New York Women’s Foundation (NYWF) is a left-of-center grantmaking organization located in New York City, to which it directs all of its grants. The foundation is focused on economic and social issues affecting women and transgendered people, with an emphasis on left-of-center conceptions of “social justice” and “structural racism.” ¹       

Founding and History

The New York Women’s Foundation was founded in 1987 by a group of New York City-based women looking to address issues affecting women, such as poverty, homelessness, and abuse, as well as women in the criminal justice system and those who had been infected with HIV. Rather than forming a new organization to directly deal with these issues, the founders decided to adopt a strategy of funding already existing community activist organizations. ²

Since its founding, the organization has distributed tens of millions of dollars to left-of-center groups in the five boroughs of New York City, including more than $10 million in fiscal year 2019. ³

Finances

In 2019, the New York Women’s Foundation had $14,737,795 in revenue, of which $14,474,305 was derived from contributions and grants, and $250,693 from investment income. The organization had $16,698,122 in expenses, of which $10,124,400 was allocated towards grants, and $4,069,221 was allocated towards employee salaries and benefits. It ended the year with $27,276,988 in net assets. ⁴

The organization is funded by a variety of big-name donors, including both foundations and corporations. Notable foundation donors include the Andrus Family Fund, Ford Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, Open Society Foundations, the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the Foundation for a Just Society. Notable corporate donors include American Express, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Standard and Poor’s, A&E Networks, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Metropolitan Commercial Bank, and Morgan Stanley. ⁵

Grantmaking Areas

Currently, New York Women’s Foundation divides its grant making into several different categories largely focused on left-of-center economic and social policies emphasizing women and transgendered people. Some categories of note are:

• Wages and economics: NYWF states that the problems women in New York City face are the direct result of economic oppression stemming from unjust pay and financial exploitation “rooted in structural racism.” NYWF funds organizations that advocate for “living wages” and fight against supposed sex-based pay discrimination. ⁶
• Gender-based violence: NYWF supports organizations that work to provide resources for women, girls, and gender-fluid people who are at risk of abuse. The organization also states that it seeks to make societal-wide changes to what it considers to be structural causes of gender-based violence. ⁷
• Abortion rights: The organization supports access to abortion, under the name “reproductive justice,” with a special emphasis on access for low-income women, women of color, and transgendered individuals. ⁸
• Civic engagement: In response to the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, NYWF began funding organizations focused on immigration, promoting women’s engagement in politics, and LGBT issues. As part of this initiative, it also promotes increasing ballot access by eliminating supposed barriers to voting and civic participation. ⁹

As of April 2022, NYWF is running two initiatives. Girls IGNITE Grantmaking makes grants to girls and gender-fluid youth to promote awareness of “social justice issues” and give hands on experience with the philanthropic and grant making process. The other initiative, RESILIENCE-NYC, is focused on promoting women’s engagement in politics. ¹⁰

Notable Grant Recipients

NYWF has funded a variety of left-of-center organizations. It provided funding to the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, a transgender legal service, Queers for Economic Justice, and FIERCE and the Audre Lorde project, both of which are focused on providing leadership training to “low-income transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual, two-spirit, queer and questioning youth of color.” ¹¹

NYWF has also contributed to a variety of different New York City focused organizations including the Urban Justice Center, the Gender Equality Law Center, Girls for Gender Equity, the New York Transgender Advocacy Group, and the Center for Popular Democracy. ¹²

Leadership

Ana Oliveira is the president and CEO of the New York Women’s Foundation, a position she has held since 2006. She has a degree in medical anthropology and was the former CEO of Gay Men’s Health Crisis. ¹³ In fiscal year 2019 was compensated $321,757. ¹⁴

Together, the organization’s president, four vice-presidents, and director of individual giving compensation packages amount to nearly $1.3 million. ¹⁵

1. New York Women’s Foundation . “Apply For Funds – The New York Women’s Foundation.” Accessed April 25, 2022. https://www.nywf.org/our-work/apply-for-grants/.
2.  “New York Women’s Foundation: The First 25 Years.” New York Women’s Foundation. 2012. Accessed April 25, 2022. https://www.nywf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/25-Year-Report-2.pdf.
3. “ NY Women’s Foundation Impact Report 2019-2020.” New York Women’s Foundation. Accessed April 25, 2022. https://www.nywf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/NY-Womens-Foundation-Impact-Report-2019-2020.pdf.
4. New York Women’s Foundation. Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2019. Part I
5. “2019/2020 Donors.” New York Women’s Foundation. 2020. Accessed April 25, 2022. https://www.nywf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/NY-Womens-Foundation-Impact-Report-2019-2020-Donors.pdf.
6. “Advancing Economic Justice for Women and Families.” New York Women’s Foundation. Accessed April 25, 2022. https://www.nywf.org/advancing-economic-justice-for-women-and-families/.
7. “Ending Gender-Based Violence and Building Safety.” New York Women’s Foundation. Accessed April 25, 2022. https://www.nywf.org/advancing-economic-justice-for-women-and-families-2/.
8. “Protecting Health, Sexual Rights and Reproductive Justice.” New York Women’s Foundation. Accessed April 25, 2022. https://www.nywf.org/protecting-health-sexual-rights-and-reproductive-justice/.
9. “Protecting Our Democracy and Women’s Civic Engagement.” New York Women’s Foundation. Accessed April 25, 2022. https://www.nywf.org/protecting-our-democracy-and-womens-civic-engagement/.
10. “Initiatives.” New York Women’s Foundation. Accessed April 25, 2022. https://www.nywf.org/initiatives/.
11. “New York Women’s Foundation: The First 25 Years.” New York Women’s Foundation. 2012. Accessed April 25, 2022. https://www.nywf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/25-Year-Report-2.pdf.
12. New York Women’s Foundation. Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2019. Schedule I, Part II.
13. “Ana L. Oliveira.” Omega.org. Accessed April 25, 2022. https://www.eomega.org/workshops/teachers/ana-l-oliveira.
14. New York Women’s Foundation. Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2019. Part VII.
15. New York Women’s Foundation. Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). 2019. Part VII.