Episcopal Charities of New York

Basic Human Needs grants support parish-based human services programs that address the specific needs of diverse communities throughout the diocese, including:
 

• Community Kitchens and Food Pantries

• Health and Wellness, including eldercare, addiction and recovery issues, homeless shelters and more

• Skills-Building, including English as a second language classes, job skills training, re-entry assistance for the formerly incarcerated and more

 

Timeline

• Applications open the first Friday of September and are due the last Friday in September.

• Members of our Advisory Committee visit programs in October.

• The Advisory Committee meets in regional sub-committees during the first week of November and meets as a full committee in the second week of November to make final recommendations.

• The Board of Directors meets in January to review and approve the Advisory Committee's recommendations.

• Grants are paid on March 1st and September 1st. 

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In 2021, we awarded $624,624 in BHN grants to 63 programs.

Youth Opportunity Grants are awarded to parish-based outreach programs addressing the needs of children and youth in communities throughout the diocese, including:​​

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• Children’s Academic Enrichment

• Children’s Arts

• Summer Recreation

• Health and Wellness, including special education, LGBT youth programs and more

• Skills-Building, including sports education, girls’ empowerment, leadership development and more

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Timeline

• Applications open mid-January and are due in mid-February.

• Members of our Advisory Committee visit programs in February and March.

• The Advisory Committee meets in regional sub-committees and as a full committee by Mid-March to make final recommendations.

• The Board of Directors meets in April to review and approve the Advisory Committee's recommendations.

• Summer programs are visited from June through August and evaluated for the following year.

• Summer program grants are paid July 1st; academic-year program grants are paid on September 1st and March 1st.
   

In 2021, we awarded $321,450 in YOG grants to 34 programs.

Begun in response to the collapse of the food network due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Bulk Buy program aggregates demand among feeding programs to negotiate discounted rates from vendors.
 

• Programs work directly with vendors to purchase food and supplies, billing Episcopal Charities

• Through this initiative, feeding programs are able to supply culturally relevant foods as well as expensive foods (like proteins) that are typically expensive to buy or difficult to acquire.

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During its 2020 pilot, ~$84,00 was awarded in food grants to 11 programs. Programs have purchased 10,000 pounds of meat proteins, 330 dozen eggs, 2,843 pounds of beans, and 1,500 pounds of masaríca corn flour.

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We are taking applications for this program on a rolling basis, placing particular emphasis on culturally-relevant foods for programs' constituent populations. 

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To date, the Bulk Buy program has provided more than $200,000 in free food.

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In partnership with the Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming's Food Sovereignty Fund, we have matched four of our Food Access Programs with local Hudson Valley farms, centering the leadership of LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or female-identifying partners​

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• Our contracts guarantee business for these farms, investing in the local economy, and provide local, fresh produce directly to emergency food program clients.

• Farm to Pantry invests in a more sustainable food system, fortifying it against future crises.

• Current grantees include:

  • Mt. Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry (St. Mark's Church, Mt. Kisco) - $12,000​

  • Fred's Pantry (CHHOP) (Church of the Divine Love, Montrose) - $20,000

  • God in Action Food Distribution Alliance (Grace Church/La Gracia, White Plains) - $11,500

  • Caritas/Meals on Main Street (St. John's Church, Wilmot, New Rochelle) - $16,500

• A key element of this project is the case management and one-on-one problem-solving services provided by Glynwood to each of our programs and their partnered farms. Episcopal Charities paid a 15% administrative fee for the 2021 pilot for these services.

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Applications are now closed; they will re-open in 2022.