Last verified November 9, 2026
Raising money as a small nonprofit or volunteer-led group is hard. Most funders are built for larger organizations with grant writers and long track records. To help smaller groups, we put together a list of New York City foundations that invest in grassroots and community-based organizations like yours.
Every foundation here takes open requests for funding. You don't need an invitation or an existing relationship. You contact the funder directly with a letter, an inquiry form or an application, and they review it. Two deadlines land in the next four weeks.
Looking for more? Browse open grants in our Funding Opportunities directory and our Education Funding directory.
How we picked them. Each funder is New York-based or NYC-focused, funds community building, economic opportunity or education, and publishes a way to reach it. The first six are the best fit for groups under $500,000. The next nine are larger funders, so expect a tougher fit.
Best fit for small and grassroots groups
1. CitizensNYC: Community Leaders Grants
Apply: citizensnyc.org/clg
Funds: Projects that bring New Yorkers together and build local leadership. Grants go up to $5,000.
Budget fit: Under $250,000, with an exemption for schools. You need two or more volunteers, and you can't be a chapter of a larger group. Volunteer groups qualify.
Start here: Applications are open now and due February 1, 2027 at 5 PM ET, with decisions in May. Office hours run Wednesdays at 3 PM, or email [email protected].
Also: Its Neighborhood Business Grants go up to $5,000. Questions go to [email protected].
2. Brooklyn Org: Microgrants
Apply: brooklyn.org/microgrants
Funds: One-year general operating support of up to $10,000 for Brooklyn neighborhood groups.
Budget fit: Expenses under $100,000 last fiscal year. You need 501(c)(3) status or a fiscal sponsor, and at least one year of operations.
Start here: Two review dates: November 30, 2026 (funded in March) and May 31, 2027 (funded in October). Watch its Grant Application Clinic recording first, which is required.
3. North Star Fund
Apply: northstarfund.org/apply
Funds: General operating support for grassroots groups that use organizing as a primary strategy in NYC. It does not fund direct services.
Budget fit: Grants are $20,000. Your annual budget must be under $800,000.
Start here: NYC Organizing Grants are due December 3, 2026 at 8 PM, through its JustFund portal. Rapid Response grants of $2,500 are rolling, for urgent organizing needs. Email [email protected].
4. The New York Foundation
Apply: nyf.org/apply
Funds: Community organizing and grassroots advocacy. Core grants are $55,000 a year for 3 to 5 years. Small grants go up to $10,000. It does not fund direct services or schools.
Budget fit: No cap is published. You must be NYC-based and a 501(c)(3), or fiscally sponsored by one.
Start here: Apply through its online portal. No separate letter of inquiry is listed. One cycle a year, due March 2 in 2026, and no 2027 date is posted yet, so call (212) 594-8009 or email [email protected]. It makes about five new grants a cycle, and groups that get a site visit but aren't funded receive a small honorarium.
5. The New York Women's Foundation: Early Investment Grants
Funds: $80,000 one-year operating grants for emerging, community-based groups led by and for women and gender-expansive people. Priority areas include Economic and Environmental Justice and Civic Engagement and Leadership.
Budget fit: No firm budget cap. Its guidelines describe grantees as typically under $2 million. You need a 501(c)(3) or fiscal sponsor and at least six months in operation.
Start here: The spring 2026 deadline was March 23. No next cycle is announced, so sign up for its newsletter on the announcement page.
6. The Staten Island Foundation
Funds: Staten Island programs in education, health, community services and arts.
Budget fit: It prefers a track record and financial capacity, but the board can consider new groups and fiscal conduits.
Start here: Talk to staff before you apply. The next deadline is January 19, 2027, for the March board meeting, then April 5 for June. Email [email protected] or call (718) 697-2831.
Bigger funders with an open front door
7. Robin Hood Foundation
Funds: NYC 501(c)(3)s that serve low-income New Yorkers and work to lift them out of poverty. Its grantmaking follows four life stages: early childhood, school-age children, young adults, and adults and household supports.
Budget fit: It doesn't publish grant sizes. Its tax filings show 249 grants totaling about $126 million in 2024, so expect six-figure awards. That makes it a stretch under $500,000.
Start here: It doesn't take unsolicited proposals. Submit its expression of interest form instead. It also releases RFPs and challenges, and runs a Grant Readiness and Insights Training Initiative for leaders outside its current grantee pool.
8. Tiger Foundation
Funds: NYC work in Education, Family Support, and Youth, Workforce and Justice. It focuses on proven, direct human services. Its Seed and Expansion Fund backs earlier-stage groups that fill unmet needs in new ways.
Budget fit: No minimum budget is published. One-year grants usually run $50,000 to $300,000, averaging about $200,000.
Start here: Submit a letter of inquiry through its portal at any time. There are no deadlines. Initial review takes four to six weeks, and staff contact you if it moves forward.
9. The Pinkerton Foundation
Funds: Programs for disadvantaged NYC youth: after-school and summer learning, career readiness, education, and youth and family justice.
Budget fit: No cap or grant sizes are published.
Start here: Letters of inquiry are welcome at any time through its portal. Include an organization budget, a program budget and a board list. The board meets in May and December.
10. The New York Community Trust
Apply: thenytrust.org/nonprofits
Funds: NYC community development, education, and jobs and workforce development, among other areas. It does not fund general operating support, capital campaigns, endowments or equipment.
Budget fit: No minimum or grant sizes are published. Your board needs at least four unrelated members.
Start here: There is no deadline. Take the eligibility quiz, then submit through its Grantseeker Portal at any time. You'll need a cover letter, a narrative of up to five pages, an itemized budget, your current operating budget and a board list.
11. The Charles Hayden Foundation
Funds: Youth ages 5 to 18 in NYC and Boston, in Academic Readiness, College Access and Persistence, Career Connected Learning, Social Emotional Learning, and organizational capacity.
Budget fit: No minimum is published. The LOI asks for your current operating budget.
Start here: LOIs are accepted on a rolling basis from August through March, for groups never funded or not funded in the last three years. Complete the eligibility form first. You can submit one LOI per year. Don't phone: it doesn't take calls about funding or give feedback on LOIs it doesn't select.
12. The Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation
Funds: NYC organizations serving underserved communities, with an emphasis on education: capacity building for community groups, results-based education programs, teacher development, and after-school and out-of-school programs. It does not fund health, universities or independent schools.
Budget fit: No budget limit or grant sizes are published.
Start here: Register online, then email a letter of inquiry of up to three pages, with your organization and program budgets, to [email protected]. Letters are welcome at any time. The board meets in June and November.
13. The Achelis and Bodman Foundation
Apply: achelisbodman.org/guidelines
Funds: NYC and northern New Jersey nonprofits in Education, Employment, and Youth and Families, among other areas.
Budget fit: No budget limit or grant sizes are published. The LOI requires audited financials, which is a hurdle for the smallest groups. It generally doesn't fund small arts groups, individual day-care or after-school programs, or the same organization every year.
Start here: Email a letter of inquiry to [email protected] at any time. Trustees approve grants in May, September and December.
14. Ford Foundation: NYC Good Neighbor Committee
Funds: Local NYC organizations. Its page lists no eligibility rules or grant sizes.
Start here: The latest open call ran September 1 to 30, 2026. No next date is posted.
15. Impact 100 NYC: Innovation Grant
Funds: A single $100,000 grant for an innovative new project, or a major expansion of an existing one, with a high impact on NYC. It is funded by a women's giving circle. It does not fund general operating support.
Budget fit: No budget range is published. Your LOI must request the full $100,000. You need your own 501(c)(3) status for 36 months, and fiscal sponsorship doesn't qualify. The work must serve NYC's five boroughs.
Start here: Submit an online letter of inquiry, one per year. Full proposals are by invitation only, and winners are announced at its Big Give event in June. The 2027 cycle is closed. Dates for the next cycle are posted each August. Email [email protected] with questions.
Your first contact
Know which door you're using. Robin Hood wants an expression of interest. Tiger, Pinkerton, Charles Hayden, Dodge, Achelis and Bodman and Impact 100 NYC want a letter. The Community Trust takes a full proposal through its portal.
Lead with facts. Say who you serve, your budget, what the grant would do and whether you use a fiscal sponsor.
Use the staff door where it exists. CitizensNYC, Brooklyn Org, the Staten Island Foundation and North Star all have staff you can reach. Charles Hayden does not take calls.
Match your timing. Brooklyn Org closes first, on November 30, then North Star on December 3 and the Staten Island Foundation on January 19. CitizensNYC follows on February 1, and the Hayden window runs through March. Impact 100 NYC opens each fall.
Write for results. Our guide on winning foundation and CSR funding covers the letter of intent.
Big names that aren't on this list
Altman Foundation: only Health LOIs are open right now. Education and Strengthening Communities are closed to new letters. (Altman grant seekers page)
Booth Ferris Foundation: applications go through an online portal, with no LOI, and require a budget over $1 million. (guidelines)
Heckscher Foundation for Children and Carnegie Corporation: both say on their own sites that they don't take unsolicited requests.
Robert Sterling Clark Foundation: its site says it isn't accepting new applications.
Where we help
We build the funder list, write the inquiry and the proposals, and stay on to manage the award. See our grant writing and fundraising support.
Talk to us
Tell us your budget and what you need to fund. On a call we'll pick the two or three funders to approach first and what to send. Book a call with SAG
Related reading
Sources: Each funder's own page is linked in its entry above.