154 years ago this month, Louisa Lee Schuyler looked at what was happening to the poorest people across New York and decided it wasn’t good enough. She didn’t have a staff or a budget or a policy agenda. She had a conviction that human beings deserved better, and that the people with the knowledge and the will to fight for them had an obligation to do so. That conviction became her mission, and it remains Schuyler Center’s work today. As we mark our anniversary this month, I find myself thinking about how much that original impulse still drives everything we do: the research, the testimony, the coalition meetings, the days spent in the halls of the Capitol, or traveling across the state to learn about how policy impacts communities. We do this work because New York State should be a place where every person can thrive, starting from the very beginning of life, and because we know that with the right policies, it is genuinely possible.
This past year gave us real proof of that. Because of our community of supporters, New York enacted the largest expansion of the state child tax credit, putting up to $1,000 back in the pockets of families with young children. Free school meals are now guaranteed for every student in the state. More families can get affordable child care. None of it happened quickly or easily. All of it happened because people showed up, year after year, and refused to let these issues fall off the agenda. I am so proud of what we’ve built together, and I am clear-eyed about what’s still ahead. Now, massive federal funding cuts threaten basic services families depend on. Child poverty is still too high. The work is far from finished.
So as we mark Schuyler Center’s 154th anniversary, I’m asking you to invest in what comes next. A generous donor is matching every gift made this month, dollar-for-dollar. That means your contribution will go twice as far for New York’s families. Whatever you’re able to give, it funds the data analysis that makes the case, the advocacy that moves policy, and the sustained presence that turns an idea into a real difference in a family’s life. Please make your gift today at scaany.org/donate.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being part of this. We may be 154 years into this work, but I believe we’re just getting started.
Kate Breslin
President and CEO
Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy
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