2025 Unlock NYC Emergency Fund

At Unlock NYC, half of our employees and 100% of our Leadership Collective members have directly experienced housing discrimination, homelessness, and/or eviction. Some of us are transitioning into permanent housing, balancing our roles at Unlock NYC with caregiving responsibilities, and living in a (very!) expensive city.

We built an Emergency Fund to provide financial support to our staff, interns, and advisory board to reduce the hardship caused by unexpected personal expenses. Through a simple, quick (<5 min), and private form, eligible team members can request up to $250 to cover an emergency expense.

For example, during our 6-month pilot project (April to September 2022), we fulfilled 6 requests, including purchasing an air conditioning unit during a record-breaking heat wave, supporting urgent moving expenses for two team members, covering a groceries shortage when SNAP benefits were delayed, and defraying the rising cost of gas.

Our 2025 fundraising goal is $6,000, which will support up to 6 requests per quarter.