OCTOBER 2015 NEWSLETTER
JOHN GOMEZ
TERRY KAELBER Food for seniors
KIMMI CABAN
Training for jobs
Housing for artists
Changing Lives
The Trust’s donors make New York better for everyone.
RESULTS | For New York—and You A note from Bob Edgar and Gay Young, our VPs for Donor Services Many of you know The New York Community Trust through your own donor-advised funds. But you may not realize we Photo by Enrique Cubillo
offer another way to give back to New York, Westchester, and
This special issue gives a glimpse of
Long Island: Include The Trust in your will. That way, your generosity will be paired with funds started by other generous New Yorkers, and you’ll support the types of programs described in these pages. Some donors create funds that support specific interests (job training, helping the homeless). Others advance broad interests (health, the environment). Our program officers identify today’s most effective nonprofits as well as promising new projects in the fields that are important to you.
some of our
Eighteen years after her death, Helen Merrill continues to support the arts (below). And
successes.
Dr. Anne Anastasi helps animals that help people (page 3). And LuEsther T. Mertz keeps
Generous
supporting human rights (page 11). You, too, can make a difference—for years to come. n
donors like you
the nonprofits that make life better for all New Yorkers. Contact us to find out how you can make a difference. Call Jane Wilton at (212) 686-2653
3
A Theater Lover Keeps Theater Alive
I
An agent’s bequest fuels talented playwrights
n 2015, playwright Qui Nguyen is able to focus on his work, thanks to a woman he never knew: Helen Merrill, who died in 1997. Merrill, a theatrical agent, had an eye for talent. And because she wanted to continue supporting playwrights even after her death, she came to The Trust. HELEN MERRILL We created the Helen Merrill Playwright Awards—a highly selective honor for emerging dramatists and those in need of financial assistance. With these awards, we’re doing what Merrill herself did: nurturing incredible playwrights. Brooklyn resident Nguyen, 38, co-founded an Obie award-winning theater company; his play, VIETGONE, a hip-hop comedy about his Vietnamese parents’ love story, premieres in 2016. Meet other winners at nycommunitytrust.org n
QUI NGUYEN, shown with his two sons, is a winner of The Trust’s $25,000 Helen Merrill Playwright Award. Photo by Ari Mintz for The Trust
help us support
“
I found this award from The New York
Community Trust an absolute lifesaver. I now have some security to take care of my two boys as I show them if you truly love something, you fight for it with all you’ve got. Plus, I know there’s going to be a roof over my head. Bottom line: This award
”
keeps me in the game.
— QUI NGUYEN nycommunitytrust.org
RESULTS: Preparing for Jobs
From Cleaner to Hackathon Champ A tech program is changing lives in Queens By JOHN GOMEZ
M
y family came to New York from Colombia when I was 8. I did well in school, but had to help support my parents and siblings, so we cleaned offices at night. I dropped out of City College, joining my big brother and my dad in construction work by day while continuing the night work. My solace came when I studied math, art, and physics in free time. I lived on hope. Then I came across a program run by Coalition for Queens, which helps minorities and women enter the tech field. I got in! I’ll always be glad that happened. I’ve been studying at Access Code, an intensive, ninemonth tech career program. It has given me skills and opportunities FIRST that completely changed my life. PERSON Two nights a week and every weekend, I’m at the Coalition for Queens, learning to build computer applications, and how to start my own company. I’ve learned the latest in coding from programmers. I’ve visited the Google and Microsoft offices. My team won first place in Access Code’s
TRUST SUPPORT helped Coalition for Queens team up with tech companies to start Access Code in 2014. The program is committed to those who need it most: At least half the students are women;
JOB PROGRAM HONORED
many are underrepresented
The Trust created the New York Alliance for Careers in Healthcare to train disadvantaged New Yorkers for betterpaying jobs while helping health care providers hire skilled workers. With $1.2 million from The Trust and our Workforce Development Fund, the Alliance has helped more than 600 people get hired or advance their careers. (Above: Our vice president for grants, Patricia Jenny, and Shawna Trager, executive director of the Alliance, share an award in Baltimore, MD.)
minorities or immigrants. The average participant entering Access Code earns $24,000 per year, and those who complete the full program report significantly higher pay.
first hackathon to create a mobile application for New York’s needs. Our app allows cellphone messages to be sent in an emergency—without a cellphone carrier. We developed it for low-income families. After the program ends, I think I’ll find a great job. I’ve dreamed of opening my own business and now, thanks to The New York Community Trust, it’s likely. n John Gomez, 25, lives in Woodside, Queens.
Working Like a Dog A fund created to help animals keeps four-legged guides healthy ith our help, Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Yorktown Heights provides free veterinary care to dozens of guide dogs owned by New Yorkers. Abigail Lanier of Brooklyn is blind and relies on her guide dog, Alexa the Labrador (at right), while navigating bustling, hazardous streets. Lanier, who moved here from North Carolina to be a part of the music industry, works at a nonprofit group that supports blind and visually impaired musicians. Alexa’s veterinary care keeps her in top condition and was made possible by our donors, including Dr. Anne Anastasi, a research psychiatrist who died in 2001. Anastasi loved animals and left us a bequest to care for them, with an emphasis on providing medical care. This is one of the ways we use her gift. She’s helping guide dogs as well as the humans who depend on them. n October 2015 | Results Newsletter
Both photos by Ari Mintz for The Trust
W
facebook.com/ nycommtrust twitter.com/ nycommtrust
4
RESULTS: Strengthening Nonprofits
Training for the Top New Trust fellowship gives mid-career ‘nonprofiteers’ a boost
N
IN WESTCHESTER: The nonprofit sector is Westchester County’s largest employer. A study funded by our Westchester Community Foundation showed local hospitals, schools, social-service providers, and other nonprofits generated $6.9 billion in revenue last year. Conducted by Johns Hopkins University and Nonprofit Westchester, the study raised concerns about low wages for many health-care and socialservice workers. Nonprofit Westchester is advocating for government policies to bolster nonprofits. It’s also using the report to inspire charitable Westchester residents to give locally.
ew York City’s nonprofit sector faces a leadership crisis. A generation of founders and executive directors is retiring. The sector—including some of the City’s top employers—needs savvy new leaders. So here come The New York Community Trust Leadership Fellows. We made the largest grant ever by a local foundation for a nonprofit leadership program—$450,000. It funds a fellowship with Baruch College School of Public Affairs. Mid-career professionals learn from experts and each other as they seek solutions to real-world problems they face on the job. The inaugural class of 27 fellows—representing groups ranging from Ocean Bay Community Development Corporation in Far Rockaway to MindBuilders Creative Arts Center in the Bronx—graduated this summer. One, Bushra Khan, is associate director of programs at Year Up New York, which prepares young people for corporate jobs. Promoted twice in the past two years, she says she valued the fellowship because it taught her how to create a successful work plan, get staff backing, and attract an effective board. The second group of fellows started this fall. “I’ve been thrilled to see how much knowledge the fellows have gleaned and immediately used in their organizations,” says Michael Seltzer, a distinguished lecturer at Baruch who also directs the fellowship program. n
LEADERS IN TRAINING: Trust Fellows gather for a session on board development. From left: Sallie Quinones of Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center, Yaremis Félix Colón from Pregones Theater & Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, and Elizabeth Kahn from Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation. Photo by Amy Wolf/The Trust
“
With Baruch College, we’re training the next generation of nonprofit leaders to excel. —PATRICIA SWANN, senior program officer, The New York Community Trust
”
Nonprofit Leadership on the Island
O
ur Long Island Community Foundation underwrote a leadership program at Adelphi University last year for nonprofit professionals and community leaders of color. The program helped in several ways, says Jason A. Neal, the program coordinator at the Boys & Girls Club of the Bellport Area, who serves on the board of another nonprofit, Long Island Families Together. “I communicate more effectively at work, and as a board member I gained a better understanding of strategically leading through stewardship and governance.” Left: part of the 2014 graduating class, with Jason A. Neal in the center, second row. n
5
nycommunitytrust.org
RESULTS: Studying for the Future
College Behind Bars One woman’s transformation from inmate to intellectual By JENNELL NESBITT
I
was incarcerated for 11 years. At first, I had a hard time adjusting to prison rules, so I spent a lot of time in solitary. Pretty soon I had an epiphany: I would capitalize on my jail time. First I got my GED. Then, after I was transferred to FIRST Bayview PERSON Correctional Facility in Manhattan, I saw a notice: “Bard College signup.” I was stunned when they admitted me. Each semester, I challenged myself more than the last. I was close to finishing my associate’s degree when superstorm Sandy
hit. Because Bayview is close to the water, we were split up and evacuated. I ended up in a correctional facility upstate in Beacon. The Bard students were depressed. We spent our time cleaning up cigarette butts. Thankfully, Bard professors arrived after a month. We improvised and finished the semester. I was released four months ago. Tonight, I’m receiving my degree! Now, I’m training with Con Edison. I am also an intern with Tribeca Film Institute. Getting my degree on the inside helped reshape my life on the outside. Next, I plan to earn my bachelor’s. Knowledge is key! n
NEW START: Jennell Nesbitt giving her graduation speech at an upstate correctional facility. This essay is adapted from the speech. Photo by China Jorrin
The Trust’s support for Bard Prison Initiative helped Nesbitt and dozens of other incarcerated women take college courses, earn associates’ degrees, and transition to life outside. The program runs in six prisons across the State, and has enrolled 300 full-time students.
Vital Jobs, Higher Pay
Is The New York Community Trust in Your Will? The projects in these pages are possible because people made gifts during their lifetime or provided for bequests. You can set up a permanent fund to help the arts or education… Or a specific borough… Or the entire City. We’ll make grants supporting the causes you care about. Forever.
Thousands will earn living wages
C
aring for children and case management for seniors—these are vital jobs, but they sometimes pay near-poverty wages. The Trust supported advocacy by the Fiscal Policy Institute to improve wages for those paid under City contracts. As a result, this year Mayor Bill de Blasio set an $11.50-an-hour wage floor, an important first step in ensuring a living wage for more than 10,000 workers. The Institute is also working with the City to help these workers get education and training to move up. n
October 2015 | Results Newsletter
Call Jane Wilton (212) 686-2563 to learn more.
6
RESULTS: Finding Space for Artists
More Room to Move Pairing dancers with spaces and students at CUNY schools
D
Working with the Queens College Kupferberg Center for the Arts, The Trust helped start the CUNY Dance Initiative: Professional choreographers and dance troupes get residencies that include rehearsal and performance space, artist fees, and production costs. The dancers give back by conducting master classes and lectures and bringing high-caliber performances to college audiences. It has expanded to 11 CUNY campuses. n
Photo by Ian Douglas
ance troupes struggle to find affordable rehearsal and performance space. So when Kerry McCarthy, our senior program officer for the arts, heard LaGuardia Community College was offering space to dancers, she figured this model was worth replicating. “More CUNY campuses could offer space in exchange for classes and performances,” says McCarthy. “That’s the definition of a win for everybody.”
ON CAMPUS: Jennifer Weber (front row, left) of Decadancetheatre teaches a master class at Hunter College as part of the CUNY Dance Initiative.
“
Having a fantastically big space for rehearsals was huge for the development of our show ‘Hip Hop Nutcracker.’
”
—JENNIFER WEBER, artistic director of Decadancetheatre in Brooklyn
7
nycommunitytrust.org
Many of our donors made it in New York and gave back to the place that helpe
“
I am touched that someone would leave money in her will to support artists. Thank you, Lila! – Kimmi Caban
KIMMI CABAN, 28, is a multimedia artist and resident of El Barrio’s Artspace PS109. Photo by Daniel Racz
”
Artists’ Paradise in Harlem A Trust grant helps transform abandoned school By KIMMI CABAN
A
ll of us in East Harlem wondered what would happen to the big shuttered school on East 99th Street. I grew up in the Washington Houses next door, and walked by the vacant building every day on my way to high school. Finally, construction started. I’m a multimedia artist, FIRST model, and curator, so when I heard the school was being PERSON converted into affordable live-work spaces for artists, I called every day. My persistence paid off, and I moved in this year. PS109 now houses several gallery, rehearsal, and performance spaces that welcome the community. It’s a total dream that I can wake up and do what I love. Not only that, it’s a community of artists who cook, collaborate, and hang out together—we make each other’s work and lives richer. n
October 2015 | Results Newsletter
LILA ACHESON WALLACE created a fund in The New York Community Trust to support the arts. Her generosity allowed us to provide crucial early funding to create live-work spaces for more than 100 artists. The Trust also gave money to Spaceworks NYC to renovate underused buildings, such as abandoned barracks on Governors Island, into inexpensive studios for artists.
at helped launch their success. Join them. Contact Bob Edgar at 212.686.2564.
8
RESULTS: Preserving New York’s History
A Bronx Culture Trail Signs, tours, and events make history come alive
J
SIDEWALK SIGNS: Illustration based on rendering of winning marker design by Chat Travieso & Yeju Choi.
azz greats, salsa legends, the early pioneers of hip-hop, and the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice— all have roots in the South Bronx. We supported Casita Maria Center for Arts Education as it created the South Bronx Culture Trail. On tours led by the Bronx Musical Heritage Center, or guided by an online map, the curious can visit the former site of the Tropicana, where Celia Cruz and Tito Rodriguez performed in the ’50s. Or the playground where hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash set up his turntables in the ’70s. Other stops: The childhood homes of salsa and Latin jazz musician Eddie Palmieri, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. While the sidewalk markers (see prototype, left) are produced and installed, thousands of New Yorkers have already enjoyed giant projections of vintage footage from great musicians to reanimate historic concert halls and movie theaters along the culture trail. n
Celia
Cruz
um
lb 1962 a
Justice Sotomayor
Saving Faith Historic synagogue ready for repairs
HISTORIC HARLEM: A synagogue turned church on 118th Street gets help from a Trust grant.
9
With our funding, the New York Landmarks Conservancy took steps to preserve a remarkably unchanged Moorish Revival-style building in Harlem. Built as a synagogue in 1900 by a Polish Jewish congregation, it now houses the New Bethel Way of the Cross Church of Christ. The Conservancy also helped place the building on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, making it eligible for repair money from the Landmarks Conservancy and New York State. n
nycommunitytrust.org
RESULTS: Supporting Young New Yorkers
Love for a Borough, Forever Even after her death, a Queens native helps local groups
R
uth Adel Torgerson Leffler grew up in Queens and moved to Long Island, where she made a name as one of the country’s best female golfers in the mid-20th century. She continued to TORGERSON LEFFLER care about her home borough; in her will she created the Adel and Leffler Families’ Fund for Queens in The New York Community Trust. Since her death more than 20 years ago, The Trust has given nearly $6 million from the fund to dozens of groups, ranging from SculptureCenter in Long Island City to Sunnyside Community Services. Three years ago, we helped start an academic and leadership program for girls run by South Asian Youth Action (known as SAYA) in Elmhurst. When we saw how the program was transforming lives, we gave money to expand it. n Photo by Ari Mintz for The Trust
I’m more confident “andNow, understand that I’m in charge of my life and my happiness. ” —SAMENA HOQUE, 17, participant (at right)
Coping With Grief On Long Island When children lose a loved one, they often need help expressing their feelings. East End Hospice runs Camp Good Grief, a one-week bereavement summer program for children and teens. Our Long Island Community Foundation supports the camp’s musical program (shown at left). n
October 2015 | Results Newsletter
10
RESULTS: Helping the Ill, Nurturing Neighborhoods
REMOTE LEARNING: Anthony Negron, manager of digital programming at the New York Hall of Science, runs experiments while homebound and hospitalized children interact in real time.
Science Class at Home Videoconferences bring lessons to homebound and hospitalized kids
C
hronically ill and homebound children suffering from cancer, blood disorders, and other health problems often miss months of school. This makes it tough to keep up in science classes, which involve more than reading a textbook in bed. New York State requires that anyone graduating, including children with disabilities, meet Common Core standards and laboratory requirements. In 2011, we helped the New York Hall of Science create the Virtual Visit program, bringing
science to the sick through videoconferences. Instructors from the Hall of Science explore math, nanoscience, microbiology, and chemistry with homebound or hospitalized kids, grades K through 12, by videoconference. Students can even operate a remote-controlled robot for “hands-on” activities. In 2013, we helped expand the program to hundreds more students. The virtual laboratory is attracting notice around the country. In 2014, it won an award from the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration. n
Fresh Food, Healthy Neighborhoods Elderly New Yorkers help neighbors improve their diets GROW GREENS, NOT GRASS: Residents of the Ingersoll Houses in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, helped transform lawns into flourishing gardens, thanks to our support of Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project Local Development Corporation. Here, a gardener admires produce. Cover: Terry Kaelber, at United Neighborhood Houses, helped lead this effort. Photo by Amy Wolf/ The Trust
We’ve turned elders into healthy food ambassadors. We joined with another foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, to give
$2 million to 9 nonprofits, helping more than 270 older adults start or lead 1 fresh food buyers’ club, 2 beehives, 4 chicken coops, 8 farmers’ markets, 145 garden plots, and 325 cooking classes. The work was run by United Neighborhood Houses, a group that supports settlement houses and other nonprofits. Now, Trust support for the Aging in New York Fund is taking this model to 8 additional senior centers.
11
RESULTS: Funding Justice for Immigrants
She Changed His Life
A fund for human rights helps LGBT immigrants
O
utgoing and energetic, Francois came to New York from Jamaica, where he was vilified and attacked because he was gay. He was able to stay here, thanks to free legal assistance from a nonprofit group called LUESTHER T. MERTZ Immigration Equality. We’re able to support this work because publishing executive LuEsther T. Mertz created a fund in her will to promote human rights, among other causes. Although she died in 1994, her generosity still helps New Yorkers. n
With my personality, “it wasn’t easy living in
WINNING ASYLUM: Francois in Battery Park (left). Over the past two years, Trust grants have allowed Immigration Equality to help hundreds of LGBT immigrants apply for and win asylum. Photo by Alena Timonina
Jamaica. I was forced so far underground that I was cut off from society.
”
—FRANCOIS, 23, lives in Manhattan. He is studying to enter the medical field. His dream is to become a professor at Columbia University.
Legal Safety Net for Unaccompanied Minors
W
hen thousands of young immigrants were facing deportation last year, The Trust, the New York City Council, and the Robin Hood Foundation stepped up. Together, we gave $1.9 million to several groups—The Door, Legal Aid Society, Catholic Charities, and Atlas: DIY—to assist unaccompanied minors applying for legal status. This past summer, City Council Speaker Melissa MarkViverito announced that every unaccompanied immigrant child who arrived in the City is being provided free legal assistance, creating a national model. So far, 5,000 lawyers and student volunteers have been trained; 1,600 immigrants have been screened; and law groups have taken on 650 cases. In Nassau and Suffolk counties, our Long Island Community Foundation created a funder group to pool resources to help young immigrants get legal representation. n
October 2015 | Results Newsletter
SAFE, IN NEW YORK: Marcos P., 20, fled Guatemala because he was beaten and abused by a neighbor for years. With our support of Atlas: DIY, attorney Rebecca McBride is helping him live, work, and go to school legally in the United States. Photo by Ari Mintz for The Trust
12
New York: Improved. This special issue shows how people like you join us to support the arts, the environment, education, and more. tod Contact us today.
BUSHRA KHAN
QUI NGUYEN
Lessons for leadership
Awards for playwrights
ABIGAIL LANIER
Photos by Ari Mintz for The Trust
Eyes for the blind