"Strengthening NYC's Human Services Nonprofits by Reducing Their Administrative Burden"
A Center for an Urban Future and Human Services Council Policy Symposium

Replay of the event
Event materials

Many of the human services nonprofits that stepped up in heroic ways to meet the growing demand for safety net services during the past two years are now financially vulnerable, jeopardizing their ability to continue supporting hundreds of thousands of still-struggling New Yorkers. While city officials have recently taken important steps to clear the backlog of government contracts for services provided by nonprofits and ensure on-time payments, there are other ways that New York policymakers can help strengthen and stabilize these critical organizations. This forum explored one largely untapped opportunity: reducing the often excessive administrative and auditing burden on nonprofits.

The forum shined a light on this vexing challenge, which routinely causes nonprofits to divert significant resources, time, and staff to filling out paperwork. It identified some particularly maddening administrative requirements and fleshed out specific steps that city and state leaders can take to ease this unnecessary burden on New York's nonprofits while still ensuring accountability.

Speakers included:

• Council Member Linda Lee, New York City Council
• Council Member Julie Won, New York City Council; Chair, Committee on Contracts
• Fran Barrett, Interagency Coordinator for Nonprofit Organizations, New York State Governor's Office
• Ilke Denizli, Associate Director, Strategic Initiatives, Mayor's Office of Contract Services
• Janelle Farris, President & Executive Director, Brooklyn Community Services
• Jeehae Fischer, Executive Director, The Korean American Family Service Center
• Maria Lizardo, Executive Director, Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation
• Frederick Shack, CEO, Urban Pathways 
• Ben Thomases, Executive Director, Queens Community House

A video of the full discussion is available here.

This symposium is made possible through generous support from Ponce Bank. We are also grateful for general support from The Clark Foundation, the Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation, the Altman Foundation, and ongoing support from a number of other philanthropic funders.