Spring 2024 Grants Newsletter

Congrats...

Crain’s New York Business recognized Chief Operating and Finance Officer Dominick Impemba as a 2024 Notable Leader in Finance.

Trust President Amy Freitag spoke at the Better Business Bureau Charity Effectiveness Symposium XVIII and at Bank of America’s Nonprofit Leadership Breakfast.

VISION

Equitable and thriving communities throughout New York City, Long Island, and Westchester.

MISSION

As New York’s community foundation, we foster and engage in enduring and innovative philanthropy.

We’d like to hear from you.

Please contact us with questions or comments: (212) 686-0010 or info@nyct-cfi.org

Inspired by what you read here?

Join us. Make a difference. Give to the nonprofits in these pages directly or through your fund in The Trust.

Westchester Community Foundation Executive Director Laura Rossi moderated a discussion with film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and Philanthropy NY CEO Kathryn O’Neal Dunham at a screening of UnCharitable at the Jacob Burns Film Center

Family & Children’s Association recognized Long Island Community Foundation Program Director Sol Marie Alfonso-Jones at its third annual Women in Philanthropy Fashion Show.

Recommendations from our staff

Emergency NYC on Netflix

Recommended by Rachel Pardoe, senior program officer for older adults, people with disabilities, and animal welfare: “I loved this series. It shows the compassion and commitment of the city’s emergency workers—often the first point of care for older adults and other vulnerable New Yorkers whom our grants support.”

Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer by Barbara Ehrenreich

Recommended by Chantella Mitchell, program officer for community development, housing, and human services: “I have been a long-time fan of Barbara Ehrenreich’s writing and advocacy for low-wage workers, so I was delighted to read one of her final books—a thought-provoking reflection on her own mortality and a larger commentary on the medicalization of aging.”

Trust by Hernan Diaz

Recommended by Kerry McCarthy, vice president for philanthropic initiatives: “This tale about a 1920s tycoon illustrates how history is never fixed; it can change radically depending on the storyteller’s point of view.”

ON THE COVER: A grant from our Long Island Unitarian Universalist Fund helped the Padoquohan Medicine Lodge protect the culture and identity of the Shinnecock Nation and other Indian tribes on Long Island. (See page 12 for story.) Photo by Ari Mintz

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Growing our team to grow our impact

DOMINICK IMPEMBA

Chief Operating and Financial Officer

The New York Community Trust

Dominick leads the departments handling finance, human resources, information technology, and administration. One of his core functions is financial stewardship of The Trust’s 2,200+ funds, as well as guiding its investment in new systems, technology, and operations.

Photo by Casey Kelbaugh

“Before joining The New York Community Trust in July 2023, I knew it well from working with nonprofits for 28 years. I grew up in the Bronx, in an Italian immigrant family that taught me the importance of taking care of not just our own families, but also our community: our neighbors and friends. We always invited those who didn’t have enough to our table for Sunday dinners. This value, passed down from my parents and grandparents, led me to choose a career path grounded in helping others.

Like many other New Yorkers, I love the city’s fast-paced energy. But I also love how the city is resilient and bounces back from hard times, how in times of crisis people drop everything to help each other with so much grit, generosity, and care. So when I saw the city hurting from the effects of the pandemic, whether it was closed businesses or people who were homeless, it made me want to be part of an organization that could drive systemic change.

As an individual, I know there’s only so much I can do alone. But working at an organization like The Trust, I can be part of so much more.”

systems across our three locations in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester; working closely with other colleagues to provide increasingly robust and sustained support to more nonprofits as well as philanthropic services to our donors; bringing in more donors who represent the diverse communities and backgrounds that make up our vibrant region; adding new professionals to our team so we’re better equipped to improve the experience of donors and nonprofits working with us; and providing new training and growth opportunities to our long-term staff members, whose dedication to our mission, expertise, and wealth of institutional wisdom are some of our greatest assets.

- Dominick Impemba

As an individual, I know there’s only so much I can do alone. But working at an organization like The Trust, I can be part of so much more—a sentiment I know is shared by our donors and grantees.

As we prepare to celebrate our 100th anniversary, my team is working on expanding our resources and capacity to better serve our donors, grantees, and the diverse communities in the region.

This includes updating and centralizing technology

Since I joined The Trust, we’ve created eight new positions and brought in nine new staff members. These include our first ever chief philanthropic officer, as well as new finance, communications, human resources, administrative, and program staff. Together, we are focused on making sure every New Yorker can have the opportunity to participate in philanthropy, enhancing our ability to partner effectively with local nonprofits, and working collectively to improve lives throughout New York City, Long Island, and Westchester.

I look forward to celebrating The Trust’s centennial with you at events throughout the fall, and to working together to build a stronger, more equitable city and region in the years ahead. n

Watch this video about the impact of our Astor Fund to learn more:

Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, a grantee of our Astor Fund, improved afterschool literacy instruction provided by community groups in Brooklyn and Queens.

Photo by Ari Mintz

A decade of systemically reforming literacy education in New York

The legacy of the late philanthropist Brooke Astor, stewarded throughout a decade of Trust grantmaking, has influenced systemic improvements to reading instruction that will now reach 2.4 million students across New York State.

Over a decade ago, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman asked The Trust to put $45 million from Brooke Astor’s estate to work. Astor’s long-time passion for children’s education, combined with troubling literacy rates in New York City schools, made the mission for her money obvious: to improve literacy across the five boroughs.

But executing this mission was far from simple. The scale and complexity of educating New York’s children can be overwhelming. With more than one million students enrolled in 1,800 public schools, the New York City school system is the largest in the country.

The Trust’s grantmaking staff knew that simply funding direct service programs would not create the long-term systemic reforms that New York schools urgently needed. Instead, they successfully made the case to support multiple strategies that could lead to lasting improvements and ultimately reach more students, including research, policy work, pilot programs, and advocacy.

Since 2013, the Astor Fund has awarded $35 million to 20 nonprofits to improve literacy in the early grades. These nonprofits have worked in hundreds of public elementary schools, training thousands of teachers and tutors,

and reaching tens of thousands of low-income students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

The Trust’s Astor grantees developed a range of successful strategies to improve student reading, including new curricula and programming in the classroom, online frameworks for afterschool reading instruction, tools for educators to track student progress, and intensive training in reading instruction for teachers.

An independent evaluator found that nearly all the students in Astorfunded projects were better readers at the end of the program.

“The Astor grants have been transformative,” said Mathew Moura, vice president of early reading at Teaching Matters, a grantee of the Astor Fund. “To succeed, you need teachers equipped with the best researchbacked methods of instruction to shape the reading and learning skills of generations. Ensuring that our students become readers in their early years is the foundation for successful learning—it will impact these children for the rest of their lives.”

These results also influenced and informed new plans to overhaul the city’s approach to reading instruction, as well as the statewide expansion policy announced by Governor Hochul earlier this year.

“It’s clear the Astor Fund’s innovations will continue to have an impact on reading instruction for many years to come,” said Carl Distefano, former chief of the Trusts and Estates Section in the Attorney General’s Charities Bureau. n

Photograph by Fabian Peña, a 2022-2023 New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellow participating in the International Center of Photography’s Teen Academy Imagemakers program. Peña is a first-generation Mexican American photographer from the Bronx. His goal is to amplify unheard voices and to use his photography as a tool for change to create a better and safer society.

© Fabian Peña, 2022, Newsstand Man

Young advocates score major win for reproductive freedoms in New York State

ISABELLA GRULLON

Isabella Grullon is a junior at Hunter College and a Legislative Education and Advocacy Program Fellow at the New York Birth Control Access Project, which trains young adults to become reproductive health advocates.

A recent Trust grant helped the Project secure a major legislative victory, allowing pharmacists in New York State to prescribe hormonal birth control. The new authorization went into effect on March 19, when the state’s health commissioner signed a standing order for the bill. Building on this success, the Project is now advocating for legislation that will place emergency contraceptive vending machines in all CUNY and SUNY campuses. Both initiatives will increase access to contraception for New York’s 1.2 million women who live in “contraceptive desert” counties.

Photo by Allison Michael Orenstein

“From a young age, I was interested in activism and fighting for change. I grew up knowing there is a lot do to improve our lives. My dad was a union organizer. So as a kid, I was on picket lines and at rallies with him, learning the importance of grassroots organizing and community activism.

When I entered college, I began organizing on campus for environmental justice work and to eliminate tuition. At the time I didn’t feel an urgency to fight for reproductive rights. A year later the Dobbs v. Jackson opinion leaked. I was totally shocked. It was a very depressing day on campus—to think our mothers had more rights at our age than we do now.

I talked to one of my professors about the need to expand and protect our reproductive rights, and they recommended I apply to join the associate board of the New York Birth Control Access Project, which was how I first got involved. I was part of their legislative education advocacy program.

The first thing I noticed was how different the training was from other advocacy work I had done. They teach you how to communicate the issue, give you strategies and tactics to persuade legislators, and provide access to experts in all different fields. You build a lot of transferable skills in communications, lobbying, policy, and grassroots organizing. Which is

important, because many participants have never been involved in advocacy work before.

Eventually, I became a fellow supporting our legislative advocacy work. I’ve organized several advocacy trips to urge legislators to support increasing access to birth control. It was incredible to bring students from all across New York State to the Capitol to represent their campuses and the needs of their communities.

I was also in attendance when Governor Hochul signed the Birth Control Access Act into law. It wasn’t until student advocates consistently met with legislators in Albany that it moved forward. That was the first time I’d ever gone to a signing for a bill, and it was very empowering to be in a room with women who were all fighting for reproductive health.

Now we’re working on the Emergency Contraception Act, which requires New York State and New York City universities to have at least one vending machine available to purchase emergency contraception. It’s really a bill about equity. Private colleges have vending machines where emergency contraception is available for $10 or $15, while students at SUNY and CUNY must go to a pharmacy instead, where it costs up to $60. This is going to provide a discrete, accessible, and affordable way for all students to access birth control.” n

Ending cycles of trauma & harm: grantmaking to close Rikers

Photo courtesy of the Women’s Community Justice Association. Here, the nonprofit’s Executive Director Sharon White-Harrigan leads a Beyond Rosie’s rally to advocate for closing Rikers’ women’s jail.

In spring 2014, a proposal landed on then-Program Officer for Human Justice Shawn Morehead’s desk for a campaign to close the country’s most notorious jail complex—Rikers Island. The request came from a new nonprofit, JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA), which aimed to cut the U.S. prison population in half by 2030. It would do this by training formerly incarcerated leaders and involving them in advocacy campaigns.

“It wasn’t the first proposal we’d gotten to close Rikers, but it was the first one that came from an organization led by people who had been in prison themselves and were able to use that experience to inform their advocacy—that is what tipped the scales,” said Morehead, now The Trust’s vice president for grants.

After meeting with local formerly incarcerated nonprofit leaders to get their input on reimagining The Trust’s human justice grantmaking strategy, Morehead made the grant to JLUSA. It was the first of nine years’ worth of Trust grants to nonprofits pressing for the humane treatment of people in city jails, including through closing Rikers.

On January 19, 2024, a Rikers corrections officer found Manuel Luna unresponsive in his cell. Luna, age 30, became the 54th person to die in custody on Rikers Island since 2020. Like 90% of the 6,200 people incarcerated on Rikers, Luna was a detainee, awaiting trial and presumed innocent.

Many factors conspire to make Rikers dangerous for the people imprisoned there: It’s physically isolated and hard to reach for families, attorneys, and service providers. Violence and abuse are rampant and pervasive, and the city subjects those held in custody to unsanitary living conditions, inadequate medical care, and a dangerous—sometimes even deadly—lack of oversight and accountability.

The Beyond Rosie’s Campaign is important because women have been constantly left out of the conversation or mentioned as an afterthought.”

- Rev. Sharon White-Harrigan, Executive Director Women’s Community Justice Association

After the initial grant to JLUSA, The Trust continued to fund advocacy to close the jail through nonprofits that included the Freedom Agenda and Women’s Community Justice Association, both part of the Campaign to Close Rikers, a movement led by people directly impacted by the city’s jails. In 2019, thanks in part to advocacy from Trust grantees, the New York City Council approved an $8 billion plan to close Rikers and build four borough-based jails by 2027, and to reduce the city’s overall jail population to 3,300.

While the plan lost ground in 2023 with lukewarm support from the mayor, The Trust continues to fund advocacy led by people with justice involvement. For example, a recent two-year Trust grant to the Women’s Community Justice Association supported its Beyond Rosie’s Campaign, which aims to close Rikers’ women’s jail, the Rose M. Singer Center, or “Rosie’s.”

Women held at Rosie’s face the same inhumane conditions found throughout Rikers, and reports of sexual violence are more than double the national average for correctional facilities. In fact, more than 700 women recently came forward with lawsuits under the Adult Survivors Act alleging that corrections officers sexually assaulted them at Rosie’s.

Most of the women at Rosie’s are mothers, and many are the sole or primary caretakers of young children. At least three-quarters of the women incarcerated there are survivors of sexual or domestic violence, and two-thirds have been diagnosed with a mental illness.

“When women are incarcerated, they’re separated from their children and their families, they’re not being heard, and they’re facing issues

like trauma, abuse—all the things that women go through more than anyone else,” said Rev. Sharon White-Harrigan, the Association’s executive director, who has worked for more than 30 years in the justice reform movement and is herself a survivor of incarceration.

“The Beyond Rosie’s Campaign is important because women have been constantly left out of the conversation or mentioned as an afterthought. In addition to our advocacy, Beyond Rosie’s shows women and gender nonconforming folks that there is life beyond incarceration and detention,” said White-Harrigan.

Women’s Community Justice Association staff visit Rosie’s every week to run support groups. They also provide leadership training for justice-involved women and gender-expansive people, who then participate in rallies and other campaign efforts. The Association advocates for the placement of borough-based centers closer to women’s communities and families. Staffed largely by nonprofits, these centers would provide services like parenting classes, job training, and mental health supports, as alternatives to incarceration, which White-Harrigan argues perpetuates cycles of trauma and harm.

“Closing Rikers, among other steps towards decarceration, will work if we stop overpolicing and invest in the community—and if we allow the community to help the community,” she said. “If you remove politics from it, what you have is people who really care about people, and about what is happening. We just want to do what’s best for our people, and we’re tired of the same injustices and the same systemic trajectory.” n

Working together to improve life in NYC, Long Island, and Westchester

The New York Community Trust’s three regional offices frequently join forces to address key issues and seize opportunities to make positive change.

“While our offices are located in different counties, the challenges of the communities we serve sometimes overlap,” said Shawn Morehead, The Trust’s vice president for grants. “Our grantmaking allows us to support nonprofits across the region, state, and sometimes beyond, in order to achieve a greater impact.”

A prime example came in 2020. When COVID-19 struck, The Trust quickly launched a series of relief efforts to aid nonprofit service providers struggling

with the initial and then mid-term health and economic effects of the pandemic in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester.

Ultimately, The Trust pooled contributions from more than 1,700 donors and made nearly 1,000 grants, totaling $95.2 million, across the eight-county region.

WORKING TOGETHER TO ADDRESS COMMON OBSTACLES

The pandemic was, hopefully, a once-in-a-lifetime crisis. Yet our region-wide grantmaking is ever ready to help nonprofits tackle a range of persistent, pressing, and emerging challenges.

The New York Immigration Coalition’s Key to the City events bring critical services to immigrant neighborhoods across the boroughs— serving over 60,000 New Yorkers from 75 countries since 2011. Photo courtesy of the New York Immigration Coalition.

Together, we’re funding:

● Healthcare Chaplaincy Network to train chaplains from New York City, Suffolk, Nassau, and Westchester counties on new federal guidelines that authorize provision of pastoral care in health care settings. Studies show this work improves financially measurable outcomes, such as expeditious referrals to hospice and the reduction in burdensome and expensive in-patient treatments. The Network will create an advisory committee of local chaplaincy leaders and hospital administrators to oversee training, data collection, and advocacy efforts. The Network will then assess whether chaplains increase patient satisfaction.

● New York Immigration Coalition to coordinate a statewide campaign to aid newly arrived immigrants. Our funding is helping to train nonprofits to meet the needs of newcomers, including interpretation and translation services, transportation, food, and basic essentials for those in need.

● Resilia to provide a one-year technical assistance program to 30 agencies to help them meet their missions and serve communities in Westchester, Long Island, and New York City. The program includes an in-depth assessment of each nonprofit’s entire operation; one-onone coaching to discuss topics such as strategic planning, marketing, and event management; and an online program that houses a wealth of resources and tools, online courses, and reading materials.

EXCELLENCE IN CARE: FROM NURSING HOMES TO HOSPITALS

Another example of far-reaching impact from our regional grantmaking is demonstrated by recent funding to the Healthcare Association of New York State, which provides training to and advocates on behalf of health care providers in New York City, Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk counties to improve care for older adults. It is the only health care association that

represents a diverse range of providers across the state—from hospitals to health care systems, nursing homes, home care agencies, adult day programs, clinics, and regional health collaboratives.

“Two out of three adults 65 years and older living in New York State experience multiple, chronic health problems,” Morehead said. “Establishing age-friendly health systems is one way to enhance their quality of life and reduce the burden of their care.”

Our grant will develop partnerships and recruit and train teams from 50 hospitals, clinics, and other health care providers. Teams will get one-on-one coaching sessions to review progress toward meeting established standards. Participants also will hear from state and national experts on age-friendly services that fit with different types of healthcare providers.

Two out of three adults 65 years and older living in New York State experience multiple, chronic health problems.

Establishing age-friendly health systems is one way to enhance their quality of life and reduce the burden of their care.”

- Shawn Morehead Vice President

for Grants The New York Community Trust

MAKING AN IMPACT TOGETHER

There is still much work that we can do to address the challenges facing our region and create a better quality of life for its 12.4 million residents.

To learn more about supporting this work, visit: giveto.nyc.

You can also speak to one of our philanthropic advising experts, who can personally assist you on your journey of giving. Contact giving@nyct-cfi.org to learn more. n

Financial information about The New York Community Trust can be obtained by contacting us at: 909 Third Avenue, 22nd Floor, New York, New York 10022, (212) 686-0010, at www.nycommunitytrust.org, or as stated below: Florida: SC No. CH9514 A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE, WITHIN THE STATE, 1-800-HELP-FLA OR AT www.FloridaConsumerHelp.com REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. Maryland: For the cost of postage and copying, from the Secretary of State. Michigan: MICS No. 22265. Mississippi: The official registration and financial information of The New York Community Trust may be obtained from the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office by calling 1-888-236-6167. New Jersey: INFORMATION FILED WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONCERNING THIS CHARITABLE SOLICITATION AND THE PERCENTAGE OF CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED BY THE CHARITY DURING THE LAST REPORTING PERIOD THAT WERE DEDICATED TO THE CHARITABLE PURPOSE MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY BY CALLING (973) 504-6215 AND IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/charfrm/htm. New York: A copy of our most recent financial report is available from the Charities Registry on the New York State Attorney General’s website at www.charitiesnys.com or, upon request, by contacting the NYS Attorney General, Charities Bureau, at 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271 or at 212-416-8401. North Carolina: Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the State Solicitation Licensing Branch at (888) 830-4989 (within N.C.) or (919) 814-5400 (outside N.C.). Pennsylvania: The official registration and financial information of The New York Community Trust may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999. Virginia: From the State Office of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23218. Washington: From the Charities Program at 1-800-332-4483, or www.sos.wa.gov/charities. West Virginia: West Virginia residents may obtain a summary of the registration and financial documents from the Secretary of State, State Capitol, Charleston, WV 25305. Wisconsin: A financial statement of the organization disclosing assets, liabilities, fund balances, revenue and expenses for the preceding fiscal year will be provided to any person upon request. CONTRIBUTIONS ARE DEDUCTIBLE FOR FEDERAL INCOME TAX PURPOSES IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAW. REGISTRATION IN A STATE DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION OF THE NEW YORK COMMUNITY TRUST BY THE STATE.

REGIONAL GRANTMAKING

Faith in action

Our region is home to many religions and faiths. And while the fundamentals of religions differ, most share a commitment to giving to those in need as one way to demonstrate their faith in action.

That is why The New York Community Trust, our Long Island Community Foundation, and our Westchester Community Foundation are committed to supporting donors who choose to give in ways that align with their religious beliefs. Here’s a closer look at funds supported by three different faith communities.

LONG ISLAND UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FUND

For more than 30 years, our Long Island Unitarian Universalist Fund (LIUU), a field-of-interest advised fund in The Trust, has worked to address education equity, environmental justice, immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy, and women’s rights. The Fund’s advisory committee, which recommends grants, also focuses on areas such as leadership development, legal and legislative advocacy, and racial equity and justice.

This fund has awarded millions to support nonprofits working to ignite and strengthen progressive social change on Long Island.

Seven principles guide the fund’s work:

1. A belief in the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

2. Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations.

3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement of spiritual growth.

4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning.

5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process.

6. The goal of a world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.

7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

From left to right: Rev. Holly Haile Thompson, Donna Colliuns-Smith, Chief Rebecca Genia, and Christina Tarrant, leaders of the Padoquohan Medicine Lodge, meet in the prayer circle on the Shinnecock Reservation. The Shinnecock Nation founded the Lodge in 1994 to support Tribe members with food, health, and housing. The nonprofit recently received a Trust grant to lead advocacy efforts to protect sacred burial grounds. Photo by Ari Mintz

“These seven principles are instrumental throughout the grantmaking process,” said Marie Smith, director of donor relations and communications at the Long Island Community Foundation.

The Fund’s recent grant to the Padoquohan Medicine Lodge reflected its principles of dignity, justice, and respect. The grant supported the Lodge’s successful advocacy to pass the New York State Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act, establishing the first regulations in the state to protect Native American remains and funerary artifacts found on private land.

“The Long Island Unitarian Universalist Fund has awarded 662 grants to build power among historically marginalized groups and advocate for policies and practices that level the playing field—all of which will make Long Island a more equitable and peaceful place for all of its residents to live,” Smith said.

THE DOMINICAN SISTERS OF HOPE EMPOWERMENT FUND

The Dominican Sisters of Hope Empowerment Fund was established as a field-of-interest fund through our Westchester Community Foundation in 2014. Since then, the fund has made 72 grants to support the needs of the local community.

It’s important that we give in a way that will confront deeper issues, like poverty and racism, and will foster hope and change lives.”

- Sister Catherine McDonnell O.P., Prioress Dominican Sisters of Hope

The fund’s purpose is to promote social justice and systemic change

in keeping with key principles of Catholic social teaching. Recent grants supported day laborers seeking better working conditions and low-income immigrants engaging in advocacy and leadership development.

“Giving is a reflection of our faith and our values,” said Sister Catherine McDonnell, O.P., Prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Hope. “And it’s important that we give in a way that will confront deeper issues, like poverty and racism, and will foster hope and change lives.”

ZAKAT FUND OF NYC

In 2017, several Muslim families in New York City came together to create a lasting way to collectively fulfill the Islamic pillar of faith known as Zakat, which involves redistributing wealth in the community to those in need.

Born to Muslim immigrants who practice Zakat by helping meet urgent needs in their countries of origin, these families wanted to find a way to carry out their own Zakat locally to improve the lives of struggling New Yorkers. They created the Zakat Fund of NYC, a donor-advised fund in The Trust.

“The Trust is grateful for the Zakat Fund’s contributions to community philanthropy through honoring the Muslim value of giving to those in need. The Zakat Fund provides crucial support to vulnerable New Yorkers of all backgrounds and faiths,” said Trust Chief Philanthropic Officer Rebecca Mandelman.

Recent grants from the Fund have helped local nonprofits aid refugees and asylum seekers, assist low-income people with court fees, support survivors of domestic violence, and bolster housing and food programs. n

Photo courtesy of Rural & Migrant Ministries, a grantee of the LIUU Fund. This nonprofit has helped farmers create a cooperative on the East End of Long Island that provides more ownership and better profit margins than traditional farm work.

Estate planning: Look after your loved ones and your charitable passions

Money, mortality, and family relationships can be challenging topics to discuss, which might explain why it’s not unusual for people to avoid getting started setting up or updating an estate plan. And with so many competing demands on your time and attention, estate planning might feel like one task you can put off to a later date. But it’s important to remember that establishing will, trust, and beneficiary designations well before you expect to need them is a necessary act of kindness for your loved ones.

By planning ahead, you can spare surviving—and grieving— loved ones additional burdens from uncertainty on how best to carry out your wishes. Updating your estate plan also lets you arrange gifts from your estate to causes you care about.

A popular way of supporting charities in an estate plan is through a beneficiary designation. If you’re considering this option, here are some tips to keep in mind.

● As you work with your attorney and other advisors, be sure to review the beneficiary designations on your insurance policies and retirement plans.

● Remember to update your plan after any major life events.

● Pay close attention to taxdeferred retirement plans, such as 401(k)s and IRAs. Married people typically name their spouse as the primary beneficiary of these accounts to provide income

and comply with legal requirements.

● Naming a charity like The New York Community Trust as a secondary beneficiary of these tax-deferred accounts can be a tax-efficient, streamlined way to make gifts to your favorite causes and establish a philanthropic legacy.

Finally, always check with your own financial advisor before making any final decisions. Estate planning documents, including wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations help prevent conflicts among grieving loved ones and provide clear instructions for the distribution of assets following your wishes. While it’s tempting to delay

taking these steps, it’s helpful to remember that an estate plan is one more way to demonstrate how much you care about the people in your life—as well as your charitable passions.

This article is published for informational purposes only and with the understanding that it is not legal, accounting, or other professional advice. n

SHOW YOU CARE

Let The Trust help with your estate planning. We can discuss options with you and provide appropriate bequest and beneficiary designation language. Contact us to learn more: (212) 686-0010 x363 or giving@nyct-cfi.org.

Artwork by Jai

909 Third Avenue, 22nd Floor

New York, NY 10022

nycommunitytrust.org

A new look for a new century

The New York Community Trust marks its centennial this year. In June, we’ll sport a new look and announce a series of public programs across the boroughs, Long Island, and Westchester. We’ll celebrate throughout the fall and winter. You won’t want to miss it! Coming in June...