A student and mentor at MusicBreeds, one of three organizations funded by the Long Island Economic Opportunity Collaborative. Photo courtesy of MusicBreeds.

February 12, 2025

Newsday Covers Launch of New Long Island Funder Collaborative

The Long Island Opportunity Collaborative, a funder collaborative hosted by FJC, was featured in a Newsday article in their February 10 print edition. 

Funding for the program came from a coalition of donors, including leading financial institutions such as Apple Bank, BankUnited, Capital One, Citi, Dime Bank, JPMorganChase, M&T Bank, Nassau Financial FCU, New York Community Trust Long Island, and Santander Bank, N.A.

The 2025 grant program represents a significant investment by LIEOC in tackling economic disparities in the region. Each recipient will receive up to $300,000, along with capacity-building activities structured to support sustainable organizational growth: a planning phase in Year 1, implementation in Years 2 and 3, and an offboarding phase in Year 4.

The three recipients of the 2025 grant program are:

  • Woman’s Opportunity Rehabilitation Center (WORC): Focused on workforce development, WORC empowers women transitioning from incarceration by providing job training, leadership opportunities, and re-entry support, enabling them to rebuild their lives and strengthen their communities.
  • Minority Millennials: This organization bridges generational and opportunity gaps for millennial and Gen Z communities by connecting them with training, career pathways, and civic engagement opportunities to foster economic inclusion and leadership development.
  • MusicBreeds: Leveraging the power of music, MusicBreeds delivers workforce readiness training, social-emotional learning, and financial literacy programs to prepare low and moderate income youth for living-wage careers and economic mobility.

From the article:

Dan Lloyd, founder and president of Minority Millennials, said the grant would further its Civic Works program “that is a direct extension of our mission: to develop the next generation of civic leaders while equipping them with the keys to access economic freedom.” He said that means engaging teens from 16 to 18 to older millennials up to age 38, to help them learn what they are naturally good at, what career areas they’d like to explore, and providing them with resources and mentors.

Diane Gaines, executive director of the Woman’s Opportunity Rehabilitation Center, said, “We’re going to be helping our clientele to receive additional employment services. We can pay for skills training [and] for proper attire— different things to get our clientele prepared for employment.”

Isaiah Grigg, founder and CEO of MusicBreeds, said, “We’re going to be using it to develop financial literacy programs, credit building and educational workshops. We serve in our workforce development capacity, [students]age 17 plus, all the way up to seniors, if necessary. In total we serve about 120 students. We’re looking to increase that. The grant will help there.”

Sam Marks, the CEO of FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds, the fiscal sponsor of the collaborative, said “We’re thrilled to be able to execute on the strategy of the funder collaborative and create a structure [where] these folks can come together and do their work.”

The full article can be found here.