North Star Fund
OVERVIEW: The North Star Fund supports LGBTQ and social justice organizations in New York City and the Hudson Valley Region.
IP TAKE: This funder supports community-based and grassroots organizations in New York City and New York’s Hudson Valley region.
PROFILE: Martin Bunzl and a group of 26 young people who inherited wealth established the North Star Fund in New York City in 1978. The establishment of the fund was “[i]nfluenced by the civil rights, women’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, and anti-war movements.” The foundation invests in social justice organizations in the five boroughs of New York City and the Hudson Valley region.
North Star’s grants often support grassroots organizations led by immigrants, women, people of color, Muslims, LGBTQ communities and “[t]hose at the intersections.” Current grant programs include Hudson Valley Grants, which support grassroots groups operating in New York’s Hudson Valley region; Let Us Breathe Fund Grants, which support Black-led racial justice organizations; New York City Organizing Grants, which support grassroots groups in the five boroughs; and Rapid Response Grants, which respond to the pressing needs of New York-area grassroots organizations. Recent grantees include New York City’s Justice For All Coalition, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Faith in New York and Jaago Hudson, a Hudson Valley organization that supports survivors of sexual abuse and violence in the region’s South Asian communities.
North Star accepts unsolicited grant applications for all of its grantmaking programs. Grants are awarded in amounts of up to $20,000, with an average grant size of about $7,500. Application for Rapid Response grants are accepted on an ongoing basis. For all other programs, applicants should check the website periodically for updates on due dates and application procedures, which vary from year to year. Grantseekers should consult the foundation’s how to apply page for additional information about application requirements.
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