Long Island Community Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Long Island Community Foundation supports the New York counties of Suffolk and Nassau in the areas of civic engagement, economic development, health, hunger, mental health, social justice, housing, arts, community development, education and the environment. It also makes grants for Long Island nonprofit capacity building.
IP TAKE: This funder is well-connected to the New York Community Trust, which means there is a lot of giving power and expertise behind the grants at LICF. It mainly serves Long Island’s two counties, Nassau and Sussex, with grants to a broad range of organizations, emphasizing social justice and equity across several giving areas. This funder’s larger commitments tend to represent collaborations with organizations engaged in exploratory research or evaluations addressing pressing or emerging needs. Smaller grants support organizations with strong presence and impact among Long Island communities. Recent areas of increased giving include mental health, social justice, the environment and youth development. This funder is accessible and responsive, so don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or ideas.
PROFILE: Established in 1978, the Long Island Community Foundation (LICF) is a community foundation based in Melville, New York. The New York Community Trust established this Long Island division to serve Suffolk and Nassau counites. LICF aims to “improve the quality of life for all Long Islanders by connecting past, present, and future generous Long Islanders with nonprofits working to make a healthy, equitable, and thriving community.” The funder supports local efforts for civic engagement, economic development, health, mental health, hunger, social justice, arts, community development, education, environment and capacity building in the communities of Nassau and Sussex Counties on Long Island.
Grants for Civic Engagement, Democracy, Work and Opportunity
Grantmaking for civic engagement, work and economic opportunity stem from this funder’s social justice and youth development giving areas. Social justice giving is conducted mainly through the Long Island Unitarian Universalist Fund, which names as areas of interest community organizing, legal advocacy, leadership development and racial equity. Grants prioritize projects and programs that promote “an inclusive vision of social and economic justice” and that bring “possibilities for broad civic engagement around issues.” Recent grantees include the Long Beach Latino Civic Association and the Sound Justice Initiative, which works to create economic stability for formerly incarcerated people. Youth development grantmaking aims to increase employment opportunities for young people and to “Expand opportunities for positive youth development and leadership.” A recent grant went to the Urban League of Long Island, which used funding to run job-readiness programs for Black and Latino youth between the ages of 16 and 24.
Grants for Public Health, Mental Health and Food Systems
The Long Island Community Foundation names improving health and mental health and fighting hunger among its communities as major areas of focus. Public health grantmaking focuses on “health disparities” and increasing access to quality care across the island. The foundation has provided ongoing support to Family Service League of Suffolk County’s Community Health Care Collaborative, which coordinates primary health and mental healthcare services for people with “serious behavioral health illnesses.” Other health grantmaking appears to serve many of the area’s hospitals and healthcare systems, with grants going to the Gurwin Jewish Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island and South Nassau Communities Hospital.
Mental health funding focuses on wellness and self-regulation, addiction prevention and treatment and the mental health needs of young people. Grantees include the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth, Inc.
The Long Island Community Foundation makes a substantial number of grants to prevent hunger and food scarcity among its communities. Funding prioritizes vulnerable people, addresses the root causes of hunger. Grantees include Island Harvest, the East Hampton Food Pantry and Long Island Cares, Inc.
Grants for Racial Justice and Indigenous Rights, Immigrants and Refugees, LGBTQ Causes, Women and Girls
Giving for racial justice, immigration and LGBTQ and women’s causes stems mainly from the Long Island Unitarian Universalist Fund, but overlaps with the foundation’s mental health and youth development giving areas. The Unitarian Universalist Fund was established more than 25 year ago and aims to “build and energize a community of progressive social change activists, and to support prophetic voices in vulnerable communities who speak out against injustices —often in unsafe environments and at personal risk and sacrifice.” Recently, the fund has made grants to ERASE Racism, which works toward educational equity on Long Island, and SEPA Mujer, an organization that aims to “strengthen the capacity of Latinas to advocate for policies that improve quality of life of immigrants.”
Grants for Housing, Homelessness and Community Development
Grants for affordable housing stem from the foundation’s community development giving area and aim to maintain and create “safe and decent affordable housing options” for all Long Islanders. The foundation recently funded the the Regional Plan Association and the Long Island Affordable and Fair Housing Initiative Advisory Group’s recent evaluation of the dearth of affordable rental properties in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The foundation has also supported Mercy Care, which provides shelter and temporary housing to vulnerable people, and Maureen’s Haven, a shelter for homeless women.
Grants for Early Childhood and K-12 Education
The Long Island Community Foundation’s education grantmaking focuses on preparing all students for college and career success. Grantmaking strategies include the promotion of equity and quality in school districts, improving programming and teacher development and increasing accountability of schools with a strong focus on those schools that are currently underperforming. The foundation recently collaborated with the ECNY Foundation to create Career Map LI, “a comprehensive digital roadmap to connect people to training and careers with a shortage of skilled workers.” The foundation has also supported the youth development organization Project Morry’s college-focused mentoring program and the Hofstra University Museum for Art Travelers, which “fosters links between classroom curriculum and the study of authentic cultural objects selected from the Museum’s collection.”
Grants for Arts and Culture
This funder’s grantmaking for arts and culture aims to “integrate the arts in community development, civic engagement, and social change.” It also integrates arts funding with community development and community problem solving. Grants appear to prioritize organizations with broad outreach and audiences. Recent recipients include the Long Island Arts Alliance, Teatro Experimental Yerbabruja, Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre and the Hamptons Arts Camp.
Grants for Environmental, Marine and Freshwater Conservation, Climate Change and Clean Energy.
The Long Island Community Foundation supports efforts to protect the environment and has increased giving in this area over the past several years. Grants stemming from this program prioritize the preservation and protection of Long Islands open lands and waters, as well as the sustainable use of land and water. The foundation recently added climate change education, mitigation and transportation alternatives to its areas of interest. Recently, the foundation has given to the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center, the Nature Conservancy, the Long Island Pine Barrens Society and Friends of Bellport Bay.
Other Grantmaking Opportunities
This funder also makes grants for capacity building to nonprofit organizations serving the communities of Long Island. Facilitating collaboration, promoting best practices and developing diverse leadership are main interests of the foundation in this area. The foundation has provided ongoing support to Adelphi University’s Center for Nonprofit Leadership, and has recently made grants to the Pro Bono Partnership and the Long Island Racial Equity Collaborative Fund.
Important Grant Details
This funder made almost $50 million in grants in a recent year. Grants ranged from $5,000 to about $300,000, with an average grant size of about $20,000. Grantmaking is mainly limited to organizations based in or serving Long Island communities, and giving favors progressive causes. Larger areas of giving in recent years include social justice, mental health and the environment, and equity and inclusion are prioritized across giving areas. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s recent grants page.
This funder accepts applications for funding from Long Island organizations and runs three annual grantmaking cycles, with due dates that fall in January, April and August of each year. Detailed instructions are linked to the website. The Long Island Unitarian Universalist Fund maintains a separate application form, but uses the same due dates as the Long Island Community Foundation. For general inquiries, the foundation can be reached via email or telephone at (631) 991-8800.
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