Closing the Funding Disparity for Black-Led Nonprofits in New York

The comparable figure for white-led organizations: 70%. Among small Black-led organizations, the share drops to 30%.

The Two Structural Gaps

The dataset isolates two distinct shortfalls. First, the access gap: Black-led organizations were 30% less likely to receive foundation funding across the 2016–2023 window, per Nonprofit Quarterly's review of the Candid–ABFE figures. Second, the flexibility gap: when Black-led organizations did secure funding, they were 33% less likely to receive general operating support.

General operating support is unrestricted capital that covers overhead, staff retention, and organizational infrastructure. Its absence correlates directly with the 30% small-organization access rate cited above. The two gaps compound: organizations least able to absorb restricted funding are the least likely to receive flexible funding.

The Post-2020 Contraction

Foundation giving to racial justice surged after the 2020 uprisings. The increase concentrated in a relatively small number of large organizations. By 2023, the surge had receded.

Two concurrent pressures compound the contraction for NYC-serving organizations. Direct federal grants to everyday charities fell approximately 38% between comparable eight-month periods in 2024 and 2025, per the Chronicle of Philanthropy. A Trump administration proposal would expand federal authority to terminate grants and allow political appointees to determine which grants serve the "national interest." Nearly 100,000 public comments were submitted in response.

Some funders have responded at scale. Open Society Foundations committed $300 million over five years to defend civil liberties and civil society. The number of comparable multi-year, unrestricted commitments from other major foundations is not captured in the current dataset.

Operating Environment for NYC Black-Led Nonprofits

Recent reporting indicates that funders and nonprofits have removed language from websites and mission statements that could trigger anti-DEI targeting, and that multi-year general operating support to Black-led organizations has contracted. Pandemic-era trust-based funding has not persisted. Restricted, project-based grants have returned as the default mechanism, limiting organizational autonomy.

Metrics to Track

• Foundation grantmaking to NYC-based Black-led organizations, 2024–2026, via Candid's grants database
• The share of unrestricted (general operating) dollars in those grants against the 2016–2023 baseline
• Federal grant terminations and political-appointment review actions at NYC-serving nonprofits
• Multi-year commitments from major NYC-relevant foundations, tracked against 2020 baseline
• Overhead ratios at small Black-led organizations in receipt of foundation support versus those without