The New York Community Trust

Name

The New York Community Trust

Legal name

New York Community Trust

Website

https://thenytrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1924

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation / Philanthropic Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH), Charitable Giving & Philanthropic Trust Advisory (FSAEAKAH), Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Community foundation
• Donor-advised funds
• Charitable giving vehicles
• Philanthropic advising
• Competitive grantmaking

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Fees: Donors establish charitable funds at The Trust and pay administrative fees on those funds. The Trust manages the investment and grantmaking on behalf of donors. This is the primary operating model, generating revenue through fee-based management of endowed and donor-advised funds.
2. Competitive Grantmaking: The Trust distributes grants from its competitive grantmaking programs across NYC, Long Island, and Westchester. Grant sizes range from approximately $15,000–$25,000 on Long Island, with larger competitive grants available in NYC and Westchester.
3. Philanthropic Advising Fees: The Trust offers customized philanthropic advising services to donors, foundations, corporations, and family offices, generating fee revenue for advisory services and fund management.
4. Planned Giving / Legacy Funds: Donors leave charitable gifts through wills or planned giving vehicles to unrestricted, field-of-interest, or designated funds, creating perpetual endowments managed by The Trust.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The New York Community Trust operates as New York's community foundation, managing more than $3.5 billion across 2,382 donor-advised, endowed, and field-of-interest funds on behalf of individuals, families, foundations, and corporations. It sells philanthropic advising services and charitable giving vehicles (donor-advised funds, unrestricted funds, field-of-interest funds, designated funds, community needs funds) to donors, while distributing roughly $200 million annually in competitive grants to nonprofits across NYC, Long Island, and Westchester. The Trust is supported by online portals for donors and grantseekers and three regional offices.

Product overview

The New York Community Trust operates as a community foundation offering a suite of charitable giving products centered around fund management. The core offerings include Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs), Unrestricted Funds, Field-of-Interest Funds, and Designated Funds—all structured as vehicles for donors to deploy capital to causes they care about. Supporting these funds are digital platforms including the MyGrants Portal (for existing fund holders to recommend grants) and the Grantseeker Portal (for nonprofits to apply for competitive grants). The Trust also operates programmatic initiatives like the Leadership Fellows Program and manages special initiatives such as the Roosevelt Island Public Purpose Fund and the Fund for the Newest New Yorkers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) A charitable giving vehicle allowing donors to contribute assets to a fund and recommend grants to nonprofits over time, with tax advantages and access to The Trust's philanthropic expertise. The first donor-advised fund in U.S. history was created at The Trust in 1931.
• Unrestricted Fund Flexible charitable funds providing maximum flexibility to address the region's most pressing needs in NYC, Long Island, and Westchester, both today and for future generations.
• Field-of-Interest Fund Charitable funds allowing donors to support specific causes, communities, and places they care about, with grantmaking staff connecting generosity to organizations working in those areas.
• Designated Fund Funds allowing donors to name specific charities they want to support, with The Trust investing the money, making regular grants, and monitoring organizations over time.
• Community Needs Fund A pooled fund that pools contributions to quickly address pressing local challenges, connecting donor generosity with effective nonprofits.
• Investment Vehicles (Charitable Investment Pools) Investment options for charitable fund assets, offering diversified strategies for donor-advised and endowed fund balances.
• Competitive Grantmaking Direct grant programs supporting nonprofits in areas including arts, children & teens, environment, health, justice, LGBTQ+, housing, disabilities, older adults, and democracy across NYC, Long Island, and Westchester.
• Philanthropic Advising Customized philanthropic advising services for donors, foundations, corporations, and family offices, supporting giving strategy, nonprofit due diligence, and fund management.
• Collaborative Funds and Special Initiatives Co-funded initiatives with other foundations (Robin Hood, Ford Foundation, Heisman Trophy Trust) and government/corporate partners to administer large collaborative funds in the New York region (e.g., September 11th Fund, COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund, Funds for the Newest New Yorkers, Roosevelt Island Public Purpose Fund).
• Grantseeker Portal Online portal for nonprofits to apply for competitive grants from The Trust, supporting organizations serving NYC, Long Island, and Westchester.
• MyGrants Portal Donor portal allowing fund holders to recommend grants, manage their fund, and access exclusive grantmaking opportunities.
• Leadership Fellows Program A program hosted at Baruch College that helps nonprofit leaders develop skills and grow in their careers.

Quantifiable outcome

• $5.8 billion in grants awarded since 1924; $200 million+ granted annually; 2,382 funds under management; $3.5 billion+ in total assets.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Westchester County Board of LegislatorscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026The Trust developed its $1M early childhood educator wage-enhancement initiative in close partnership with Westchester County legislators, who will lead a task force to monitor progress and develop policy recommendations.
• Zakat Fund of NYCminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Local families worked with The Trust to create the Zakat Fund of NYC, enabling Muslim donors to collectively fulfill their Islamic Zakat obligation. Since 2018, the fund has granted over $400,000 to programs addressing hunger, homelessness, and domestic violence.
• Heisman Trophy TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with The Trust to invest $7.5 million in youth sports programs across the NYC region, bringing athletic enrichment to under-resourced neighborhoods.
• Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRIOC created and funds the Roosevelt Island Public Purpose Fund at The Trust, which The Trust administers. RIOC asked The Trust to handle grant review and distribution for public purpose grants to benefit Roosevelt Island residents.
• Community Foundation Climate CollaborativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Trust joined with community foundations across the country to establish the Community Foundation Climate Collaborative, a national climate initiative.
• Long Island Unitarian Universalist FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA donor-advised fund at The Trust established by local community members committed to advancing social and economic justice aligned with Unitarian Universalist principles. Trust staff help award hundreds of grants across Long Island.
• Dominican Sisters of HopeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough The Trust's Mortimer Fund for Native American Children, Dominican Sisters of Hope host 10-day cultural and leadership immersions for Lenape youth from Wisconsin at the Center at Mariandale in Ossining, NY.
• BNY Mellon Wealth ManagementminorOthersBNY Mellon is one of the banks authorized to serve as a trustee for trusts at The Trust's community foundation, working with The Trust on fiduciary services for donor clients.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Charitable: The largest commercial DAF sponsor in the U.S., part of Fidelity Investments. Competes head-on with NYCT's DAF product through low-cost, low-friction onboarding and broad investment menu — the principal commercial threat to NYCT's DAF fee revenue.
• Schwab Charitable: Schwab's donor-advised fund program, one of the largest DAF sponsors nationally. Directly competes with NYCT for HNW DAF assets via digital onboarding and lower account minimums, putting pricing pressure on community-foundation DAFs.

Direct peers

• The Boston Foundation: Greater Boston's community foundation operating donor-advised funds, working funds, and competitive grantmaking across arts, education, and civic life. Directly comparable scale, urban regional focus, and century-plus heritage of community grantmaking with a similar target donor base of HNW families and professional advisors.
• Silicon Valley Community Foundation: One of the largest community foundations in the U.S. by assets, focused on the Bay Area, with a heavy DAF business serving tech-wealth donors. Competes with NYCT for the same HNW DAF customer segment at the national tail and offers a useful pricing/product benchmark.
• Greater Washington Community Foundation: Regional community foundation serving the DC metro area through DAFs, competitive grantmaking, and donor-advised giving. Same operating model (multi-county coverage, vetted grantees, advisor relationships) at a comparable asset scale.
• The San Francisco Foundation: Bay Area community foundation offering donor-advised funds, advised funds, and competitive grantmaking across arts, equity, and environment. Comparable perpetual community-foundation model with strong Bay Area wealth-advisor pipeline analogous to NYCT's NYC/Westchester relationships.
• The Chicago Community Trust: Chicago's regional community foundation, founded in 1915, offering donor-advised funds, competitive grantmaking, and philanthropic advising across the Chicago metro. The closest functional analog to The New York Community Trust with comparable perpetual structure, multi-office footprint, and legacy of major disaster-response fundraising.
• Cleveland Foundation: The country's first community trust (1914) and the formative model that NYCT's founder Ralph Hayes studied before launching NYCT in 1924. Operates a similar DAF, designated, and unrestricted fund suite across a single metro region with multi-office distribution.
• The Philadelphia Foundation: Greater Philadelphia's community foundation offering donor-advised funds, designated funds, and competitive grantmaking. Closely comparable legacy community-foundation model with a single-city regional focus and similar donor/grantmaker GTM.

Regional players

• New Hampshire Charitable Foundation: New Hampshire's statewide community foundation operating DAFs and competitive grantmaking. A relevant regional peer that NYCT's departing CPO is now leading — useful comparably for New England wealth geography rather than direct competition with NYCT.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nycommtrust
• Facebookfacebook.com/the-new-york-community-trust-206444912741562
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thenytrust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments8 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The New York Community Trust