Grantmakers in the News

February 1, 2006

NYC Children To Distribute Penny Harvest Funds

The 15th Annual Common Cents Penny Harvest raised an estimated $650,826.70 in its most successful regular harvest ever. Nearly half a million New York City children from 767 of the city's primary and middle schools participated in this fall's campaign.

This winter, student representatives from the five boroughs will have roundtable discussions, visit nonprofits, and meet with community leaders as they prepare to make grant decisions in the spring. Common Cents is training teachers to integrate the Penny Harvest into the curriculum and to supervise the roundtable discussions.

More than a thousand grants were made last year to nonprofit organizations, with an average grant size of $399. Grant recipients included women's shelters, animal rights organizations, senior centers, and others.

Executive Director Teddy Gross notes, "We at Common Cents regard America's billion dollar resource of idle pennies - found in startling quantities in the homes of both the rich and poor - as the philanthropic property of young people."

Learn more about Common Cents at http://www.commoncents.org.

“Help Is on the Way.” Common Cents Press Release 1/12/06.