NYC Funders Collective Announces New Round of Awards 

to Promote Market Access 

Total giving by the Collective now exceeds $2.2 million

New York, NY (May 12, 2026)—As continued champions of local entrepreneurs and founders, the NY Small Business Funders Collective (the Collective) today announced awards aimed at strengthening the ecosystems that support homegrown enterprises. The $425,000 being awarded today as part of National Small Business Month will bolster nonprofit initiatives to increase market access for enterprises based in the five boroughs.

The Collective’s work under the “Doing Business Together” initiative is already showing promise in helping small businesses in New York City gain access to the $43 billion in government contracts awarded annually. Private sector contracting also provides vital growth opportunities for local vendors, with spending in the region estimated at ten times that of public sources. 

With this second year of grants under the initiative, the Collective brings its total grantmaking to over $2.2 million, having supported 22 local nonprofits and partner agencies. The initiative funds creative solutions for market access to increase supply chain localization, expand supplier networks, and dismantle persistent barriers to securing contracts and capital. This year’s grantees include past awardees whose projects have improved access for local small businesses in the marketplace, from green energy industrial opportunities and food-related microbusinesses to worker-owned cooperatives and small business financing solutions. The Collective embraces innovative pathways to help grow wealth and well-being for small businesses and the people, communities, and families that give rise to them.

In a joint statement, the Collective’s members, JPMorganChase, M&T Bank, Principal® Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, Santander Bank, MetLife Foundation, BankUnited, and Capital One, stated:

“One of the ways New York City leads is in the creation of opportunity. The NY Small Business Funders Collective exists to help foster this climate by providing grants to support initiatives that help lower barriers to entrepreneurship and widen pathways to market participation. This second year of “Doing Business Together” awards will increase contracting opportunities and market access, including undercapitalized entrepreneurs ensuring that opportunity continues to expand throughout the five boroughs.”

Grantee Partnerships receiving awards include: 

• Evergreen, partnering with the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation (SBIDC) and the Business Outreach Center (BOC)

Funding the “Growing Green Project” as it takes its market access program to the next level, providing a customized toolkit, workshop “lunch and learn” series, 1:1 technical assistance, and centralized database of over 70 certifications to help small business firms in industrial North Brooklyn better access green economy opportunities in offshore wind, electrification, decarbonization, and other high-growth sectors. Location: Brooklyn Industrial Zones

• Hot Bread Kitchen, partnering with Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation

Funding the Purchasers Network, which helps early-stage food entrepreneurs enter and succeed in the NYC food ecosystem. This year’s work includes expansion beyond Consumer Packaged Goods to include food vendors, a new partnership with Good Food CFO, and more partner kitchens, with an aim of doubling the number of purchasers from 10-20. Location: City-wide

• TruFund, partnering with NY NJ MSDC

Funding the TruAccess program, which provides up-front loans at 9-11% paired with data-informed technical assistance and access to corporate anchors, resulting in supplier-centered support and flexible capital pathways for small business owners that are too-often undercapitalized. Location: Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan

• The Working World/Seed Commons, partnering with NYC NOWC

Funding efforts to improve City registration and contract bidding processes that have historically been incompatible with collective ownership models. The Equity in Public Procurement cohort represents local cooperatives from seven different industries and serves as a model for crafting customized technical assistance and fostering awareness with City officials and agencies, with the ultimate goal of “buying cooperative.” Location: City-wide

New funding partners are being recruited to join the Collective and contribute their funding, ideas, and expertise to the program, including the design of future grant cycles.

A Collaborative Effort for Collective Impact

The NY Small Business Funders Collective is a group of philanthropic entities coming together to strengthen the local small business ecosystem across the New York region. Members of the Collective share the belief that entrepreneurship is a powerful lever for innovation, community vibrancy, and economic development. Through pooled grantmaking, the Collective aims to change ecosystems and increase opportunity by creating thriving local economies with and for those who live, work, and are rooted in our communities.

The Collective is a fiscally-sponsored project of Philanthropy New York.

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