The best of New York City's many and diverse charities demonstrate both commitment to and success in bettering New Yorkers' lives.
New York City is home to thousands of reputable charities organized for the dedicated benefit of the city's communities, neighborhoods and resident demographics. Electing the "best" among them is in ways subjective, influenced in particular by personal valuations of the relative import of their respective charitable causes. Yet, the following charities' consistent objective acclaim, including success rate recognition by Charity Navigator, the nation's premier independent charity evaluator, is assured justification of their representation as being among NYC's best.
Food Bank for New York City and City Harvest
Food Bank for New York City and City Harvest are NYC's two most predominant hunger-relief charities, each one working for over 25 years to alleviate the city's ongoing food poverty epidemic. Both organizations operate mass-scale direct food sourcing and community distribution programs, daily providing hundreds of thousands of free meals for New Yorkers in need across the five boroughs. Both have also developed comprehensive mission approaches, integrating their food delivery services with strategic research and policy initiatives in nutrition education and income support with the goal of forging long-term solutions. For their respective outstanding efforts in this vital cause's pursuit, Food Bank and City Harvest have continually ranked among the city's --- and indeed the nation's --- top-performing charities. Notably, Charity Navigator has recognized each of their philanthropic models with coveted four-star ratings for organizational efficiency and fiscal health and responsibility.
The Children's Aid Society
For 150 years, the Children's Aid Society has helped NYC's children to cope, thrive and ultimately lead healthy productive lives.
The Children's Aid Society (CAS) is a nationally acclaimed charity committed for over 150 years to providing comprehensive services and support to New York City's children in poverty and their families. Since its founding in 1853, CAS has been continuously at the forefront of its targeted demographic field of charitable work, spearheading initiatives in children's homelessness, adoption and foster care, day care, schooling and professional development, health care, housing assistance, domestic violence, and adolescent pregnancy and drug abuse prevention. CAS operates in 45 locations across NYC's five boroughs, focused on high-needs neighborhoods and serving their resident youth, families and communities directly. The charity has earned consistent acclaim for its progamming's effectiveness and outcomes as well as its fiscal integrity and management, including 10 consecutive years of Charity Navigator's four-star rating.
Robin Hood Foundation
The Robin Hood Foundation (RHF) is dedicated specifically to fighting poverty in New York City. RHF's defining approach is to find, fund and orchestrate partnerships with NYC's outstanding poverty organizations in order to maximize their effectiveness and achieve optimal results for the shared cause. Significantly, the Foundation's Board of Directors underwrites all of its operating costs, with the extraordinary consequence that 100 percent of every donation goes directly to its intended recipients: New Yorkers in need. Currently RHF partners with hundreds of non-profit groups, funding their extensive spectrum of programs to prevent poverty and aid the city's poor, from food banks and health care assistance to financial clinics and legal aid societies. Testament to its meticulous due diligence in its immense charitable investment and fund-management processes, RHF too has achieved four-star recognition from Charity Navigator.
New York Foundation for the Arts
The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent nonprofit with the objective of empowering artists, advocating for arts and culture, and facilitating artistic ventures throughout NYC communities and the state. Founded in 1971, NYFA has become the comprehensive leading source for the city's all-things art, encompassed in three principal program areas of fiscal sponsorship, information and research, and programs and awards. These versatile services include direct financial assistance to individual artists and emerging organizations; learning initiatives of seminars, workshops and professional feedback sessions; online resources for social networking and employment; mentorship for immigrant artists; and an array of grants and fellowships. NYFA's charitable work has been integral to the sustenance of NYC's arts community --- indeed to fostering its richly textured cultural life and identity itself. As of 2010, holding Charity Navigator's three-star recognition, NYFA is currently implementing a strategic organizational plan to diversify, expand and enhance its funding, marketing and services' reach on all levels.
Tags: York City, Charity Navigator, Children Society, City Harvest, Food Bank
