Roosevelt Island Public Purpose Fund Awards $250 Thousand To 14 Local Non Profit Organizations Chosen By NY Community Trust

Last Thursday, Roosevelt Island non profit organizations that applied for Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Public Purpose Funds were individually notified by the NY Community Trust (Trust) whether they were approved for grants and the amounts.

I asked RIOC and the Trust:

 I understand some groups received an announcement about receiving Roosevelt Island Public Purpose Funds today. 

Can you send me a complete list of recipients, amount of grant each received,  any who applied and did not receive funds and identify the judges.

Also please include any rationale for selecting the grantees and those who were rejected. 

The Trust replied:

Thanks for your interest. We just published an announcement on our website listing the recipients and grant amounts.

The grant recipients are: 

• The Carter Burden Network: $20,000 to provide culturally responsive case management to older adults on Roosevelt Island. 
• Idig2learn: $5,000 for general support. 
• Island Kids: $25,000 to support summer camp scholarships. 
• Leonardo Suarez-Paz’s PIAZZOLLA100: $15,000 for a festival, concert series, and dance workshops on Roosevelt Island. 
• Main Street Theatre and Dance Alliance: $25,000 to replace theater lighting and support scholarship, work-study, and internship programs. 
• PTA PS/IS 217: $25,000 to provide dance arts education to PS/IS 217 students. 
• RIVAA Gallery Concerts: $15,000 for a concert series and puppetry program on Roosevelt Island. 
• Roosevelt Island Concerts: $20,000 for six community concerts on Roosevelt Island. 
• Roosevelt Island Disabled Association: $25,000 to provide field trips, cultural enrichment, and social activities to disabled and older adult communities on Roosevelt Island. 
• Roosevelt Island Historical Society: $20,000 for activities celebrating Roosevelt Island’s 50th anniversary and the “Keeping History Alive” project. 
• Roosevelt Island Residents Association: $10,000 to develop a community emergency response team on Roosevelt Island. 
• Roosevelt Island Senior Association: $15,000 to provide community events and weekend and evening classes for older adults. 
• Roosevelt Island Visual Art Association: $25,000 for exhibitions and community programs engaging under-represented artists. 
• Wildlife Freedom Foundation: $5,000 for general support.  

According to the Trust:

The Roosevelt Island Public Purpose Fund at The New York Community Trust has announced $250,000 in one-year grants to 14 nonprofits working to benefit Roosevelt Island residents and enhance their quality of life.  

Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) was created in 1984 by the State of New York to plan, design, develop, and maintain Roosevelt Island. RIOC asked The Trust to administer its public purpose grants and created the Roosevelt Island Public Purpose Fund at The Trust in 2022. 

 The Trust convened an independent, five-person advisory committee of members of the Roosevelt Island community to review applications and make grant recommendations. Committee members live or work on the island, and reflect racial, age, and gender diversity. Members remained anonymous during the review period to keep the process fair and confidential.  

 Advisory committee:  

• Kathy Chen, CPA, Roosevelt Island resident
• Tanzeem Choudhury, Professor, Cornell Tech, Roosevelt Island resident
• Katherine Grimm, pediatrician, Roosevelt Island resident
• Susan Haberman, Roosevelt Island resident
• Jim Luce, founder of the James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation, Roosevelt Island resident

The awards program, which began in 1989, supports projects to make life on Roosevelt Island more enjoyable and equitable for all. Grants from this round will support education and youth development, services for older adults, and arts and culture for the Roosevelt Island community. 

I followed up asking the Trust:

Were there any organizations that applied and did not receive funds?  Who?

Can you explain the rationale for each group receiving an award and the amount. 

The Trust refused to answer. According to the Trust:

It’s not our policy to publicize those details. However, attached is the public RFP, which details the selection criteria.  

My understanding is that the Coler Hospital Open Doors and Life Frames, A Living Library applied but did not receive any Public Purpose Funding this year as they have in past years. As previously reported, Open Doors received $25 Thousand and Life Frames received $28 Thousand last year.

I asked RIOC:

Have you reviewed the allocations?

IDig2Learn and Wildlife Freedom Foundation received $5 thousand each. The Tango group received $15 thousand. 

Open Doors applied for PPF and received nothing. 

Does Rioc think the organizations selected and amounts granted by NY Community Trust reflects the appropriate allocation of grant money to Roosevelt Island non profit organizations and their respective  contributions to the community?

RIOC Chief Financial Officer Dhru Amin answered:

RIOC is proud to support our amazing island non-profits through the allocation of Public Purpose Funds,” said Dhruvika Patel Amin, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at RIOC. “This cycle, we increased the total amount of grant funding available to $250,000—an increase of $100,000 from the previous cycle—to provide more robust support for the incredible work these community groups do for Roosevelt Islanders every day. We hope this additional funding helps each organization grow its impact and further enhances the quality of life on the island. Congratulations to the grantees, and special thanks to our partners at the New York Community Trust for their invaluable support throughout this process

RIOC Communications Director Bryant Daniels adds:

RIOC partners with the New York Community Trust to ensure the integrity of the Public Purpose Fund process. This globally recognized organization has a sterling reputation and oversees millions of dollars in charitable giving each year. Their review process—which includes convening an independent committee of Roosevelt Island residents—keeps the community at the center of the grantmaking, without the obvious conflicts of interest that existed under the previous system. Having a reputable, independent organization administer these public funds is essential to us from an ethical standpoint.

According to a September 16, 2024 memo from Ms Amin to the RIOC Board of Directors, the Trust is required to provide:

… follow-up reports to RIOC on fund usage and nonprofit activities, including a recommendation memo detailing the process, grant recommendations, and amounts for RIOC’s approval….

It does not appear that there has been any approval by RIOC of the $250 Thousand Public Purpose Fund grant allocation decisions made by the Trust this year.

There have been concerns raised by some Roosevelt Island organizations over the years about a lack of transparency by NY Community Trust in not publicly reporting the reasons for their decisions. Why do some groups receive Public Purpose funds and others do not? Why do some groups receive greater and others receive lesser amounts of Public Purpose Funds? In prior years, when the Roosevelt Island Residents Association made Public Purpose Funds recommendations to RIOC, they provided a public, detailed, written explanation for their recommendations.

Why can’t the Trust be just as transparent with their decisions as RIRA was? Why can’t RIOC insist they do so?