Booth Ferris Foundation

The Foundation supports arts and culture organizations, including parks and gardens, located in New York City and working directly to enhance the vibrancy and cultural richness of New York City. Arts and culture organizations eligible to apply include performing, presenting, arts education, intermediary, advocacy, public policy and capacity-building organizations. Support is available for capacity building or capital projects. The Foundation does not provide general operating support or support for ongoing programs or activities. Grants may be single-year or multi-year commitments, and typically range from $75,000 – $150,000 per year.

Priority organizations will meet the following criteria:

• Demonstrate standards of artistic excellence
• Engage significant numbers and reach a diverse audience and constituency base
• Maintain an annual budget of over $1 million for the last complete fiscal year
• Demonstrate a proven record of success in achieving measurable outcomes
• Maintain a strong track record of fiscal health, including sound financial planning and robust funding from diverse sources

The following requests will receive priority:

• Requests for capacity building efforts or capital projects (see guidelines below) directly linked to long-term strategic planning
• For capacity building, requests that lay out a plan for sustainability beyond the funding period
• Requests that come at a period of transformative organizational growth or at a critical juncture in the organization’s life cycle
• Requests that lay out clear benchmarks for success and a plan for measuring project outcomes

Support is available for an organization’s own capacity building or for its capacity building activities on behalf of a group or network of nonprofits.

Guidelines for capacity-building support:
The Foundation supports capacity building activities that build nonprofit infrastructure and sustainability, enabling organizations to achieve greater performance and impact. The Foundation supports activities to strengthen leadership and adaptive capacities, as well as management and technical capacities. Strong proposals will clearly articulate intended goals and a process for measuring capacity building outcomes. Examples of capacity building activities supported by the Foundation include:

• Adaptive Capacity- Strategic planning, organizational assessment, needs assessment, strategic plan implementation, program evaluation, collaborations and mergers
• Leadership Capacity- Board development, professional leadership development and succession planning
• Management and Technical Capacity- Human resources management, financial management, fundraising, marketing/communications and technology

Guidelines for capital support:
Capital campaigns and major capital improvement projects must have already met at least 50% of their fundraising goals in order to apply for support. Priority will be given to smaller-scale projects and discrete capital requests.

K-12 Education:
The K-12 Education Program provides capacity building support for organizations working directly with or on behalf of district public schools in the New York City school system. Organizations must maintain an annual budget over $1 million. The following requests will not be considered:

• Requests from or on behalf of individual schools
• Requests from or on behalf of private and/or independent schools
• Non-New York City activities
• After-school programs
• Scholarship funds
• Endowment funds
• Requests for general support

Higher Education:
The Higher Education Program of the Booth Ferris Foundation provides capacity building support for institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. Organizations must maintain an annual budget over $1 million. The following requests will not be considered:

• Capital campaigns
• Arts-related facilities or initiatives (the Booth Ferris Foundation directs all arts giving through the Arts and Culture Program in New York City)
• Scholarship funds alone
• Endowment funds

Requests for general support

The Foundation supports:

1. Organizations which build the capacity and infrastructure of New York City’s nonprofit sector and work to address issues of systemic inequity. Support is available for an organization’s own capacity building or for its capacity building activities on behalf of the field. Eligible organizations include:

a. Organizations providing capacity building, management or technical assistance to nonprofits in New York City
b. Organizations engaged in advocacy or public policy work on behalf of underserved communities in New York City
c. Organizations supporting and working on behalf of membership agencies or a network of nonprofits

2. Organizations working directly to build vibrant communities and to promote equity for underserved populations in New York City. Support is available for capacity building or capital projects. Priority organizations will meet the following criteria:

a. Maintain an annual budget over $1 million
b. Be able to demonstrate a proven record of success in achieving measurable outcomes
c. Requesting support for capacity building efforts directly linked to long-term planning efforts
d. Requesting support at a period of transformative organizational growth or at a critical juncture in the organization’s lifecycle

Guidelines for capacity building support:
The Foundation supports capacity building activities that build nonprofit infrastructure and sustainability, enabling organizations to achieve greater performance and impact. The Foundation supports activities to strengthen leadership and adaptive capacities, as well as management and technical capacities. Strong proposals will clearly articulate intended goals and a process for measuring capacity building outcomes. The Foundation does not provide general operating support or support for ongoing programs. Examples of capacity building activities supported by the Foundation include:

• Adaptive Capacity – Strategic planning, organizational assessment, needs assessment, strategic plan implementation, program evaluation, collaborations and mergers
• Leadership Capacity – Board development, professional leadership development and leadership transitions
• Management and Technical Capacity – Human resources management, financial management, fundraising, marketing/communications and technology

Guidelines for capital support:
Capital campaigns and major capital improvement projects must have already met at least 50% of their fundraising goals in order to apply for support.

Application

Please include the following items in your organization’s request:

1. Proposal (maximum of three pages, 12 pt font, normal margins) which includes:

a. Overview of the organization (i.e., primary goals, needs or problems being addressed, population served)
b. Description of the project for which you are seeking support

i. Statement of purpose and the needs being addressed by the project
ii. Population served and how they will benefit from the project
iii. Project timeline/anticipated project duration

c. Brief biography of the executive director and key project staff

2. Project budget

a. If it is a two-year request, please include a two-year projected budget
b. Include a list of foundation, corporate and other support applied to the budget

3. Current fiscal year organizational budget

a. Also include a projected budget for upcoming year (if available)
b. Indicate if the organization has an endowment

i. Quote the most recent value of the corpus
ii. Indicate if the funds are permanently restricted or board restricted

4. List of foundation and corporate supporters

a. Include a list of funders for the current fiscal year
b. Also provide a list from the most recently completed fiscal year
c. Include foundation and corporation names and amounts

5. Most recently completed audited financial statements.

6. List of board members

a. Include professional affiliations (employer)
b. Include length of board service
 

Battery Dance, New York, NY
$100,000 as a first installment to hire a development director

Bloomingdale School of Music, New York, NY
$150,000 as a first installment for WiFi upgrade and technological integration of BSM’s programs and transition of Assistant to Executive Director from part-time to full-time

BOMB Magazine, Brooklyn, NY
$100,000 as a first installment for BOMB Magazine Website Redesign and Marketing Plan

Brooklyn Academy of Music, Inc., Brooklyn, NY
$150,000 as a first installment for BAM Executive Transition and Executive Coaching FY22-23

City Parks Foundation, New York, NY
$75,000 as a first installment for Collaborative Fundraising Pilot Program

City Parks Foundation, New York, NY
$100,000 for the NYC Green Relief and Recovery Fund

El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY
$100,000 as a first installment for El Museo’s Business Plan Implementation

Gibney, New York, NY
$100,000 as a first installment for Strengthening Gibney’s capacity through the hiring of a Senior Director of Operations

Group I Acting Company, Inc., New York, NY
$50,000 as a final installment for the Actors’ Career Stability Initiative

Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc., New York, NY
$100,000 as a first installment for staffing/consultant costs associated with the Joyce/Evidence Administrative Collaboration

Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, New York, NY
$100,000 as a first installment for Building Capacity for the Next Chapter of New York City’s LGBTQ+ Art Museum through PR and Communicatons and an updated database

Magnum Foundation, New York, NY
$200,000 as a first installment to support acquisition and renovation of 59 East 4th Street, Unit 7W.

Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center, Bronx, NY
$100,000 as a first installment for Hiring a Marketing and Communications Manager

Museum of Chinese in the America, New York, NY
$60,000 as a first installment for Building the capacity of MOCA’s Collections Department through the hiring of a full-time Collections Manager

National Black Theatre, New York, NY
$125,000 as a first installment for implementation of the NBT strategic plan

New Music USA, Brooklyn, New York
$100,000 as a first installment for the hiring of a new Development and Communications Associate

New Yorkers for Parks, Inc., New York, NY
$100,000 as a first installment for support leadership capacity building, enhance advocacy-centered communications, and restructure NY4P to streamline systems

Parsons Dance Foundation, Inc., New York, NY
$200,000 for Strategic Plan Implementation

Performance Zone, New York, NY
$100,000 as a final installment for The Field’s Vision Implementation: Digital Agency

Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY
$200,000 for website redesign and update, visual identity rebranding, and digital asset management

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, New York, New York
$225,000 for The Artistic Home Capital Campaign

St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn, NY
$100,000 as a first installment for Recovery and Rebuilding Capacity at St. Ann’s Warehouse through the hiring of a Director of Development, Manager of Institutional Giving, Theater Manager, and Public Art Curator

STREB, Inc., Brooklyn, NY
$100,000 as a first installment for Rebuilding Performance Capacity after the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Bushwick Starr, Inc., Brooklyn, NY
$150,000 as a first installment for The Bushwick Starr Capital Campaign for a Sustainable Home & Resilient Future

The Classical Theatre of Harlem, New York, NY
$100,000 as a first installment for the hiring of a Managing Director

The Laundromat Project, Inc, Brooklyn, NY
$120,000 as a first installment for Capacity support to provide greater access to The LP’s work through increased accessibility initiatives and rebrand/redesign our website

The New 42nd Street, Inc., New York, NY
$150,000 as a first installment for Upgrading New 42’s Fiscal Management System

The Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History, Brooklyn, New York
$130,000 as a first installment for The Hiring, Training, and Implementation of the Vision of a New Vice President of Learning and Engagement

Urban Arts Partnership, New York, NY
$150,000 as a first installment for implementation of the UAP strategic plan

Visual Arts Research and Resource Center Relating to the Caribbean, Inc., New York, New York
$125,000 as a first installment for the hiring of an Institute Director, Director of Programming, and Director of Communications

Works and Process, Inc., New York, NY
$120,000 as a first installment for Hiring an inaugural Development Director

Businesses United in Investment Lending and Development (BUILD NYC), New York, NY
$150,000 as a first installment for curriculum and instruction manager

Children’s Aid, New York, NY
$300,000 as a first installment for the Community Schools capacity building initiative by hiring a Deputy Director of Capacity Building

City Year New York, New York, NY
$200,000 as a first installment for City Year New York: Investing in diversity, belonging, inclusion, and equity

Classroom, Inc., New York, NY
$300,000 for Hiring a Chief Financial Officer

Edible Schoolyard NYC, Brooklyn, NY
$125,000 as a first installment for Critical Strategic Planning and Implementation

EL Education, Inc., New York, NY
$182,000 as a first installment for Driving Toward Equity and Excellence – Building Capacity in NYC

Goddard Riverside Community Center, New York, NY
$300,000 for #DegreesNYC Collective Impact Initiative

Harlem Educational Activities Fund, Inc., New York, NY
$100,000 as a first installment for Support to hire a Mental Health Counselor

Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY
$135,0000 as a first installment for Librarians as Leaders for Media Literacy in New York Public Schools

Marymount Manhattan College, New York, NY
$150,000 as a first installment for CityEdge: Preparing Students for Career Success in the Post-Covid Workplace

New Teacher Center, Santa Cruz, CA
$155,000 as a first installment for NTC Design Specialist in NYC

New York Community Trust, New York, New York
$40,000 as a first installment for Early Childhood Partners-NYC

Playworks Education Energized, New York, NY
$100,000 as a first installment to hire an Outreach and Engagement Specialist

Graduate NYC (Research Foundation of The City University Of New York), Brooklyn, NY
$100,000 for the Complete College Innovation Fund

Salvadori Center, Ltd., New York, NY
$175,000 as a first installment for Salvadori-in-a-Box STEM series ~ Landmarks, Monuments and Memorials (LMM)

The Opportunity Network, New York, NY
$400,000 for Hiring for a Managing Director of Human Resources

The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, NY
$172,500 as a first installment for Building CPRL’s Visibility through New Communications Capacity

Thomas Edison State University, Trenton, New Jersey
$100,000 as a first installment for Implementation and Expansion of the Academic Community Impact Program at Thomas Edison State University

uAspire, New York, NY
$150,000 as a first installment for Technological Enhancement of uAspire NYC’s Virtual Advising Program

Asian American Coalition for Children and Families, Inc., New York, NY
$75,000 as a first installment to hire a Development Manager

Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, Brooklyn, NY
$150,000 as a first installment to hire a Vice President of Development

Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, Brooklyn, NY
$134,000 as a first installment to hire a Director of Institutional Giving

Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, Inc., Brooklyn, NY
$200,000 as a first installment for the Center for Family Life Transition Project to support one-time technology upgrades

Citizens for NYC, New York, NY
$150,000 as a first installment to build the operational capacity of the organization, build the evidence base, advocacy training, and solutions-focused convening to eradicate inequity in NYC

Community Resource Exchange, Inc., New York, NY
$150,000 as a first intallment to hire a Director of Finance and Operations

Council of Peoples Organization Inc., Brooklyn, New York
$153,203 as a first installment to hire a Chief Financial Officer

FJC, New York, NY
$100,000 for the New York City Fund to End Youth & Family Homelessness

Futures and Options Inc., New York, NY
$125,000 as a first installment for the Futures and Options Data and Evaluation Project

HOPE Program, Inc., Brooklyn, NY
$150,000 as a first installment for Capital Renovations for HOPE’s Brooklyn and Bronx locations

Metropolitan Center for Mental Health, Inc., New York, NY
$130,741 as a first installment to implement a data evaluation project for quality improvement

Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter, Inc., New York, NY
$250,000 as a first installment for a housing solution for homeless college students

New York Community Trust, New York, NY
$150,000 for the Fund for New Citizens

Nonprofit New York, New York, NY
$200,000 as a first installment for movement building in NYC

Partnership for After School Education, New York, NY
$175,000 as a first installment to strengthen the PASE Network

Philanthropy New York, Inc., New York, NY
$200,000 as a first installment for the Knowledge Management Initiative

Queens Community House, Inc., Forest Hills, NY
$100,000 as a first installment for the Capital Campaign to Create an Expanded and Renovated Forest Hills Community Center

SeaChange Capital Partners, New York, NY
$50,000 as a second installment for NY Mergers & Acquisitions Fund

St. Nicks Alliance Corp, Brooklyn, NY
$75,000 as a first installment for St. Nicks Alliance Digital Literacy For All through the hiring of Deputy Director of Technology

Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center, Inc., New York, NY
$100,000 as a first initial installment for the Housing Stability Initiative for Seniors

The Knowledge House Fellowship Inc., Bronx, NY
$50,000 as a first installment for Launching the Bronx Digital Pipeline Online JobsBoard to help Bronx students and jobseekers identify and secure local technology training programs and employment opportunities

The Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center, Inc., New York, NY
$150,000 as a first installment to enhance programming capacity and infrastructure

Up2Us Inc., New York, NY
$150,000 as a first installment for Coaching Sports for Mental Health

Womankind (New York Asian Women’s Center, Inc.), New York, NY
$100,000 as a first installment for the hire of a Chief Operating Officer

WIN (Women in Need, Inc.), New York, NY
$150,000 as a first installment for Building Win’s Capacity to Help Homeless Women Find Stable Employment through the hiring of an Income Building Manager

Workforce Professionals Training Institute, New York, NY
$100,000 as a first installment for WPTI’s Digital Transformation Initiative