School-based nonprofit program loses $5.1 million grant

Bronx resident Candy Camacho’s 11-year-old daughter lost her grandmother and two of her friends in the same year. The grief was causing the sixth grader to become closed off and she struggled to deal with her feelings of loss, according to her mother.

When a middle school guidance counselor reached out to Camacho and her daughter to see if the family wanted to receive support from a social worker connected to the school, they agreed and were connected to case planner Lolivone Leon Hernandez from nonprofit social work organization I’Raise Girls & Boys International Corporation.

In the five months since beginning to work with Hernandez, Camacho’s daughter has been becoming more open and talkative, and says she trusts and likes Hernandez. Her mother has also noticed a difference, saying that she no longer isolates herself in her bedroom.

Camacho’s story is just one example of the work that I’Raise and its staff does in New York City schools, primarily in the Bronx. The organization’s school-based model supports students dealing with a range of socioemotional and behavioral challenges, including truancy, teen pregnancy, mental health issues and grief.

In the new year, however, I’Raise’s services are facing uncertainty, after the Administration for Children’s Services abruptly terminated a $5.1 million three-year grant in mid-December, effective Dec. 31. The funding was supposed to expand services for five schools in the Bronx.

“She loves the fact that she can talk to someone outside of the household that she can lean on for support and for guidance,” Camacho said. “It would be horrible if the program would shut down. It would not be good for us. Definitely not for her.”

I’Raise opened in 2012 to “meet the needs of kids that were in that community where a lot of violence was prevalent,” according to CEO and Founder Shanequa Moore. The case planners and counselors work with students who have dealt with violence and trauma, both in school and out.

“We noticed that children were coming to school, but they were not as focused, and primarily because of the external factors and their community that were preventing them from being able to really lock in and perform well,” Moore said in an interview. “Our program really touches the heart of the need of the school. By meeting kids where they are and being able to work with kids like that, after being able to address what their real needs are, you can actually see transformation in that student.”

The organization first received the grant from ACS in February 2024. It was supposed to be around $1.4 million per year for three years, with the ability to extend it for more years.

The initial idea with this grant was to take the nonprofit’s school-based early support model and add wraparound services, which includes in-home work. In anticipation of this increased workload for the 2024-2025 school year, I’Raise hired 17 new staff members.

The team started working at the beginning of the current school year last September with guidance counselors and principals, taking on new clients who the school suggested could use the help.

Staff members attended school open houses and back-to-school events to meet parents and enroll students in services before classes even officially began.

Then, ACS reached out to I’Raise and said the organization needed to find an office space outside of the school buildings within 30 days to remain compliant with their contract. Having a designated office was not a term of the original contract, according to Moore, but she jumped on order. When asked, ACS was unwilling to extend the deadline or provide financial support for the office rent.

By November, Moore had found a unit but wanted to check in with ACS prior to officially signing the lease. She set up a meeting with ACS Deputy Commissioner of Preventive Services Luisa Linares, with the expectation of getting approval for their revised budget that included the cost of the new office.

It was in this meeting that Moore was told that the contract between I’Raise and ACS was terminated, effective Dec. 31, 2024.

“There was no forewarning,” Moore said. “There was no verbal or written warning that this was something that would happen. We already, at that moment, had kids enrolled in the program, parents already participating, a full team of staff that were working in those programs.”

As per ACS’s own bylaws, the agency is required to provide a written termination at least 30 days prior to the effective date – a bylaw it broke when it sent the written statement on either Dec. 16 or 17 with less than 20 days to go.

ACS did not provide a reason to I’Raise for the cancellation of the grant, saying that it isn’t required to provide reasoning, once again as per the governing bylaws.

“They were disheartened,” Moore said of the principals I’Raise works with. “Parents were disheartened, teachers. There was really outcry and outroar from our community.”

Soon after being notified of the contract’s termination, I’Raise began organizing within the community, circulating a petition that was signed by hundreds of community members wanting the program to stay.

On top of discontinuing the grant, as of press time I’Raise is owed more than $400,000 from ACS in services already rendered prior to Dec. 31. Since the grant kicked in, only one invoice has been paid by the city, sometime back in the summer.

In response to this, ACS told City & State that it is in ongoing talks with I’Raise and that reimbursement for services rendered will be paid. 

“ACS is committed to providing high-quality services and up-stream supports to children and families in their communities,” an agency spokesperson said in a written statement. “Any family in need of a helping hand can reach out to our Support Line at 212-676-7667 and we can connect them to services in their community.”

With the big cut in funding, I’Raise is at risk of having to scale back services and potentially lay off up to 12 staff members. As of press time, these measures have not yet been carried out.

The risks, according to parents and staff, are great.

Hernandez, the I’Raise case planner, said that cutting programming would hurt both students who rely on this support and staff who depend on this work for their livelihoods. 

Aida Ruiz, the mother of a seventh grader working with I’Raise to help her better manage her behavior and ADHD, said the organization’s services have been noticeably helping her daughter. 

Her daughter, who doesn’t tend to trust new people easily, has developed a strong connection with Hernandez and enjoys talking with her openly in a way she wouldn’t so with others. Her behavior both at school and at home has improved and she’s becoming more open, Ruiz said.

“[If] the program ends, she’s going to be like, ‘Well, I wasted my time because now who’s going to help me?’” Ruiz said. “They can use the funding to help other kids, because that’s what the funding is – to help.”

Moore said the local council members representing the communities have written letters of support for I’Raise.

“I have long supported I’Raise Girls & Boys International Corporation and have worked to empower their vital work through funding over the past three years,” Council Member Kevin Riley said in a written statement. “The School-Based Early Support Program provides critical case management and support services that directly benefit students and their families, making a real impact on educational outcomes and community engagement.”

Council Member Amanda Farias echoed these sentiments in a written statement.

“I am aware of the grant termination and have spoken with both parties,” she said. “I have reached out to the Administration for Children’s Services for grant scope of work, current status of program offering within the school where I’Raise Girls and Boys International are funded to work out of, and have worked on this issue with Chair Stevens and Council Member Riley. We are waiting to hear back on the status of the grant between ACS and the nonprofit, and what next steps need to be taken.”

I’Raise is looking to scale up its funding from current funders and to find new private funders. The organization has some private funding to work off of for now, but it will need to raise more money to avoid cutting down on programming. 

“It’s sad,” Moore said. “It’s honestly one of the things, if I ever ran for office, it would be for this. It would be like, ‘Let’s treat nonprofits right.’ They are literally the ones that keep our city heartbeat beating.”