FPWA Announces Support from The New York Community Trust to Fund Development of Budget Tracking Tool

We at FPWA are excited to announce funding for the development of a unique online budget tool that will provide clear, accessible, interactive, up-to-date, and actionable information on the impact of federal budget proposals on New York City’s human-services budget.

Thanks to a generous $125,000 grant from the New York Community Trust, this budget tool will allow New York City’s community-based organizations, advocates, policymakers, and the media to trace the flow of federal dollars down to the programs and initiatives they care about, and easily understand the impact of federal budget choices at the community level.

Following the 2016 election, a roundtable of FPWA member agency executive directors expressed grave concern about the nonprofit sector’s capacity to stay abreast of, and effectively advocate against, proposed federal budget cuts to programs that support the well-being of low- and middle-income individuals and families—programs that, when fully-funded, strengthen the economy, improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers, and demonstrate how we as a City value opportunity and dignity.

In response to these concerns, FPWA formed a new Tax and Budget Policy Analysis and Advocacy Team dedicated to cultivating greater accessibility, understanding, and awareness of the impacts of federal fiscal policy in New York City through research and analysis. The budget tool is the creation of the Tax and Budget Policy Analysis and Advocacy Team.

The budget tool will in turn inform our policy and advocacy work, provide rapid-response analyses as budget proposals are released, and fulfil the promise of open data. As an example of the type of analysis the tool will inform, we recently released a policy brief detailing the impact of the President’s budget on older adults in New York City – finding that one-third of the Department for the Aging’s federal funding would be cut, devastating senior centers, food assistance, and more.

This is a critical moment for New York City’s human-services sector. Our budget tool will arm our community with actionable data and information to help stave off dangerous cuts to the social safety net today, and foster greater awareness and engagement tomorrow.

FPWA thanks The New York Community Trust for their generous support of our work.

For more information about the budget tool, please contact Senior Fiscal Policy Analyst Derek Thomas.