For Immediate Release Contact: Barbara Morgan barbara@anthonyweiner.

com (732) 232-7759 Weiner Proposes Cabinet-Level Position to Aid Non-profits The Keys to the City Tour: Idea # 15 Create a Non-Profit Czar New York City Today, Anthony Weiner visited Masbia of Flatbush, a soup kitchen network, to discuss a proposal from his book, Keys to the City - 64 Ideas to Keep New York the Capital of the Middle Class, to create new cabinet-level Non-Profit Czar that would serve as a cabinet-level liaison to charitable organizations that serve New York City. In a city where approximately 50% of residents are either living in poverty or close to it, there are over 10,000 non-profit organizations employing over half a million people providing crucial support services to millions of residents who are food insecure or lack full access to healthcare, housing, and financial services support. Services that non-profits in the city provide include those provided by the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, which represents over 1,100 food pantries in New York City and upon which over one million food insecure New Yorkers rely for help and the Bridge Fund, which provides over $2 million annually in direct assistance that helps New Yorkers avoid eviction. These organizations represent thousands of other under-resources community groups that need assistance from the city in cutting red tape, attracting resources, and connecting with other groups pursuing similar goals. Weiners proposal would charge the a new cabinet-level Non-Profit Czar with taking city agencies, non-profits, and businesses out of their silos to achieve common goals. The office of this czar would: Compile a Green Book of nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and other public serving groups, creating the first publicly-accessible database of all non-profits by category operating in New York City. The city currently prints these green books with contacts for all city, state, and federal agencies, as well as the court system, and a similar book should be available to the public, to city agencies, to non-profits, and to funders with information about where one can get services or assistance. Maintain a Need Database that compiles federal, state, city, academic, and non-profitprovided data to help city agencies, non-profits, and private funders identify general and specific areas of greatest need, areas such as access to nutrition, healthcare, housing, and financial management training, amongst others.

Leverage private-sector resources by making information available to both the private and non-profits sectors that allow applicants to pursue the most appropriate funders and funders to pursue potential recipients whose missions and goals are aligned with theirs. This would speed innovation and break down the silos of businesses, researchers, government, and non-profit organizations. Establish a Grant Writing Corps to which the city would connect non-profits and faithbased organizations with the goal of alleviating heavy burdens on resource-strapped organizations that need assistance in generating funding. This corps would also serve as an official conduit of reporting and resource information between non-profits and potential funders. Streamline the process to obtain permits by lifting requirements on certain non-profits, such as soup kitchens, to pay for those permits and inspections that the City of New York mandates these organizations obtain or undergo in order to operate legally. Digitize non-profit infrastructure by maintaining and sharing a comprehensive database of open-source technologies and technology companies willing to provide free or low-cost services that public-serving organizations can tap into, enabling collaboration and efficiency.

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