Grants Newsletter December 2012

Making your giving matter more... since 1924 December 2012 NEWSLETTER

GRANTS

You know that good feeling you get when you help make things better?

This newsletter looks at grants that were made possible in large part by generous New Yorkers who wanted to make a difference—and set up endowed funds with us. To find out how you can leave your own legacy, contact our general counsel, Jane Wilton at (212) 686–2563 or janewilton@nyct-cfi.org.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 How Did the Pronghorn Cross the Road?

3 Keeping the Lights On Off Broadway 4 Stopping the Hospital’s Revolving Door 6 Other Grants

“I am undocumented and live here alone since my parents had to return to Mexico. I have been very worried about my future because without the ability to get a good job, it would be very hard for me to survive. The Deferred Action program gives me hope and I am looking forward to pursuing a career as a journalist.”— Antonio Alarcon

Keeping the DREAM Alive

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right, motivated young people are New York City’s future—but 80,000 of our youth are being held back by their immigration status. Undocumented young people are high school valedictorians, volunteers in their communities, and captains of after-school sports teams. But without papers they are unable to get the jobs, scholarships, and other opportunities they need to thrive.

Instead, they live in fear of deportation and often end up working menial jobs and off the books, wasting their talent and drive. For them, there is no time to lose.

On June 15, 2012, President Obama signed an executive order to provide qualified young immigrants the opportunity to work and go to school without fear of deportation. The Trust board pressed for an urgent response, and days Antonio Alarcon, youth leader with Make the Road New York, speaks at a press conference after submitting his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) application. Photo: Joanna Toro

after the government released the application in August, The Trust made six emergency grants totaling $355,000 to get out accurate information, train lawyers, and give individual legal help to thousands of the City’s undocumented youth.

“Young people and their families need immediate information about the benefits, requirements, and risks,” says Shawn Morehead, program officer at The Trust.

“Although a successful application will open doors, a young person needs complete and accurate information to make a wise decision about whether to apply.”

“Immediately after this announcement, immigrant organizations were inundated with hundreds of calls from families wanting more information,” says Steven Choi, executive of the MinKwon Center for Community Action. “The demand was great, but there were some major obstacles. Details about the application qualifications have been seriously lacking—and in their absence, dozens of reports of unscrupulous lawyers and fraudulent notarios have proliferated. Many young people were also worried that their parents would be exposed to deportation if they applied.” A grant of $100,000 to MinKwon is helping eight immigrant groups educate their communities as well as assist eligible immigrants apply for deferred action and work authorization.

Young people often seek guidance from people their own age. A $70,000 grant to Make the Road New York will train youth leaders to give the basics about the policy to their peers and refer them to application clinics.

The New York Immigration Coalition will use a $50,000 grant to write informational materials, coordinate outreach and legal clinics throughout the City, and help place young people in application workshops. Grants of $25,000 to the Association of the Bar of the City of New York Fund; $40,000 to Volunteers of Legal Service; and $70,000 to New York Legal Assistance Group will help attorneys give free application guidance.

The Trust’s Fund for New Citizens, dedicated to helping immigrants in the City, has also given $215,000 to the Legal Aid Society for community clinics and $30,000 to the New York State Youth Leadership Council for outreach.

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How Did the Pronghorn Cross the Road?

Pronghorn are the fastest land mammals in the Northern Hemisphere, and the last of their kind. The fact that they can outrun predators at speeds up to 70 mph might have something to do with their survival. But while wolves aren’t a problem, highways are. Along the pronghorn’s 160-mile overland migration, the longest of any creature’s in the lower 48, highway collisions pose a risk to both animal and driver.

In 2007, The Trust made a grant of $150,000 to the Wildlife Conservation Society to advocate for the first federally designated wildlife corridor, the Path of the Pronghorn. It was successful. The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) then committed $9.7 million to create wildlife over- and underpasses. This October, as the sun set on the recently constructed overpass at Trapper’s Point, Wyoming, 100 pronghorn crossed in 15 minutes. Thus far, WYDOT has built eight safe passages along a 13-mile stretch of highway. The passages accommodate not only pronghorn, but also mule deer, moose, elk, and other animals.

“As conservationists, it seems sometimes that we are spending our time trying to keep things from getting worse,” says Jeff Burrell, program coordinator at the Society. “Today was different. While the structures are only necessary because of a human-created problem, at least humans came together and designed a solution … and one that if today is any indication, will work better than we hoped. Now we just need more of these overpasses, a lot more!”

This grant was made from the Henry Phillip Kraft Family Memorial Fund, set up in The Trust to benefit the environment.

A pronghorn buck (left), pronghorn cross over Highway 191 in Wyoming on an overpass built along the animals’ migratory path thanks to research and advocacy by the Wildlife Conservation Society (right).

Photos: Jeff Burrell

Keeping the Lights On Off Broadway

first survey arts groups and experts to identify administrative challenges and business solutions. It will then create a system that takes advantage of economies of scale and uses a custom web-based platform tailored to the needs of small and mid-sized arts groups.

The show must go on, but at what cost?

Behind the curtain, accounting, insurance, legal compliance, and equipment purchasing must be dealt with before the lights go up. But these administrative functions are eating up small theater budgets and are often handled by artists who’d rather be performing. “Many of these theaters were founded in the 1970s when the rents and competition were low, and government subsidies and advanced ticket subscription rates were high,” says Kerry McCarthy, arts program officer at The Trust. “Today, these theaters face a saturated marketplace and mounting operational expenses.”

With the help of a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Alliance of Resident Theatres/ New York published a report that looked at how small theaters were fairing in a bad economy, and recommended the creation of a system that would provide shared back-office administration. A $50,000 Trust grant will help the Alliance apply this research to develop a business plan to provide collective services in areas such as accounting, human resources, technical support, and facilities management. The Alliance will

“We are creating a holistic, shared system that can eventually include the provision of other services, such as data management and facility maintenance,” says Guy Yarden, financial director at the Alliance. Because people in the arts often need second jobs, the project would likely give artists the opportunity to train for jobs in the program. “For instance, an actor with a knack for numbers might process checks or complete 990 tax forms for several groups at a time.”

“We want to allow the theaters to do what they do best—create art,” says Ginny Louloudes, director of the Alliance. “If we can’t help them bring in money, then we can help them reduce costs.”

The Movement Theatre Company, which develops new works by artists of color, will provide input on developing a business plan to provide collective services to arts groups (above).

The Secret Death of Puppets by Sibyl Kempson is performed at Dixon Place, one of the off-off-Broadway theaters that may benefit from shared back-office services (left). Photo: Cathryn Lynne

December 2012 3

Stopping the Hospital’s Revolving Door No one wants to see patients return to the hospital after being discharged, least of all the patient.

And yet, nationwide, one-fifth of those who got the green light to go home were readmitted within a month. Poor discharge planning is bad for the patient and preventable readmissions cost taxpayers $17 billion last year in Medicare and Medicaid spending. And who are the patients who get readmitted the most? Those with heart disease.

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The New York Community Trust and United Hospital Fund

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To reverse this trend, The Trust has made $50,000 grants to four hospitals: Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York Methodist Hospital, St. Barnabas Hospital, and St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center. These grants match an effort started last year by the United Hospital Fund to figure out why heart patients were not coping well at home and how hospital staff could help them do better.

The hospitals will equip patients with the education, services, and guidance to take care of their hearts at home. The graphic (right) gives the details.

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“If heart patients don’t have the right mix of services and information to support their recovery at home, high blood pressure, palpitations, or shortness of breath can put them back in the hospital,” says Irfan Hasan, program officer at The Trust.

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HE CYCLE L READMISSION Keeping Heart Patients Well at Home TEACH NEW DISCHARGE PROCEDURES • Train 250 hospital staff • Write discharge guide in English and Spanish • Educate 550 patients

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DEVELOP NEW PATIENT TRACKING SYSTEM • Train 85 emergency personnel • Test system on 240 patients returning to ER within 30 days of discharge DEAL WITH DEPRESSION • Add a depression screening tool to discharge planning • Screen 500 patients • Treat depressed patients before discharge • Communicate with community doctors about treatment DEPLOY PATIENT NAVIGATORS • Help 720 patients find community services • Follow up by phone and in-person with patient • Work with Visiting Nurse Service to assess home care plans • Provide free or subsidized medication to 120 patients

December 2012 5

Other Grants Poverty: Addressing the Causes, Treating the Symptoms Brooklyn Housing and Family Services, $50,000 to provide multi-lingual counseling and legal help to families at risk of losing their homes.

Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, $75,000 to help the agency improve human services provided at its satellite offices in poor Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods.

Center for Economic Opportunity, $50,000 to help families move toward economic self-sufficiency by expanding a conditional cash transfer and social service program in the Bronx.

City Harvest, $80,000 to increase the availability of affordable fresh fruits and vegetables in poor communities.

Financial Clinic, $90,000 for advocacy to help low-wage workers paid primarily in cash get earned income tax credits.

New York City Workforce Development Fund, $125,000 for joint grantmaking in workforce development.

New York Lawhelp Consortium, $50,000 to help poor New Yorkers get online legal help via mobile phone, develop its online tutorials, and expand its offerings in Spanish.

Women’s Center for Education and Career Advancement, $60,000 to help unemployed, older minority women get back into the job market.

Young Women, Young Mothers Fund for Public Health in New York, $105,000 to promote a program that reduces teen pregnancy and improves the sexual health of teens in the South Bronx.

Inwood House, $275,000 to make child welfare agencies more responsive to the needs of young mothers.

Adopting Children into Jewish Homes The Helen F. and Alfred S. Meyer Fund was set up in The Trust to help Jewish groups care for orphaned children. The following grants fulfill the charitable wishes of the founder: Jewish Child Care Association of New York, $38,000 to help Jewish families raise adopted children.

Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services, $40,000 to facilitate the adoption of Jewish children in foster care.

Bricks and Mortar Local Initiatives Support Corporation, $150,000 to help community development corporations strengthen their operations, improve their governance, and manage their real estate portfolios.

Pratt Institute, Center for Community Development, $40,000 to standardize energy retrofits in one-to-four family homes.

Weeksville Heritage Center, $30,000 to plan a publicity campaign for an expanding historic African-American site in BedStuy, Brooklyn.

Urban Environment Friends of Van Cortlandt Park, $25,000 to organize volunteers in trail and forest restoration programs at this 1,100 acre Bronx park.

Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, $40,000 to advance effective waterfront land use for the City, including the

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GRANTS Newsletter

connection of greenways, improving ferry service, and developing design guidelines for waterfront access.

New York Botanical Garden, $30,000 to teach residents how to grow organic fruits and vegetables in community gardens citywide.

Beyond City Limits Earthworks, $74,000 to ensure adequate environmental safeguards for hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale region.

One Region Fund, $200,000 for a collaborative fund focused on transportation issues in the tri-state region.

Regional Plan Association, $75,000 for a comprehensive longterm plan for the tri-state region.

Smart, Strong, Solvent Nonprofits Community Resource Exchange, $120,000 to help clusters of nonprofits located in impoverished Far Rockaway, Queens and Highbridge in the Bronx.

Fiscal Policy Institute, $47,000 to help the nonprofit sector understand the City and State budget process.

Lawyers Alliance for New York, $400,000 to provide management assistance to major nonprofits dealing with public funding cuts.

Nonprofit Finance Fund, $200,000 to create a financial rescue initiative for New York City human service organizations.

United Neighborhood Houses of New York, $120,000 to help settlement houses build stronger, more effective youth programs through partnerships.

Arts Fellowships for Young Artists In 1988, Sally Van Lier left her estate to The Trust to provide young aspiring artists of limited means with educational assistance and training to foster their talents. Every year since, The Trust has carried out her charitable legacy, providing fellowships to dozens of young aspiring dancers, visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, actors, and playwrights. This year, the grants went to pre-college programs.

Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, $20,000 for four Brooklyn teens to participate in two-year music fellowships.

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, $60,000 to provide two-year design fellowships for six high school students.

Dancewave, $56,000 to provide two-year dance fellowships for five high school students.

El Puente de Williamsburg, $60,000 for two-year multidisciplinary fellowships that will provide three Brooklyn teens with dance, drama, music, or visual arts instruction and a $3,000 annual stipend.

Ghetto Film School, $60,000 to provide 16 students with 15-month media arts fellowships.

Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, $60,000 for six fellowships in ballet, modern, and African dance.

Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center, $60,000 for three threeyear music fellowships.

Dorothy Delson Kuhn Music Institute of the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island, $60,000 for music fellowships for three Staten Island teens.

Multicultural Music Group, $19,000 to provide two threeyear fellowships to Bronx musicians.

National Dance Institute, $45,000 to provide four students with two-year dance fellowships.

Queens Council on the Arts, $60,000 for 30 visual arts fellowships.

Rosie’s Theater Kids, $60,000 for four musical theater fellowships.

School of American Ballet, $60,000 for three dance fellowships for five boys.

Young People’s Chorus of New York City, $60,000 for six two-year music fellowships.

Improving Arts Education for Needy Kids The following grants will bring arts education to 54 underperforming elementary, middle, and high schools that enroll many students from low-income families.

Brooklyn Arts Council, $75,000 to provide folk arts instruction in five Bushwick elementary schools.

Education Through Music, $90,000 to provide music instruction at nine Bronx elementary and middle schools.

Museum of Arts and Design, $60,000 to give suspended students in alternative learning centers arts instruction.

Teachers and Writers Collaborative, $100,000 to provide creative writing instruction that ties in with social studies and science curricula at 13 middle schools across the City.

Visual Understanding in Education, $75,000 to train teachers in 17 schools citywide to use art to teach critical thinking skills.

Strengthening Art Groups Arts and Culture Research Fund, $50,000 to establish a fund for research on City and State arts groups that will use information collected through the Cultural Data Project.

Dance/USA, $30,000 to spin off the Dance/NYC program to create a stronger service organization for the City’s small dance groups.

Staying in School Advocates for Children of New York, $75,000 to advocate for reducing school suspensions throughout the City and help individual students avoid suspension.

After-School Corporation, $80,000 to institute a longer school day to help students in five City schools meet national standards.

Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, $25,000 to prepare Native American high school students for success in college.

Helping Troubled Young People Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services, $80,000 to help this organization apply for a license to open the City’s first two mental health clinics for court-involved youth.

Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, $90,000 to coordinate and strengthen anti-gang violence activities across the City.

Outreach Project, $110,000 to improve mental health and other outpatient services for young people being discharged from residential drug treatment programs in Brooklyn and Queens.

Cultivating Young Minds Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City, $50,000 to recruit volunteers to mentor youth in the Bronx.

Graduate Center, CUNY, $65,000 to continue a program for newly arrived immigrant high school students who are illiterate in their native languages.

GrowNYC, $30,000 to create gardens at New York City public schools.

New York Academy of Sciences, $65,000 to expand a program that uses trained graduate students to teach science courses in after-school programs.

Urban Assembly, $75,000 to start a promising literacy program in six middle schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan.

Exploring New Ways to Stop Blood Clots and Parkinson’s Hospital for Special Surgery, $70,000 to study the efficacy of preventing blood clots in patients with asymptomatic autoimmune diseases.

New York Stem Cell Foundation, $76,000 to create stem cells with the potential to treat Parkinson’s and heart disease.

Health Systems and Policy Medicaid Matters New York, $50,000, to bring a consumer voice to Medicaid reform debates.

NYCRx, $50,000 to study medication adherence in patients with diabetes in central Harlem.

Primary Care Development Corporation, $100,000 to evaluate care currently provided at community health centers and test new models of primary health care and provider reimbursement.

Helping People with Special Needs Amida Care, $100,000 to improve the care of people with AIDS who also have other chronic diseases, mental illness, use drugs, or are homeless.

Art Education for the Blind, $65,000 to help the City’s cultural institutions become more accessible to blind and visually impaired people.

Carter Burden Center for the Aging, $43,000 for an intergenerational program in which developmentally disabled youth help elders.

Long Term Care Community Coalition, $38,000 to monitor inclusion of nursing homes in the New York State Medicaid managed long-term care program.

New York City AIDS Fund, $50,000 for continued support for this collaborative fund that supports AIDS programs citywide.

Resources for Children with Special Needs, $100,000 to upgrade technology at the City’s leading source of information for parents of disabled children.

Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, $75,000 to improve the training of nurses and aides caring for frail elders.

Service Program for Older People, $50,000 to add an electronic medical record system to a mental health agency serving poor and homebound elders.

VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired, $50,000 to complete an upgrade to New York’s information and referral hotline system for blind and visually impaired people.

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GRANTS December 2012 NEWSLETTER

Inside: How Did the Pronghorn Cross the Road?, Keeping the Lights On Off Broadway, Stopping the Hospital’s Revolving Door, and More ...

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 5013 New York, NY

The grants described in this issue were approved by The New York Community Trust’s governing body at its October 2012 meeting. For grantee contact information, or for more information about the grants, please call The Trust’s receptionist at 212.686.0010, ext. 0.

This issue and past newsletters can be found at www.nycommunitytrust.org.

If you’d prefer to receive our newsletter by e-mail, write to newsletter@nyct-cfi.org.

With a $60,000 grant, the Museum of Arts and Design is providing suspended students in Alternative Learning Centers arts instruction using the Museum’s collection. Students will get museum passes and work on group and individual art projects.

Most of the grants in our newsletter are made possible through the generosity of past donors who established permanent, charitable funds with us during their lifetimes or through their wills. To learn more about setting up a fund, now or in the future, please contact our general counsel, Jane Wilton, at 212.686.2563.