We are pleased to announce that the Foundation has awarded three community-based organizations in New York City $60,000 to address a capacity-building need. This year’s Youth Service Capacity-Building Grantees are:
- Good Call, a community-centered tech nonprofit working to disrupt the cycle of mass incarceration through a free 24/7 hotline, youth programs, and community outreach.
- Brooklyn Debate League, which helps public schools build sustainable, competitive Speech and Debate programs, and has tripled the number of NYC public schools in low-income communities with competitive debate teams.
- DMF Youth, which offers after-school programs and summer camps that blend dance, fitness, and arts education with a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and life skills–based curriculum designed to help youth build confidence, resilience, and positive relationships.
The Youth Service Capacity-Building Grants (YSCG) program supports activities to strengthen the organizational infrastructure of small nonprofit organizations in the five boroughs of New York City that provide direct services to young people ages 5 to 25. The long-term goal of the program is to help build stronger, more stable youth-serving organizations that tackle inequality in youth outcomes.
Good Call will use their YSCG grant to strengthen their overall fundraising capacity in a number of areas: hiring a development consultant to design a multi-year fundraising plan; training board members and staff to actively participate in fundraising; implementing a donor management system to track, cultivate, and steward supporters; launching board-led fundraising campaigns and individual donor initiatives; and eventually hiring a part-time Development Manager in 2027 to lead this work beyond the three year grant term.
Through their capacity-building project, Brooklyn Debate League aims to establish a sustainable, diversified, and scalable fundraising model that enables them to expand services, invest in infrastructure, and reach more youth across NYC public schools. They will partner with fundraising and communications firm to develop and implement a three-year fundraising strategy, which will be designed to increase revenue, diversify funding sources, and build the internal systems necessary to support long-term organizational growth.
DMF Youth hopes to hire a development director by 2027 to focus on donor cultivation, partnerships, and long-term sustainability. To do so, DMF Youth’s capacity-building project will strengthen their fundraising and operational infrastructure, ensuring that their development function is stable, diversified, and positioned for growth.
“Good Call, Brooklyn Debate League, and DMF Youth are on-the-ground providing essential, meaningful programming to youth across New York City. We are proud to support these organizations as they build resilient and sustainable infrastructure to continue this work for years to come,” said Selina Lee, who manages the YSCG program.
