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Carmel Hill Fund

Strategy Update: Funding Priorities

This strategy update outlines Carmel Hill Fund’s current funding priorities and grantmaking approach through 2029. It reflects where we believe focused investment, strong partnerships, and long-term learning can create meaningful impact for New York City youth.

At the Carmel Hill Fund, we envision a New York City where youth find power in reading and their mental health and wellbeing is prioritized. We therefore champion efforts that improve mental health and literacy outcomes, rooted in positive, affirming and supportive relationships. This work is anchored by the vision and legacy of our founder, William “Bill” Ruane.


Carmel Hill Fund has committed to investing more than $8 million annually in each of our focus areas: Youth Literacy and Youth Mental Health. Making decisions about where to focus resources is one of the most challenging aspects of philanthropy as the number of deserving and under-resourced organizations far exceeds available funding. We believe that being transparent and focused about our priorities allows us to be more thoughtful partners and better stewards.

Our Grantmaking Framework

Since 2023, we have partnered with more than 70 organizations working to support New York City youth in meaningful ways. Through conversations, site visits, and ongoing engagement, our partners have helped shape our understanding of where Carmel Hill Fund can be most effective and aligned. We have taken a deliberate and reflective approach to aligning our grantmaking with our vision, values, and our founder’s intent.


This process reinforced the limitations of making primarily opportunistic funding decisions and the importance of a more proactive strategy to guide where we focus our resources. Our goal is to concentrate our funding in areas where we believe we can deepen our learning, build stronger partnerships, and contribute to meaningful progress for New York City youth over time. Based on this work, we have refined our funding priorities for the coming years. We will concentrate most of our funding on a defined set of priority areas, while continuing to support a smaller number of aligned initiatives and maintaining some flexibility to respond to emerging needs and opportunities.

Youth Literacy

We will direct most of our funding (70-80%) toward efforts that:

  1. Support young people in becoming confident and competent readers by investing in quality reading experiences with their parents, families, and community members
  2. Nurture young people’s identities as readers by fostering positive attitudes, confidence, interest, motivation, and agency

We will also continue to support a smaller number of initiatives that:

  1. Advance literacy for young people who face significant obstacles due to barriers to access, participation, or opportunity, including young people with learning disabilities, multilingual learners, and those navigating interrupted education
  2. Support the mental health and wellbeing of young people through reading-based programs and resources

Mental Health

We will direct most of our funding (70-80%) toward efforts that:

  1. Screen and treat the mental health challenges of children and adolescents in New York City using comprehensive, evidence-based approaches, including through partnerships that expand access to care
  2. Strengthen the mental health workforce to expand access to high-quality, culturally responsive care

Beginning in 2027, we will also support a smaller number of initiatives that:

  1. Offer promising practices that can reduce mental health challenges at scale throughout NYC
  2. Advance research that leads to new treatment options, strengthens understanding of what works, and supports the integration of proven approaches into everyday practice

Partnering with Carmel Hill Fund

We believe strong philanthropy is grounded in relationships, learning, and thoughtful collaboration. As part of our commitment to supporting New York City youth, we aim to create a streamlined, relationship-based process that reduces unnecessary barriers for organizations seeking funding.

If your work connects to the focus areas outlined above, we would welcome the opportunity to learn more about your organization and explore whether there may be an opportunity to partner.


For inquiries related to our funding priorities, please contact:

Hazel Guzman, Ph.D., IMH-E
Program Officer, Youth Mental Health
hguzman@carmelhill.net

Tarilyn Little
Program Officer, Youth Literacy
tlittle@carmelhill.net