The nonprofit Bronx Community Foundation, which raises and distributes funding to organizations serving the borough, recently announced the hiring of a new executive director, LaToya Williams-Belfort, who brings two decades of nonprofit experience to the role.
In a Bronx Times interview, Williams-Belfort said she was thrilled to return to the borough where she grew up, after holding executive roles at Partnership with Children, the Jericho Project, Children of Promise NYC and United Way of New York City.
Williams-Belfort spent her youth in the northeast Bronx, her two teenage sons were born in the borough, and many family members still reside there, although she now lives on Long Island.
“This is personal for me,” Williams-Belfort said. “Everybody should have equitable opportunity to thrive.”
The Bronx Community Foundation was founded in 2017 by Derrick Lewis and Desmon Lewis, twin brothers from the Bronx. As the first and only foundation serving the Bronx, the organization says it has invested $15 million in the borough with emphasis on four pillars: economic opportunity, equity and justice, digital equity and health.
Bronx roots
Williams-Belfort attended elementary and middle school in the Bronx but went to high school in midtown Manhattan, where the long daily train ride provided insight into how diverse people lived and worked and the differences between neighborhoods.
“When I think about the Bronx being part of my DNA, I think about all those memories and how they shaped who I developed into,” she said.
Williams-Belfort said she was the first in her family to attend college, SUNY Old Westbury, thanks to a Bronx organization that helped her with applications, financial aid and other unfamiliar processes.
Now that Williams-Belfort is overseeing an organization with millions at its disposal, bringing in a range of perspectives is critical to the work, she said.
The Bronx Community Foundation employs a participatory grantmaking strategy, whereby local organizations apply for funds, and the foundation convenes a volunteer cohort to evaluate applications.
By bringing together an “intentional, strategic mix of community and leaders” with a variety of expertise, the organization can ensure a “strategic and targeted” distribution of funds, said Wiliams-Belfort.
‘Future-focused’
As she steps into the role, some may be watching in hopes that the foundation will reinvest more of its assets back into the Bronx.
The foundation has faced past accusations that it raised a large amount of funds — including from city and state government — but failed to spend them to benefit Bronxites.
For instance, New York Focus reported in Jan. that the foundation had not spent nearly $400,000 in funds raised to benefit victims of the Twin Parks apartment fire in 2022.
The same outlet had previously reported on the foundation facing widespread criticism — both from individuals and local organizations, such as the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition and New Settlement — for having too much unspent money, meaning relatively small grants for applicants with millions left on the table.
Tax records show that in 2023, the Bronx Community Foundation distributed $720,020 in grants but ended the year with net assets of $5.9 million. The prior year, when the foundation raised $2.8 million in revenue, it awarded just $379,800 in grants.
To these concerns, Williams-Belfort said she is “future-focused.”
“Whatever happened previous to me, I don’t have a viewpoint on that, but I am committed to going forward and driving impact and ensuring that investments are made in the community to drive equitable opportunity,” she said.
Despite a challenging environment for charitable giving, Williams-Belfort said she is optimistic that funders will continue to invest in the Bronx.
She said the foundation is particularly excited to work with the incoming Zohran Mamdani administration, viewing his mayoralty as a “synergistic opportunity” to drive more investment in the borough.
Since Mamdani’s campaign kicked off on Fordham Road in 2024, “He’s already shown us that he knows there’s a big need in the Bronx and that he’s committed to the Bronx,” Williams-Belfort said. “We’re excited about what’s on the horizon for this new era, if you will.”
The Bronx Community Foundation’s co-creator also expressed optimism for the moment under Williams-Belfort’s leadership.
“The Foundation was created to directly address historic, systemic challenges, scale solutions and build community power, and LaToya is the visionary, proven leader we need to take that work to the next level,” said Derrick Lewis, the foundation’s board chair, in a statement. “We couldn’t be more excited about the future of BxCF under her leadership.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
