Historic Moments at The Trust

May 2010

Frank J. Parsons, Vice President of the U.S. Mortgage and Trust Company, started planning a community foundation for New York City.

1920

In his words, “the charitable problems of each generation can better be solved by the best minds of these generations rather than through the medium of the dead hand of the past.”

The New York Community Trust is founded to provide a place where charitable wishes are honored, principal safeguarded, and funds are distributed by experts who know the needs of contemporary New Yorkers.

1924

Ralph Hayes is appointed The Trust’s first director.

1924

Our First Grant

Mrs. Rosebel G. Schiff gave $1,000 to create a fund in memory of her beloved elementary school principal at P.S.9. She asked that a prize go to a girl from that school who had “earned the highest respect of her teachers.”

1924

Prizes have been given to girls at the school each year since 1924.

John D. Rockefeller Jr. creates a fund with $2.5 million in memory of his mother, Laura Spelman Rockefeller, to ensure that a part of her wealth would serve the City’s charitable organizations.

1928

Last year, grants made from the Rockefeller Fund helped train social workers to spot depression and other mental health issues in their poor clients and get them counseling.

2009

Donor-Advised Fund Pioneer

William S. Barstow, an electrical engineer who learned his craft alongside Thomas Edison, created an unrestricted fund at The Trust, but made suggestions about its use during his lifetime, making it the first donor-advised fund in the nation.

1931

During the Great Depression, businessman Wilhelm Loewenstein left a bequest to feed the hungry.

1938

This year and last, The Trust made $3 million in grants to the Food Bank for NYC, in part from the Wilhelm LoewensteinMemorial Fund, to shore up emergency feeding programs during the recession.

2010

The famous Broadway actor, David Warfield, left his estate to The Trust. Blind when he died, he asked us to help others with vision impairments.

1951

The famous Broadway actor, David Warfield, left his estate to The Trust. Blind when he died, he asked us to help others with vision impairments.

2010

Today, the David Warfield Fund is expanding screenings for vision problems for poor City children.

2010

The Trust installed the first of 309 “Landmarks of New York” plaques on architecturally and historically important buildings all over the City.

1957

A Surge in Growth

The Trust made $4.6 million in grants, more in a single year than the combined total of grants in its first 20 years.

1970

Edward and Sally Van Lier set up a fund in their wills to help talented young musicians, artists, dancers, writers, and actors hone their skills.

1975

For the past 35 years, hundreds of City artists have had Van Lier Fellowships to thank for helping bolster their careers, including Jessie Montgomery. . .

2010

. . .who went on to get a scholarship from Julliard, play with the Providence String Quartet, and teach through the Quartet’s Community Music Works Program.

The State legislature gave $15 million from the Exxon restitution settlement to The Trust’s energy conservation program.

1979

We then channeled the money to 15 community foundations across New York State to help nonprofits become more energy-efficient.

The Trust gave Citymeals-on-Wheels its first grant.

1982

2010Today, Citymeals continues to deliver meals to poor and homebound seniors. A recent grant of $500,000 helped the group meet increased demand because of the recession.

The Trust makes one of the first private grants to study AIDS. The money came from the Francis Florio Fund, set up in 1974 for research on blood diseases.

1983

The Trust starts the New York City AIDS Fund,bringing funders together to fight the AIDS epidemic and help those living with the disease.

1989

With major support from the Council of Fashion Designers of America & Vogue’s Seventh on Sale events, the NYC AIDS Fund has awarded approximately $17.3 million in grants to 170 nonprofits located throughout the City.

2010

The Trust made its first grant to the Campaign for Fiscal Equity to challenge the State’s education financing formula that had been shortchanging City students for decades.

1991

The Campaign won a major legal victory in 2005 and The Trust continues to support efforts to make sure that City schools get the billions of dollars promised.

2010

The Trust helped start the Center for Arts Education.

1996

To date, the Center has awarded nearly $40 million to bring 520 cultural organizations into 553 public schools.

After federal welfare reform, The Trust started Summer in the City, a funder initiative to improve and expand care for children whose parents were at work or in job training.

1998

The City adopted many of the program’s improvements and recommendations, and today offers summer programs with expanded hours and more professional staff.

The Trust formed the NYC Workforce Development Fund to catalyze job creation and train the City’s workforce.

1999

To date, it has made 96 grants totaling $4.3 million.

By the end of the day the towers fell, The Trust had co-founded the September 11th Fund. By 2004, it had given $528 million for:

2001

• 45,000 emergency checks to victims and their families;• 343,000 hot meals for rescue workers at ground zero;• mental health, employment, and other services for 200,000 individuals; and • 1,000 loans and grants to small businesses to help them rebuild.

The Trust made one of the first private grants to Friends of the High Line to help hire a fundraiser.

2003

This helped attract $74 million in City, federal, and private funds.

The Trust started the One Region Fund, a joint grantmaking effort that supports transportation investments to reduce traffic congestion and improve our environment.

2006

The Trust made $8.76 million in grants to help needy New Yorkers who were hit hardest by the recession.

2009

In the jobless recovery, nonprofits have less money and more demand for their help.

2010

In response, The Trust made $7.2 million in grants to shore up nonprofits that provide important services to New Yorkers.

To find out more, visit

nycommunitytrust.org