Sep 04, 2024 Press Release
Robin Hood to Release $36 Million in Poverty-Fighting Grants During the Third Quarter of 2024
Funding supports financial security, high-quality education, stable housing, thriving communities, health, and career advancement—all core domains of human investment necessary to enable low-income New Yorkers to reach and exceed milestones associated with upward economic mobility.
NEW YORK, NY — Today, Robin Hood, New York City’s largest local poverty-fighting philanthropy, announced details of its Q3 2024 grant portfolio, totaling $36 million in new funding for nearly 100 organizations across New York City’s five boroughs. Since January, Robin Hood has invested more than $75.3 million in the fight against poverty through its grant-making programs and nearly $3 billion since its founding in 1988.
“These new resources come at a critical moment. New York is at an inflection point, where poverty is increasing by record numbers year-over-year, government spending is constrained, and those living in poverty are increasingly caught in the financial vice between rising prices and stagnant wages. We are doing everything we can to stabilize low-income households while fostering opportunities for upward economic mobility. New York City must always remain a place of hope and opportunity for every resident.” said Richard R. Buery, Jr. CEO of Robin Hood.
Our grants enable New Yorkers to meet basic needs and build ladders of opportunity to move families beyond the poverty threshold:
- During Q3, 22 grants totaling $6.6 million will help eligible low-income families navigate a labyrinth of government documentation and complicated application processes to more easily access benefits for food and nutrition, housing vouchers, income supports like tax refunds and credits, immigration programs, and quality health care. These grantmaking investments provide low-income New Yorkers with autonomy and independence and give their families longer-term stability.
- 15 grants totaling $4.4 million will help develop and maintain supportive housing for the homeless and mentally ill homeless; assist homeless families with children as they seek permanent housing; combat “source of income” discrimination among landlords and real estate agents; prevent evictions and give low-income tenants their “Right to Counsel” in housing courts; provide housing assistance to Southeast Asians; fund advocacy efforts to improve and expand the CityFHEPS voucher program while building the case for a parallel statewide program; and support groundbreaking initiatives that have successfully supported and redirected youth away from the criminal legal system and preventing them from returning to jail or prison.
- 8 grants totaling nearly $4.4 million will support maternal and pediatric care in under-resourced communities; provide free or low-cost primary care for immigrants; improve mental health outcomes for Black pregnant and postpartum women; strengthen health referral networks for families and newborns; and provide evidence-based mental health services to adolescents.
- 31 grants totaling $13.7 million to support high-quality education efforts that boost educational outcomes for low-income New Yorkers, including providing full-day, high-quality care for infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities; strengthening bonds between caregivers, newborns, and infants while promoting language development and improved cognitive skills that set children up for success in kindergarten; funding summer training institutes for Early Childhood and Special Education teachers; installing museum-quality interactive hubs for children and caregivers at two family homeless shelters; placing 700 college students as early literacy tutors in high-need elementary schools across the City; establishing a training and coaching lab for 40 middle school math teachers in the Bronx that have proven to supercharge improvements in student learning outcomes and support 15 other training and coaching programs for NYC elementary school district superintendents and principals; supporting college prep and counseling for low-income students; helping nearly 1,500 students enroll in and and stay in college or keep a job; supporting the implementation and teacher training necessary to rollout NYC Reads; as well as a support a host of programs that improve high-school and college persistence and graduation rates.
- 11 grants totaling $3.8 million to provide job training and readiness, counseling, placement, and work experience in growing, high-wage earning sectors for young adults from high-need communities.
- Finally, 9 grants totaling $4 million to support education and advocacy efforts to expand child care, reduce child poverty, promote worker justice initiatives, strengthen the child care workforce, extend paid family leave in NYC, as well as address widening disparities from the pandemic era in income, housing access, education, and behavioral health. Grants in the portfolio also support our 12-year partnership and the ongoing research of Columbia University in preparing and producing our Poverty Tracker Reports.
- Since the Spring of 2022, Robin Hood has invested $12 million in supporting the needs of migrants and asylum seekers. Earlier this spring, we launched The Funds for the Newest New Yorkers in conjunction with the New York Community Trust. Later this fall, following the release of our latest RFP, we will announce a new round of funding to build capacity for migrant and immigrant service providers.
To learn more about our grantees and the impact of our grantmaking, visit our website at robinhood.org
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About Robin Hood:
Robin Hood is New York’s largest local poverty-fighting philanthropy. Last year, Robin Hood celebrated its 35th year of funding, supporting, and connecting New York’s most impactful community organizations at the forefront in the battle against poverty. We are NYC’s largest local poverty-fighting philanthropy and since 1988, we have invested nearly $3 billion to elevate and fuel New Yorkers’ permanent escapes from poverty. In 2023, through grantmaking with 250+ community partners, we created pathways to opportunities out of poverty through our strategic partnerships on child care, child poverty, jobs, living wages and more. We are scaling impact at a population level for the nearly 2 million New Yorkers living in poverty. At Robin Hood, we believe your starting point in life should not define where you end up. To learn more about our work and impact, follow us on X @RobinHoodNYC or go to robinhood.org.
