From the Director

Friends,

Our 2022 Action Report is a beautiful snapshot of the North Star Fund community and the people-powered movements that shape our work. Behind the lists we share here—grantees, funders, donors, programs—are thousands of people who dream big, fight hard, and give joyously to transform New York and beyond.

This was a year of many North Star Fund milestones:

We welcomed dozens of new grantees—we are now supporting, for the first time, over 125 incredible groups (you’ll have to see the lists to believe it!).

We celebrated our fifth anniversary supporting grassroots organizing in the Hudson Valley, where we’re now working with 30 grassroots groups led by working class New Yorkers organizing for justice.

Our fifth Giving Project raised over $200,000 from hundreds of donors for Black-led organizing and our Fondo Let Us Breathe—bringing our five-year total to over $1M raised—drumroll, please—by volunteers!

We continued to show the world that we must change how money moves to movements—for example, with our Change.org philanthropic partnership, where we helped a committee of staff leaders and activists move close to $3 million to Black-led movements throughout the nation.

And if you’re a by-the-numbers person like me, you’ll be thrilled to learn that our 2022 grantmaking brought North Star Fund over the $100M mark! Our giving community—led by grassroots activists and donors just like you—have now moved over $100 million to extraordinary organizations in just over 40 years.

North Star Fund is building people-powered movements—to change New York, to change philanthropy, and to change the world.

Our team is making big plans for 2023, and we invite you to deepen your commitment, bring your friends and family, and share your vision for how to change the world. In fact, I hope to see you on April 18, 2023, when we plan to welcome everyone back to an in-person North Star Fund Community Gala!

Please make a gift to support our work today. I can’t wait to see you in 2023!

In Solidarity,

Jennifer Ching
Directora Ejecutiva

In 2022 we reached an amazing milestone: we’ve made over $100 million in grants over our 40+ years through a combination of our Community Funding Committees, philanthropic partnerships, donor organizing and donor-advised funds.

In Fiscal Year 2021-2022, we made 
grants totaling almost $16 million. 

Our Activist Grantmakers Lead The Way

Hundreds of New York activists have been a part of our Community Funding Committees, directing thousands of grants and designing our funding strategies and processes. 

$3.2M  this year… $30M over time.

Fundraisers as Organizers

We organize people to think differently about giving, and to take action to raise and move money to movements in a way that centers the needs and leadership of communities traditionally excluded from philanthropy.

In five years, our Giving Project has raised over $1M from thousands of new donors!

Partners in Philanthropy

We partner with foundations, corporations, and other organizations to provide direct support to our grantees, or to design funding initiatives that center grassroots organizing. 

$3M this year… $8M over time.

Community Giving Through Donor-Advised Funds 

Community members open donor-advised funds (DAFs) with us, which are personal grant accounts from which you can give money directly to our grantees or other causes. Our DAF program is a partnership with Amalgamated Charitable Foundation. 

$9.3M this year… $63M over time.

Our Board and Staff

It takes a vibrant community to build and sustain movements for justice. Here are the board and staff of North Star Fund (as of November, 2022) who do the work of building and sustaining our community.  Our grants are made by our Community Funding Committees, which are shown alongside the grants they directed that are listed on the Grants page.