We are one of the country's largest community foundations with assets of more than $1.8 billion in nearly 2,000 individual charitable funds. In 2008, we made $127 million in grants.
We have been helping charitable individuals, families, and businesses with their philanthropy since 1924. We make philanthropy convenient, professional, and lasting. Learn more about our history »
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Community foundations are different from private foundations. They have a broad mandate to serve their communities, and can’t limit their focus to a few areas. They also must have a geographic focus. Community foundations are made up of many individual charitable funds, some that are for unrestricted purposes, and others that are for particular fields of interest, some broad, others narrow. Some funds are set up by will or through deferred giving arrangements, some by living donors who recommend grants.
Grants at the trust are made in one of two ways: they are suggested by our donor-advisors or made from our discretionary grants program in response to proposals from nonprofits. The later are made possible through the generosity of past donors who established permanent charitable funds with us during their lifetimes or through their wills. Visit our Grants at Work section to learn more about these discretionary grants.
Many people who set up donor-advised funds have left principal in the fund. When it is no longer advised, the money is put into our discretionary grants program and used to make grants in the donors' names forever. Others add to their funds by will. And still other create new funds in their wills. Learn more about creating a charitable legacy.
The Trust and Community Funds operate together as The New York Community Trust, with a single governing body.
Community Funds is our not-for-profit corporation. Its assets are invested by outside portfolio managers and overseen by our respected Investment Committee.
The New York Community Trust is composed of separate trusts, each of which has a trustee. The trustee must be one of our 13 trustee banks; no co-trustees are permitted. The Resolution and Declaration of Trust creating "The New York Community Trust" (the R&D) is a complete trust instrument that sets out in detail the powers and duties of the trustee bank and our board. In order to establish a fund in The Trust, the trust document simply incorporates the R&D by reference.
Yes, we have both.
You can download our
Conflict of Interest Policy here,
and our Whistle Blower Policy here.