HARLEM — A community group charged with distributing $150 million in cash and benefits to nonprofits is changing the way it awards grants.
The West Harlem Development Corporation, which is responsible for distributing money from Columbia University as part of a 2009 Community Benefits Agreement — has agreed to limit its one-year grants to only nonprofits based in West Harlem, Kofi Boateng, the group’s executive director, announced last week. The changes were first reported by the Columbia Spectator.
The group, which has been awarding grants to nonprofits to provide services to their neighborhood since 2013 — came under fire from community groups after doling out half of its one-year grants to nonprofits serving other neighborhoods, according Rev. Georgette Morgan-Thomas, chair of CB9.
Since 2013, the WHDC has distributed 186 grants, worth a total of $4.9 million. Nonprofits based in West Harlem received 95 grants and nonprofits outside the neighborhood were awarded 91 grants, according to public data.
“It has been a major concern for Community Board 9 that there were so many grants being given to groups outside,” said Rev. Georgette Morgan-Thomas, chair of the board.
Under the new agreements, one-year grant applicants must provide services directly to West Harlem, Morgan-Thomas said.
“We understand that outside groups can service the community but one of the things that became apparent was that some of the outside groups really struggled to fulfill the requirements of the grants.”
One applicant based in East Harlem proposed bringing aqua farming to Community Board 9 but the site they were looking to build at was actually in Central Harlem, Morgan-Thomas explained.
Also, it didn’t make sense to give money to outside groups if there are already West Harlem nonprofits doing similar work — such as art and theater education for local children — in the neighborhood, she added.
Boateng said the WHDC will now change the amount of the money they give one-year grant recipients — capping the grant amount at $25,000, down from the prior $48,000.
They're adding a new multi-year grant program offering $80,000 and $150,000 to nonprofits based in any part of the city, he added.
Boateng explained that when they began distributing the grants in 2013, there was a lot of pressure to get the money out quickly so the cast a wide net. At that time, elected officials and others called for an audit of the troubled organization, saying it lacked transparency and was sitting on money meant for the community.
Now, however, the WHDC has identified the greatest community needs, and they want to focus on casting a deep net, Boateng explained. He said the changes were made to ensure that grants were awarded to projects that would have a lasting impact on the community and that benefits wouldn't fizzle out once the funds from Columbia stop coming in 2024.
"We know what works," he said. "We know where we want to invest to make a greater impact. We want to be able to say we left a legacy."
Applications for the one-year grants will be accepted until July and applications for multi-year grants will be accepted until October. Recipients for both categories will be announced in December, Boateng said.
