What is a Community Leaders Grant?

A Community Leaders Grant is a microgrant given out to New Yorkers by CitizensNYC. CitizensNYC awards microgrants of up to $5,000 to community-building projects carried out by resident-led groups to improve neighborhood life, strengthen local leadership, and scale community partnerships.

Who is eligible to apply for a Community Leaders Grant?

Applicants must meet the following criteria to be considered for a Community Leaders Grant:

• They must live in one of New York City’s five boroughs.

• Their group or project must be “community-oriented,” meaning it currently has, or will have, two or more volunteers associated with it.

• Their group or project must not be profit-generating. They must be nonprofits or grassroots volunteer groups.

• Their group or project must have a budget of less than $250,000 (schools and school programs are exempt).

• Their group or project must not an affiliate or chapter of a larger organization.

• Their group or project cannot promote religious, political, or any other ideology.

As long as you meet the above criteria, we want to hear about your ideas for improving New York.

We score applications based on a number of areas, including: Clarity, Quality of Life Impact, Community Engagement, and Need. For more details about our scoring criteria and what each of these areas mean, you can reference our evaluation criteria at the bottom of the page.

What is the timeline for applying for a Community Leaders Grant?

For 2025 grantmaking, CitizensNYC is moving to a two-grant cycle model to more rapidly respond and provide funding for your project ideas. 

1st Grant Cycle

• Grant Applications Open: November 4, 2024

• Application Deadline: February 7, 2025

• Grant Decisions Announced: April 2025

2nd Grant Cycle

• Grants Open: May 5, 2025

• Application Deadline: July 25, 2025

• Grant Decisions Announced: September 2025

Applicants who are awarded grants through the first cycle are ineligible to apply again during the second cycle. Applicants for the first cycle who did not receive an award are welcome to submit an updated application for the second cycle. 

I have other questions. Where can I find more information?

We’re here to help! 

We encourage you to join us for one of our information sessions, or for online office hours, where our team will be available to discuss any questions or concerns you have about these grants, your application, and your project idea.

If you are unable to attend an info session or office hours, or if you have any other questions, you can email: grants@citizensnyc.org.

You can reference our evaluation criteria here, download a copy of the application here, and view a sample application here.

The Community Leaders Grant program is made possible by support from our philanthropic partners, including Amazon, Apple Bank, Bessemer Trust Company, Citi, Con Edison, Google, MetLife Foundation, M&T Bank, MUFG, National Grid Foundation, Siegel Family Endowment, Sony, The Staten Island Foundation, TD Bank, Verizon, our Board of Directors, and many generous individuals.