Headquartered in New York City, NFF has long been committed to improving how funding flows to local nonprofits. Our team advocates for better government funding practices to ensure that New York’s nonprofits receive timely payments as they advance education, protect civil rights, and feed, shelter, and care for families in times of need.
A few examples of NFF speaking up for funding reforms to help nonprofits continue their vital work and strengthen communities across New York City:
Recommendations for Mayor Mamdani’s administration
- In early 2026, NFF partnered with Human Services Council of New York, Philanthropy New York, and Trinity Church Wall Street on a 10-point strategy recommendation for supporting NYC human service organizations for the Mamdani administration’s transition. Read the full report here: Mayoral Transition Priorities for the Human Services Sector.
- NFF published an article, “NYC’s Nonprofits Will Make or Break Mayor Mamdani’s Agenda,” in City and State New York co-authored by Aisha Benson of NFF, Beatriz de la Torre Trinity Church NYC, Michelle Jackson of Human Services Council of New York, and Kathryn O’Neal-Dunham of Philanthropy New York urging Mayor Zohran Mamdani to improve how the City works with its network of community-based nonprofits, also making the case for how nonprofits are central to advancing Mayor Mamdani’s agenda and affecting local change.
Providing Testimony to the New York City Council on Government Contracts
On February 25, 2026, NFF’s Ed Ubiera testified during a New York City Council Committee on Contracts Oversight Hearing to advocate for timely payments for nonprofits and human services providers. Referencing full cost principles and NFF’s 2025 State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey, Ed made the case that payment delays are hindering nonprofits’ ability to operate, adapt, and provide critical services to NYC communities.
Read key excerpts from Ed’s testimony below.
Equitable Funding Starts with Understanding Full Cost
At NFF, we believe in paying nonprofits for the full cost of what it takes to do their work every day. Full cost funding includes what is in the budget and on the balance sheet, like salaries and benefits for staff doing the important work in communities, and vital infrastructure costs like accounting, human resources, and facility needs. It also includes things that don’t show up in the balance sheet or budget but should – like money needed to make repairs or replacements in an emergency, money to pay staff a fair, living wage, and reserves to invest in the organization and its ability to serve communities into the future.
Paying nonprofits full cost is how we prevent crises and interrupted services for communities and allow leadership to stay focused on mission and outcomes. Anyone who has worked in a cash-constrained nonprofit knows that when a cash-flow crisis hits, mission stops, strategy stops, and all the energies of management and of the board are diverted to delaying payments to vendors and securing cash however they can. Appropriate working capital and timely payments by government contract partners prevent program disruption caused by cash flow shortfalls.
Full cost funding for nonprofits should be the goal of governmental procurement and contracting practices.
What NFF’s 2025 State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey Reveals About Challenges Faced by the New York City Nonprofit Community
Conducted ten times since 2009, NFF’s State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey is a vital look into the financial and operational realities nonprofits face nationwide, surfacing the challenges, opportunities, and trends shaping the sector. This collective dataset is used to advocate for meaningful actions philanthropy, government partners, and other community leaders can take to support nonprofits now and in the future.
133 organizations in New York City responded to our 2025 Survey, representing a range of budget sizes, sector, and leadership demographics. Survey respondents indicated (i) increased demand for services (ii) inflationary pressures on costs, and (iii) significant delays in payment from federal, state, and local government, with only 19% of New York City nonprofits receiving government funding report being paid on time. Nearly one-quarter (24%) of NYC respondents had one month or less cash on hand, and 40% reported operating with a budget deficit in 2024. The deficit rate reported was higher than we’ve seen in our survey data since 2009.
For the many local nonprofits with government funding, payment delays are hindering their ability to operate, adapt, and provide critical services to NYC communities.
We support Intro 0441 and Intro 0452
We support Intro 0441-2026 to establish a task force to examine disparities in contracting. This task force should have a wide remit to: (i) update citywide cost and procurement assumptions to pay what it truly takes for nonprofits to deliver critical services, keeping up with inflation and local cost of living. (ii) streamline and standardize forms, contracting processes, and online payment systems; (iii) clear backlogs in contract registration; (iv) reduce delays in invoice and payment processing; (v) ensure procuring agencies have sufficient staff resources to ensure a positive contracting experience for nonprofit and can provide in-depth technical support to nonprofits navigating the government procurement process.
Finally, we support Intro 0452-2026 that will establish wage requirements for city-contracted human services workers. The nonprofit workforce reflects the city itself: predominantly women, 56% are people of color and 34% are foreign-born. Many earn 30% less than their government agency counterparts. When the city pays their organizations late, their rent is late, they can’t buy groceries and they defer student loan payments.
We welcome serving as a thought partner to the City Council on these matters. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Speaking Out About the NYC Nonprofit Cash Flow Crisis
In June of 2024, NFF CEO Aisha Benson urged NYC to address the nonprofit cash flow crisis. Below is one of the key recommendations from her blog, Critical Social Services Hang in the Balance of NYC Contracting Reform.
To ease current conditions, we recommend the City:
- Make low-cost bridge loans available to nonprofits by replicating the Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) contractor financing loan fund program. The program, an interest-rate buy-down partnership with two Community Development Financial Institutions, provides a substantially reduced interest rate (3 percent) to MWBE contractors with City contracts. During the height of the COVID pandemic, the rate was reduced to 0 percent. Nonprofits are in a time of crisis now, and should have a program like this available. If the City’s budget is too thin, this is a place where philanthropic foundations could step in and provide support or 0 percent-3 percent capital. To give a sense of what it would cost: An investment of approximately $600,000 from the City or philanthropy would support a one-year, $10 million bridge loan fund (including interest and underwriting fees) for nonprofits struggling due to late City payments. As loans are repaid, this bridge loan funding could be recycled repeatedly, with the same money benefiting multiple nonprofits.