Eight Bronx nonprofits receive $1.1M in grants funding from New York Community Trust

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art received $75,000 to provide visual arts instruction to students with disabilities at five schools, including P.S. 723 in the Bronx. 
Photo courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art

The New York Community Trust (NYCT) has awarded a combined $1.1 million to eight Bronx nonprofits focused on improving the quality of life for its residents. The grants are part of $14.6 million awarded to 86 nonprofits across the city as of June 14.  

The Bronx received funding for programs focused on education, multidisciplinary arts instruction, social work and religious congregation. The borough will likely see additional benefits from other initiatives being funded throughout the city. 

“These grants will give some exemplary nonprofits the support to tackle the myriad issues and opportunities for the city today,” said Shawn Morehead, the Trust’s vice president for grants. “From evaluating the nation’s first overdose prevention centers to lifting up the social work profession to aiding the city’s companion animals and wildlife.”

Half of the Bronx’s $1.1 million will be used to develop arts initiatives across public schools throughout the borough. Education Through Music, the Dreamyard Project, Learning Through an Expanded Arts Program and the National Dance Institute have received a combined $475,000 to bring their programs to elementary and high schools in the area.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art received $75,000 to provide visual arts instruction to students with disabilities at five schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, including P.S. 723 in the Bronx. 

Teaching Matters, a nonprofit focused on specialized training for early-education teachers in Riverdale, Fordham, Belmont and Kingsbridge, otherwise known as District 10, was awarded $300,000. Teaching Matters seeks to bridge the gap between quality of education and ZIP code, specifically focused on improving literacy levels within Black and Latino students. The program uses read-aloud books that directly reflect the different ethnicities and races within their classroom to boost reading comprehension.

Additional grants include $100,000 to the Bronx Defenders, a public defense nonprofit providing legal assistance to low-income people in the Bronx, and Partners for Sacred Places, which assists congregations in sustaining older historic consecrated spaces through community involvement.  

Supplemental support to the Bronx can be found in multiple other NYCT grant recipient initiatives. The NYCT grant categories include promoting animal welfare, conserving the environment, improving health and behavioral health, community development, promoting justice, support to immigrants, education and youth programs, assistance to people with disabilities, alleviating hunger and improving housing security, arts and culture, social work, bolstering nonprofits and social services and historic preservation.

In addition, one $25,000 scholarship will be given to the American Astronomical Society for the Trust’s Lancelot M. Berkeley award for meritorious work in the field of astronomy.

The Bronx Defenders could not be reached for comment as of press time.

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