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Citizens Committee for New York City (CitizensNYC) is an organization that seeks to help improve the quality of life for New Yorkers, especially those in low-income communities and neighborhoods. CitizensNYC aims at standing in the gap where social welfare services fall short in low-income communities. This organization will host virtual community meetings this summer to mobilize grassroots groups that need support, as well as inviting neighborhood leaders to be part of their network and participate in their resources.

Residents are uniquely situated to identify the issues impacting their societies and act upon them. With the aid of grants, project planning assistance, skills-building training, and equipment sharing library, school groups and communities can effectively organize if supported with modest funding. In 2019, the company delivered $2.3 million in funding and grants to 596 initiatives, affecting more than 130,000 people across the five municipal areas in 164 neighborhoods.

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The organization has been promoting the spirit of social justice, volunteerism, and local engagement, which drives their work since 1975.

Black-led grassroots groups in New York frequently feel insecure and anxious about the NYPD, but acknowledge law enforcement plays a crucial role in the community, according to a survey conducted by CitizensNYC in June this year. However, most say it is time the country revolutionized and revitalized police policies and services. When additional funding is provided, research suggests local leaders who are Black are more likely to start implementing police-community projects immediately.

Results of the survey also showed that grassroots organizations are stepping up during the COVID-19 pandemic to help youth engagement projects, while official state and city programs lie dormant. According to the survey data, many of NYC’s grassroots leaders come from all walks of life and are highly educated. More than 80 percent of the group leaders who received funding from CitizensNYC holds a Bachelor’s degree or above, 80 percent of community leaders who took part in the survey support the Black Lives Matter movement.

Grassroots organization leaders were already preparing to recruit thousands of young people this summer, despite the city’s last-minute decision to support the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). More than a third of the organizations that participated in the survey that are not currently involved in police-community relations would participate in the work if funding were appropriate, 20 percent of respondents are presently doing police-community relations work.

Citizens NYC is among the oldest micro-funding organizations in the country. The organization raises funds from corporations, foundations, and private donors all over NYC to provide neighborhood groups with the funding needed to carry out the projects.

“Our institutions need to restore faith and ensure that everyone is safe and has access to opportunity. New Yorkers have always served as the beacon for others. The Citizens Committee uses its strong network of community leaders to tell the story of what people are doing on-the-ground to combat the issues of our era. Through politicians and essential organizations, we will amplify the voices of the Black & Brown leaders. CitizensNYC, we listen actively to our grant recipients. What New York needs to raise the voices of our community leaders because they are the ones doing the essential work, while the NYPD and the state work to address our challenges,” said the Chief Executive Officer of CitizensNYC—Rahsaan Harris, Ph.D.