the Nyack Cares Fund

The goal of the Nyack Cares Fund is to provide Nyack residents and visitors an alternative to giving money to panhandlers on the street.  

Nyack Cares gives you a way to donate directly to a fund that will give grants to charitable organizations providing services to people experiencing homelessness, mental illness, drug addiction, and other challenges. The Nyack Cares Fund is maintained by the Rockland Community Foundation. 100% of every donation goes directly to local organizations that provide those services within the Village of Nyack.  

People in Nyack and our visitors have big hearts and are sensitive to the needs of people who are forced by the challenging circumstances of their lives to resort to panhandling. But by giving on the street, residents incentivize even more people to come to Nyack to panhandle, some of whom will also cross the line from the simple panhandling that is protected First Amendment speech to more aggressive panhandling, harassment, and other potentially criminal conduct.  

The problem is that a campaign to discourage people from giving money to panhandlers on the street can seem uncaring.  Nyack people are especially sensitive to social justice issues, and telling them not give to the unfortunate feels contrary to the fundamental ethos of our Village.  

So instead of simply telling people not to give on the street, Nyack Cares provides a much more impactful way to help.  If you feel an urge to give on the street, you can instead go on your phone and with a few taps make donations of any amount to the Nyack Cares Fund, Every dollar of donations of which will go to hyper-local organizations treating the root causes that drive panhandling. Your donations will be invested back into our community without encouraging more panhandling that has such a deleterious impact on Nyack’s downtown streetlife. 

In other words, “make a donation that will make a difference.”