Amid critical funding shortfalls, nonprofit leaders honored for providing essential needs

Last month, the Adams administration released over $5 billion in advance payments to nonprofits for fiscal year 2026 – the largest upfront payment of its kind, intended to clear scores of the city’s overdue payments. As nonprofits nationwide have continued to weather uncertainty since the early days of the Trump administration, many have come under attack as they continue to be critically underfunded in providing essential needs.

These organizations, and the leaders who steward them, have undoubtedly played essential roles in filling the gaps and reaching the crevices overlooked by traditional systems. At last night’s annual Nonprofit Trailblazers event, held at The View Battery Park and hosted by City & State and New York Nonprofit Media, honorees were celebrated for their passion to serve those in need.

“Nonprofits and their antecedents have been part of the city since before it was New York,” said Michael Sedillo, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services, in his keynote address. “They've always gone to where the need is greatest, no matter the cost. And when times change, they change. They merge, they evolve, they adapt, because it's the people that they served that needed them.” 

Sedillo, who was appointed in January, previously helped secure over $6 billion in funding for nonprofits in 2022 and led community hiring programs to reduce job vacancies the following year. In stewarding the Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services, Sedillo has pledged to cut red tape, streamline contracting processes and help release over $5 billion in advance payments for fiscal year 2026 in order to ensure that providers are paid on time.

“You are our city's social safety net. You fill the gaps, you build the bridges and you don't do it for recognition. You do it because you love your communities,” Sedillo said. “But let's be honest, none of this work is easy, and I know it can sometimes feel like you are alone, shouting into the void at a faceless bureaucracy.”

Speaker Caura Washington, director of the state’s Office of Faith and Nonprofit Development Services, honored the 120,000 statewide nonprofit organizations that employ nearly 1.3 million New Yorkers – over 16% of New York State's private workforce – and noted the critical state of underfunding across the sector.  

“These organizations are imperative to our economy and an essential pillar of our communities,” Washington said. “Yet for all of your strengths and selflessness, our sector faces persistent and profound challenges.” 

According to Washington, nearly 65% of New York nonprofits are currently concerned with funding basic operations in the year ahead, with 17% anticipating they may need to take a line of credit just to keep the lights on.

“These financial pressures weigh on organizations of every size, from the smallest volunteer-run charities to the largest human services agencies. Although many may not believe that we notice, we are fully aware that one of our biggest challenges in the nonprofit sector is the expediency of government funding,” Washington said. 

Honorees were recognized for their tireless dedication to aiding historically marginalized groups, despite often being under-resourced.

“They fought stigma, offered care and saved lives. They didn't wait for permission. They went where the need was greatest, and they adapted their missions to serve a community that had been largely abandoned by mainstream institutions,” Sedillo said. “These are not stories of institutions clinging to tradition. They are stories of bold, values-driven adaptation. These organizations recognized when their communities needed something different, and they stepped up.”