skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, February 7, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

January jobs report: Unemployment rate falls to 4%, wages rise more than forecast; Trump signs order imposing sanctions on International Criminal Court over investigations of Israel; Ten Commandments in public schools debate reaches South Dakota; Virginia ranks among worst states for wage theft; Mexican long-nosed bat makes appearance in Arizona.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Attorney General Pam Bondi strikes a Trump tone at the Justice Department, federal workers get more time to consider buyouts, and an unclassified email request from the White House worries CIA vets.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

During Black History Month, a new book shares how a unique partnership built 5,000 schools for Black students, anti-hunger advocates say ag communities would benefit from an expanded SNAP program, and Americans have $90 billion in unpaid medical bills.

Assessing Community Giving, Grassroots Needs

play audio
Play

Wednesday, April 13, 2016   

NEW YORK - A major source of funding for nonprofit groups in New York City is succeeding at helping marginalized communities, according to a new report.

The New York Community Trust, the third largest of its kind in the nation, distributes about $55 million a year to organizations large and small. Overall, said Lisa Ranghelli, co-author of a report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, the Trust is doing a great job.

"The leadership and staff clearly feel very strongly about supporting underserved communities and advancing equity," she said, "and the majority of the grants that they have control over are benefiting those communities with the greatest need."

However, Ranghelli, the committee's director of foundation assessment, suggested that the Community Trust needs to work with more grassroots community organizations to better reflect the diversity of the city.

"Those are the folks that really understand the problems that affect them and how best to try to solve them," she said, "and they tend to have the fewest resources at their disposal to organize to solve problems."

David Marcus, communications director for the Trust, said the foundation does fund grassroots groups and always has made diversity a hallmark of its work.

"We take extraordinary lengths to find groups that represent minorities, that have minorities on their boards and in their upper management, and to nurture them and to help them," he said.

Marcus said community trusts are different from large family trusts such as the Ford Foundation, and its donors come from a variety of backgrounds and political points of view.

Ranghelli acknowledged that NCRP has not looked at community trusts since the early 1990s, but indicated that the report is based on interviews with people and organizations that have received grants from the New York Community Trust.

"And so we're helping their constituents who would be fearful of telling them directly what they can do better," she said, "they're able to do that through our assessment."

The NCRP report recommends that the the New York Community Trust find creative ways to help connect its donors to issues and causes closer to the community.

The report is online at philamplify.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Opponents of a South Dakota bill that would require the Ten Commandments be posted in all public school classrooms say it would be an unfunded mandate. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A South Dakota House committee takes up a controversial bill today that would require all school districts in the state to display the Ten Commandment…


play sound

Virginia ranks third behind only Maryland and Delaware among the worst states for the average amount of back wages companies owe to their workers…

Environment

play sound

Some North Dakota school districts are part of a movement that has embraced electric school buses, but the federal funding shakeup carried out by the …


Florida immigrant advocacy groups are intensifying efforts to help undocumented individuals navigate encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. (David Peinado/Pexels)

Social Issues

play sound

Immigrant advocates in Florida are ramping up efforts to help families navigate President Donald Trump's new immigration orders, which have increased …

Social Issues

play sound

The rate of U.S. high school seniors seeking higher education is on the upswing, according to research from Lumina Foundation. Although Hoosier …

Gov. Kathy Hochul's free community college proposal would apply to people pursuing first-time associate degrees for jobs in high-demand fields, including nursing, teaching, technology and engineering. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

New York State is making historic higher education investments. As part of the 2026 budget proposal, Gov. Kathy Hochul proposes free community …

Social Issues

play sound

Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed state budget includes a significant increase for public education to address Pennsylvania's school funding issues and …

Social Issues

play sound

Alabama nonprofits are coming together to tackle challenges that may threaten their survival, from declining donor support to shifting federal …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021