Trinity Church Wall Street Awards More Than $23 Million in Grants

June 28, 2022
Trinity Churchyard with cherry blossoms

Grantees include organizations focused on keeping housing-unstable New Yorkers in their homes, supporting criminal justice reform, and promoting mental health.

NEW YORK, NY, June 28 – Trinity Church Wall Street, in its latest set of grants, has awarded $23.4 million to organizations in New York City, the U.S., and internationally.

Most of the grants, which average more than $200,000, are going to organizations in New York City that are focused on affordable housing, homelessness, racial justice, and criminal justice reform. The work these groups are doing includes helping housing-unstable New Yorkers stay in their homes, ensuring that recently incarcerated individuals find employment, and preventing discrimination against families that are using housing vouchers.

“While New York City is showing signs of recovery after the past two years of the pandemic, we can’t ignore the serious issues we still face,” said the Rev. Phillip A. Jackson, Rector of Trinity Church Wall Street. “Our latest round of grants is going to organizations that are facing these issues head on: organizations on the front lines of the housing and mental health crises, and criminal justice reform.”

Trinity continues to be at the forefront of fighting for New York City’s most vulnerable.  The housing crisis in the city intensified during the pandemic and was made worse with the end of the eviction moratorium. Several of Trinity’s grantees are fighting hard for those who face housing instability. 

Unlock NYC will use their $125,000 grant to continue their work fighting source of income housing discrimination. The organization has developed an app where New Yorkers who use housing vouchers can report landlords and brokers who engage in discrimination against them.

“As an all-women tech collective majority-led by New Yorkers who have experienced source of income discrimination firsthand, Unlock NYC is thrilled to partner with Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies to scale our work citywide,” said Jessica Valencia, Head of Communications. Adds Head of Product Ashley Eberhart, “This grant enables us to make key improvements to our product based on feedback from our community of tenants, advocates, and other partners.”

Families with children facing life-threatening illnesses will get even more help with a $150,000 grant going to Friends of Karen.  This money will help over 100 housing-insecure families with severely ill children undergoing treatment to pay rent or housing-related expenses so they can stay housed.

“This vital grant from Trinity Church Wall Street will be a game changer for Friends of Karen, giving us the ability to provide a new level of assistance to ensure that families caring for a critically ill child have a safe, secure and healthy place to live while they face their unimaginably difficult illness journey,” said Judy Factor, Executive Director of Friends of Karen.

The Center for New York City Neighborhoods received a $200,000 renewal grant to support their black homeownership program and support at-risk small landlords who did not receive rental income during the pandemic. The money will allow these homeowners to stabilize their properties for the benefit of their tenants and themselves.

More than $8.7 million in grants is going to organizations focused on criminal justice reform in New York City, including groups working to keep young people and mentally ill individuals out of the prison system.

Urban Justice Center will use their $100,000 grant to provide research-informed recommendations on the most humane way to provide support and services to people with serious mental health concerns to keep them out of jail and the criminal legal system.

"Although there is widespread recognition that jail is detrimental to people with mental health concerns and that they should be treated elsewhere, there is currently no comprehensive plan for reducing the number of people who are incarcerated. Trinity’s funding will enable us to develop actionable recommendations for reducing the number of people with mental health concerns who are incarcerated,” said Doreen Odom, Managing Director, Mental Health Project, Urban Justice Center.

Trinity is also continuing its work with Borough of Manhattan Community College, whose Project Impact team received a $150,000 grant.  This team has continued to focus on keeping students impacted by the justice system enrolled during the COVID-19 pandemic, which placed challenging demands on students, particularly in the areas of housing and food insecurity. Since 2012 BMCC has received $2.2 million from Trinity’s grant programs.

“While the pandemic placed extra hardships and demands on our students, including homelessness, illness and food insecurity, Trinity funds enabled us to support many Project Impact students in persevering, finishing their semesters, and graduating,” said Julie Appel, Director, Project Impact.

Among the 114 grants awarded by Trinity, 22 will support faith communities, including many Episcopal and Anglican churches, dioceses, and seminaries, in the U.S. and around the world.

The Washington National Cathedral received $491,000 to create a racial justice and spirituality leadership development program. The goal of this project grant is to equip faith leaders with practical skills for the pursuit of racial and social justice in their communities.

A $270,000 grant is going to the Diocese of Tamale in Ghana to complete a student housing project.  The project will create 200 jobs during construction and provide safe and affordable accommodations for students in a community with a shortage of over 6,000 beds.

“In a time of uncertainty and what can seem like constant change and disruption—locally, nationally, and internationally—Trinity seeks to be responsive to our community and to our grantees,” said Neill Coleman, Executive Director, Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies. “We are committed to walking alongside them as they do life-changing work and stand up for the most vulnerable in their communities and ours.”

Trinity has a total of 535 active grants and had its largest year for grant-making in 2021 with $46 million in awards.

The grantees are:

A Little Piece of Light

Alliance for Downtown New York

Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development

Center For Family Representation

Citizens Housing and Planning Council of New York

City Report

Coalition for the Homeless

Community Mediation Services

Community Voices Heard

Enterprise Community Partners

JC - A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds

Friends of Karen

Homeless Services United

Hour Children

Lifeway Network

Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter

New York Public Radio

New York State Council of Churches

Providence House

RiseBoro Community Partnership

Safety Net Project, a project of the Urban Justice Center

The Center for New York City Neighborhoods

The Fortune Society

The Ladies of Hope Ministries

The Partnership to End Homelessness

Unlock NYC, a project of Fund for the City of New York

Urban Institute

Women in Need

Berkeley Divinity School at Yale

Christ Episcopal Church Dearborn, Michigan

Clal - National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership

College for Congregational Development, a project of the Diocese of Olympia

Cyclical

Diocese of Kurunagala, Sri Lanka

Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative

Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Episcopal Theological School at Claremont Bloy House

Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest

London Diocesan Fund

National Interfaith Cable Coalition d/b/a Odyssey Impact

Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St. George-in-the-East with St. Paul

Partnership for Renewal

Princeton Theological Seminary

Saint Andrew's Theological Seminary

Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference

The Episcopal Church Foundation

The FaithX Project

Trustees of Boston University

United Church of Canada

United Theological College

Virginia Theological Seminary

Washington National Cathedral

Wesley Theological Seminary of The United Methodist Church

CAPA – Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa

Diocese of Buye, Burundi

Diocese of Kondoa, Tanzania

Diocese of Sekondi, Ghana

Diocese of Tamale, Ghana

Diocese of Wiawso, Ghana

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Diocese of Texas

A Little Piece of Light

Alliance for Quality Education

Alliance of Families for Justice

American Friends Service Committee

Black Women’s Blueprint

Borough of Manhattan Community College, a project of the Research Foundation of the City University of New York

Brooklyn Movement Center, a project of the Fund for the City of New York

Center for Community Alternatives

Center for Court Innovation

Center for Nuleadership on Urban Solutions

Circle for Justice Innovations, a project of NEO Philanthropy

Citizen Action of New York

CONNECT

Drive Change

DRUM - Desis Rising Up & Moving

Elite Learners

Exodus Transitional Community

Fountain House

Freedom Agenda, a project of the Urban Justice Center

Getting Out and Staying Out

Girls for Gender Equity

How Our Lives Link Altogether

Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison

Immigrant Defense Project, a project of the Fund for the City of New York

Interfaith Center of New York

Kings Against Violence Initiative

Life Comes From It, a project of Tides Foundation

Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility

New York City Environmental Justice Alliance

New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project

New York Communities for Change

New York Lawyers for the Public Interest

New York State Immigrant Action Fund

New York Theological Seminary

North Star Fund

Parole Preparation Project

Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, a project of Social Environment Entrepreneurs

Restorative Justice Initiative, a project of Fund for the City of New York

Rising Ground

Teachers Unite

The Arab-American Family Support Center

The Brotherhood Sister Sol

Urban Justice Center

Urban Youth Alliance International

Vera Action

Violence Intervention Program

VOCAL-NY Action Fund

Youth Justice Network

Youth Represent

Human Services Council of New York

 

About Trinity Church Wall Street

Trinity Church Wall Street is a growing and inclusive Episcopal parish of more than 1,200 members. For more than three centuries, Trinity has been a part of the fabric of New York City—weaving together a vibrant and diverse parish of people of all backgrounds from the five boroughs and surrounding area. The parish is guided by its core values: faith, integrity, inclusiveness, compassion, social justice, and stewardship. These principles are the reason Trinity champions justice and equity through public advocacy, neighborhood outreach, and financial resources. More than 20 worship services are offered every week online and 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.