BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Good news for great ideas: There’s a little bit of extra time to apply for a Fall 2025 grant from The West Side Community Fund (WSCF).

A consortium of leading companies based on Manhattan’s west side—including Google, Amazon, and Jamestown Properties—WSCF distributes an average $100,000 twice a year in support of worthy initiatives serving Chelsea, Hudson Yards, and Hell’s Kitchen.

Applicants now have until end of day on Wednesday, September 24 to complete the necessary grant application paperwork.

Grantees will be announced later this fall. Food security, education, the arts, and health & wellness are among the categories WSCF typically focuses on. What’s not typical: WSCF’s willingness to take a leap of faith by supporting the work of recently formed organizations and driven individuals new to the world of community programming. Get more information and access the application by clicking here to visit the West Side Community Fund website. Rather than opine further on the user-friendly nature of its online application–or quote liberally from the ABOUT section of WSCF’s website–we’ll let the record speak for itself. To that end, here’s the list of Spring 2025 grantees, among whom $100,000 was distributed. Clicking on the name of each grantee will take you to their website, where you can learn more about their mission.

Cambio Labs | The nonprofit “empowers low-income social entrepreneurs and workers through educational programs, learning technology, and by providing access to investment and job opportunities. Their grant will support Startup NYCHA, an initiative “that equips NYCHA [NYC Housing Authority] residents with the skills, mentorship, and resources needed to build and sustain their own businesses.”

Food Education Fund | The nonprofit provides “public high school students with the knowledge, skills, and network they need” to work in the hospitality and fine dining industries.

Friends of Argentine Tango | The group that brings the positive benefits of dancing Tango and other Latin social dances to people who might not otherwise try them, used its grant to fund an immersive 12-week class tailored to seniors.

Friends of Chelsea Green Park | Programs designed for seniors and adults without children are the focus of this grant supporting the ongoing work of those who’ve brought big ideas to Chelsea’s beloved West 20th Street micropark. Built on former NYC Department of Sanitation grounds thanks to the decade-long efforts of neighborhood advocates, Chelsea Green Park has been a true People’s Passion Project, having secured vital funding by becoming the top vote-getter in CounciL District 3’s very first Participatory Budgeting process. Chelsea Green’s grant stands as an example of the nuance that sets the 2018-founded WSCF apart from sources of support with a more narrow set of qualifying characteristics. WSCF embraces newly formed organizations still in heir formative stages or in need of support to realize ambitions to expand programming and services.

“We applied for this grant to help fund our Expanded Audience Program,” said FOCG rep Michael Walsh, who described the Program as an effort “to introduce Chelsea Green Park to our wider local community. While it is popular with children and families, Chelsea Green is a city park for everyone, and we continue to work to bring a larger and more varied audience to the park.”

Friday morning Coffee & Conversation events and a music performance series are among the programs to benefit. “We have also used the grant to support a free weekly movement class taught by local resident Laura Shapiro,” said Walsh, who noted FOCG “would love to hear suggestions from the community about programming we might bring to Chelsea Green Park.”

Fulton Houses Tenant Association and Gotham Food Pantry Project: This initiative advances food justice by rescuing and distributing food from Gotham Food Pantry to residents of Chelsea’s Fulton (NYCHA) Houses.

FundaveNYC | Their WSCF grant is dedicated to funding a training initiative whose certified volunteers connect housing seekers to affordable housing opportunities.

Fund for Public Housing, Inc. | Their grant fund is directed toward resources that empower youth at Harborview Terrace and Elliott-Chelsea NYCHA housing to “collaboratively identify and implement tech solutions that strengthen communications, access to information, and community engagement.”

Hearty Start | Their grant enhances the daily meal service that supplies 1,250 sandwiches each week to homeless individuals in the surrounding Chelsea neighborhood.

Midtown South Community Council | Project: A not-for-profit organization dedicated to building better neighborhoods and stronger relationships in Midtown South Manhattan will use the funds to enhance the MSCC Urban Farm’s infrastructure, increasing its capacity to distribute fresh produce and provide healthy food to families, shelters, and the elderly. The WSCF grant, says MSCC’s John Mudd, “supplemented our Upstate and City urban farm and its distribution to the elderly and sheltered, neighbors of Midtown…This would not be happening without WSCF on board.”

Newcomer Something | Grant funding allowed for language and enrichment summer programming for new students at Landmark High School experiencing food insecurity and living in temporary housing.

P94M at P51 | The WSCF grant supports an initiative to relieve food insecurity by engaging students and their families in a gardening project to grow fresh produce they can take home, helping to relieve food insecurity.

PS 33 Chelsea Prep | The elementary school will channel its funding to provide emergency essential items to students in need and assist families experiencing housing instability. Amanda Saechao says their WSCF grant is “an invaluable resource” whose “flexible funding has allowed us to promptly and effectively address a wide range of student and family needs, ensuring that all students receive critical support…Furthermore, the grant enabled us to purchase essential winter supplies like coats, hats, and gloves, which are often financially out of reach for many families.” An initiative to provide warm meals and snacks at various school events, says Saechao, “has not only meet basic nutritional needs but also created a welcoming and inclusive environment that encourages family participation; something we have always aimed to elevate.”

QARAVAN | This organization offers targeted, community-driven support for LGBTQ participants in unstable housing through skill-building workshops addressing critical resources in housing, healthcare, and employment. Support from WSCF has “allowed us to expand our work during a time of uncertainty,” says Qaravan’s Yelena Goltsman, adding, “With ths grant,we cancontinue to stand with the most vulnerable, who too often find themselves without community support or safety.”

Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries | This nonprofit providing “direct and educational services that promote individual and community growth” directs their WSCF grant toward homelessness-support programming.

St. Paul’s House | This nonprofit operates Creighton’s Café, a soup kitchen that provides 40-60 meals daily and connects clients to the resources they need. Their WSCF grant goes toward costs associated with groceries and building maintenance.

Student Leadership Network | This college access program serves over 800 students, maximizing their access to financial aid and other college preparation resources.

VISIONS – Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired | AKA Selis Manor (West 23rd St. near 7th Ave.), VISIONS offers intergenerational technology programs designed to connect blind older adults with both blind and sighted teenagers.

Xavier Mission | This non-profit organization dedicates its WSCF grant to maintaining an eviction prevention program that serves low-income New Yorkers at risk of homelessness.

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