting power from systems to survivors and putting their needs first. We are so grateful to Trinity for believing in our vision and supporting this game-changing work!”

Trinity is also developing Episcopal dioceses across the nation, including a $150,000 grant to the Episcopal Church in Minnesota that will support a real estate landscape analysis of two dozen parishes, $200,000 to the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada and $500,000 to Nehemiah HDFC to create over 130 units of affordable housing in East New York

“This grant will impact more than just Episcopalians and churches in the Diocese of Nevada,” said the Rt. Rev. Elizabeth Bonforte Gardner, the Bishop of Nevada. “We believe our witness through the Trinity Church Leadership Development Grant will develop compassionate leaders in neighborhoods, homes, schools, and workplaces. And that makes a difference for everyone.”

“Trinity and Nehemiah HDFC have a forty-year relationship that has contributed greatly to the construction of over 5,000 affordable homes for New Yorkers,” said Aaron Graf, Executive Director of Nehemiah HDFC. “This latest grant will enable the construction of over one hundred deeply affordable rental units in Brooklyn. We would like to thank Trinity for partnering with us in our mission to solve the affordability crisis in New York City.”
 

The full list of grantees in this cycle includes:

Housing and Homelessness:

Alliance for Downtown New York
Brooklyn Legal Services Corp A
Center for New York City Neighborhoods
Coalition for the Homeless
Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence
Community Mediation Services
Community Voices Heard
Fair Housing Justice Center
The Fortune Society
Friends of Karen
Hour Children
Housing Court Answers
Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing
The Ladies of Hope Ministries
Lifeway Network
Open New York Education
Pa'lante Harlem
The Partnership to End Homelessness
Part of the Solution
Project Renewal
RESTORE NYC
Safety Net Project
University Settlement Society of New York
Urban Homesteading Assistance (U-hab)
West End Residences HDFC
West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing
Women in Need

Leadership Development:

Anglican Consultative Council
Bexley Hall Seabury Western Theological Seminary Federation
Center for Church Innovation
Episcopal Church Foundation
Episcopal Diocese of Olympia
Episcopal Diocese of Nevada
innoFaith (NYU)
Interfaith Alliance
Jubilee Consortium
Kanuga Episcopal Conference Center
Mountaintop
Oikos Institute for Social Impact
Province V of the Episcopal Church
Rural and Migrant Ministry
St. Andrew’s Theological Seminary
The FaithX Project

Mission Real Estate Development:

Anglican Diocese of Kabba
Bricks and Mortals
Diocese of Central Zimbabwe, Central Africa
Diocese of Matabeleland
Diocese of Muyinga, Burundi
Episcopal Church in Minnesota
Episcopal Church of the Nativity
Nehemiah Housing Development Fund (PRI)
New York State Council of Churches**
St. Aidan's Episcopal Church (Boulder, CO)
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
St. Mark’s Cathedral Parish

Racial Justice:

Alliance of Families for Justice
Arab American Family Support Center
Black Women’s Blueprint
Center for Nuleadership on Urban Solutions
Children's Rights
Circle for Justice Innovations
CONNECT
Drive Change
Desis Rising Up & Moving (DRUM)
Freedom Agenda
Getting Out and Staying Out (GOSO)
How Our Lives Link Altogether (HOLLA)
Immigrant Defense Project
Interfaith Center of New York
Center for Justice Innovation
Living Redemption Community Development Corporation
Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility
The New School
New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project
New York Focus
New York Theological Seminary
North Star Fund
Osborne Association
Parole Preparation Project
Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) Campaign
Rising Ground
Staten Island Urban Center
Vera Action
Violence Intervention Program
VOCAL-NY Action Fund
Youth Justice Network
Youth Represent

Special Opportunity Fund:

Ellis Island Initiative
Fundacion Scholas Occurrentes – USA
Hot Bread Kitchen
Robin Hood Foundation (Funds for the Newest New Yorkers)
The New York Community Trust (Funds for the Newest New Yorkers)
The New York Community Trust (GoVoteNYC)

About Trinity Church Wall Street:
Trinity Church Wall Street is a vibrant and growing Episcopal parish of more than 1,600 members. Over the past 325 years, Trinity has been guided by its mission to share God’s love for all people. Trinity’s programs cultivate compassion, build community and offer shared encounters with the holy.  To learn more about Trinity Church or attend an online service, visit www.trinitywallstreet.org.