Editor’s note: Show nonprofits the money

Last year, according to the New York City Comptroller’s Office, two-thirds of all procurement contracts to organizations like nonprofits were submitted late for registration. That means the city registered the contracts after the starting date on which they were expected to go live. The comptroller’s annual procurement report for 2023 noted that late registrations grew from 52% in fiscal years 2021 and 2022 to 66% in fiscal year 2023 and 77% for the first half of fiscal year 2024.

The amount currently owed to nonprofits is staggering, according to NYN Media contributor John MacIntosh, managing partner of SeaChange Capital Partners, which provides grants, loans, analysis and advice to nonprofits. “Our recent analysis of data from PASSPort Public and CheckBook NYC suggests that nonprofits providing human services are owed about $800 million from a combination of work done under still-unregistered contracts and late payments,” he wrote in an email to City & State.

The Adams administration has tackled the backlog, reporting last month that it has unlocked more than $6 billion in delayed funds. The administration also recently touted a $741 million cost-of-living adjustment for human services workers, which Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives Ana Almanzar recalled during her remarks at City & State’s Nonprofit Trailblazers awards event on May 22. “We cannot do what we do in city government without the support that we get from all the work that you do everyday, to bring services to those most in need,” Almanzar told attendees. “From 9/11 to post-pandemic, you have always been there supporting every New Yorker.”

Those were encouraging words. Now it’s time to put more money behind them.