GiveBetter x New York City

New York City Environmental Justice Alliance

Whole recipient; conditional heat-policy implementation component

Research time: 6 min on GPT-6 Astra Light
  • Research — reviewed programs, finances and impact evidence.

Updated: 2026-09-14

Donate

Summary

What do they do? NYC-EJA coordinates community-led environmental policy campaigns across New York City and the state. Its work includes heat protection, cleaner transport, energy and land-use decisions. This estimate prices a conditional heat-policy component against the whole recipient's cost, not the complete portfolio.

Why we’re interested in this organization:

  • Current campaigns address substantial local health risks.

  • Original returns reconcile gross expenses to audited expense.

  • An explicit implementation counterfactual avoids crediting already enacted laws.

Our main reservations:

  • Policy and donor-response probabilities are subjective rather than measured.

  • Other environmental benefits and distributional effects remain unpriced.

  • Cooling costs, rent effects and energy affordability can offset benefits.

What do you get for your dollar? $80.4M per better life: ten additional quality-adjusted life years in New York City. Three years of whole-recipient NYC-EJA recognized expense charged to conditional additional heat-policy implementation for NYC residents. Other environmental effects remain unpriced; induced public, household and coalition resources are sensitivity assumptions. Not measured whole-portfolio return or a proven lower bound..

Additional implementation of cooling access and affordability -> annual heat deaths avoided beyond baseline -> finite survival-adjusted QALYs.

1. What do they do?

NYC-EJA is a citywide alliance, not the sum of all member organizations. Its ordinary gift supports coordinating, research and advocacy across environmental issues. Heat protection is one current pathway with a defined local population; cleaner transport, energy and land-use work remain outside this numerical component. Current campaigns

2. Monitoring and information sharing

The organization describes work on cooling access and implementation. The Council's enacted law requires covered rental sleeping rooms to have qualifying cooling by June 2030, subject to tenant elections and other conditions. Rules, affordability, uptake and enforcement therefore matter more than the existence of the law. Request a campaign-specific baseline, additional households able to use cooling, tenant costs, agency commitments and evidence of NYC-EJA's contribution. Original law The law also has hardship extensions and a separate NYCHA cooling-plan compliance route; the model does not assume universal cooling by 2030.

3. Qualitative assessment

The current city report estimates approximately 500 annual heat-related deaths, mainly heat-exacerbated mortality rather than directly certified heat deaths. That is a risk envelope, not a count that advocacy can claim. Survival after preventing a heat death can be short because underlying illness is common; the model explicitly limits remaining survival. It does not add a separate pollution mortality estimate that could overlap. City evidence

Congestion pricing already began in January 2025. Existing transit and cooling commitments remain in the counterfactual, while future implementation may still be improved. Transportation work

4. What do you get for your dollar?

The conditional heat-component estimate is about $80.4 million per 10 MSA QALYs. It is not an estimate of the entire environmental portfolio or a lower bound on its value.

Three years of whole-recipient expense are charged to a five-year implementation benefit beginning four years from the valuation date. Conditional additional cooling protection reduces the city mortality envelope by 1%; a 25% coalition implementation probability, 20% NYC-EJA attribution and 50% funding response produce 0.125 attributable deaths avoided per year. These are explicit priors, not observed rates. Each avoided death receives at most five years at 0.6 utility with a 20% annual competing-mortality hazard; all outcomes are discounted 3%.

The scenario is deliberately finite: no indefinite continuation, no separate morbidity bonus and no credit for already enacted policy. The higher and lower cases vary the uncertain implementation and survival bridge. Zero funding response and a net one-QALY adverse case are retained. A $1 million added-resource sensitivity represents possible induced public, landlord and household costs; it is not a verified cost estimate. Another stress adds 25% for unrecognized coalition resources. Rental burdens, electricity insecurity and policy displacement could make net effects negative.

Model, assumptions and sensitivity

Three years of whole-recipient gross expense; priced heat-policy implementation only, not total environmental portfolio.

g=1 for modeled NYC-resident heat mortality, entirely within the official 22-county MSA. No statewide campaign or climate benefit assigned by headquarters.

v=ln(1+d)+m; q=u*(1-exp(-v*L))/v; A=sum(j=0..T-1)(1+d)^(-lag-j); Qall=D*r*p*a*b*q*A-h; QMSA=g*Qall; price10=10*C/QMSA if positive.

C
7512648 USD across three operating years (judgment). Three times observed FY2024 gross expense, assuming constant future scale and charging the three annual budgets upfront without cost discounting; not an observed three-year expenditure. [return2024] [schedule2024]
D
500 historical annual NYC heat deaths (observed). Rounded current city estimate, predominantly statistically estimated heat-exacerbated deaths; not an observed campaign outcome. [heat] [law] [mortality]
r
0.01 fraction of heat deaths additionally prevented conditional on implementation (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
p
0.25 coalition incremental implementation probability (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
a
0.2 NYC-EJA attribution fraction (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
b
0.5 funding response fraction (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
T
5 annual mortality cohorts (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
lag
4 years to first benefit (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
u
0.6 health utility (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
m
0.2 annual competing mortality hazard (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
L
5 maximum remaining survival years (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
h
0 net QALYs of adverse effects (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
g
1 MSA fraction (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]
d
0.03 annual discount (judgment). Explicit subjective assumption, not source-calibrated probability or measured treatment effect. [heat] [law] [mortality]

Conditional additional heat-policy implementation: Cost: $7.5M; New York City QALYs: 0.9347604475165978; all-population QALYs: 0.9347604475165978. {"C":7512648,"D":500,"r":0.01,"p":0.25,"a":0.2,"b":0.5,"T":5,"lag":4,"u":0.6,"m":0.2,"L":5,"h":0,"g":1,"d":0.03}

Small implementation effect and short survival: Cost: $7.5M; New York City QALYs: 0.0013015371987690572; all-population QALYs: 0.0013015371987690572. {"C":7512648,"D":500,"r":0.002,"p":0.1,"a":0.1,"b":0.1,"T":5,"lag":4,"u":0.4,"m":0.5,"L":1,"h":0,"g":1,"d":0.03}

Substantial additional cooling protection: Cost: $7.5M; New York City QALYs: 46.253403033241405; all-population QALYs: 46.253403033241405. {"C":7512648,"D":500,"r":0.05,"p":0.5,"a":0.3,"b":0.75,"T":5,"lag":4,"u":0.7,"m":0.1,"L":10,"h":0,"g":1,"d":0.03}

Complete funding replacement: Cost: $7.5M; New York City QALYs: 0; all-population QALYs: 0. {"C":7512648,"D":500,"r":0.01,"p":0.25,"a":0.2,"b":0,"T":5,"lag":4,"u":0.6,"m":0.2,"L":5,"h":0,"g":1,"d":0.03}

No protection and implementation-related harm: Cost: $7.5M; New York City QALYs: -1; all-population QALYs: -1. {"C":7512648,"D":500,"r":0,"p":0.25,"a":0.2,"b":0.5,"T":5,"lag":4,"u":0.6,"m":0.2,"L":5,"h":1,"g":1,"d":0.03}

Added household and public resources: Cost: $8.5M; New York City QALYs: 0.9347604475165978; all-population QALYs: 0.9347604475165978. {"C":8512648,"D":500,"r":0.01,"p":0.25,"a":0.2,"b":0.5,"T":5,"lag":4,"u":0.6,"m":0.2,"L":5,"h":0,"g":1,"d":0.03}

Unrecognized coalition-resource sensitivity: Cost: $9.4M; New York City QALYs: 0.9347604475165978; all-population QALYs: 0.9347604475165978. {"C":9390810,"D":500,"r":0.01,"p":0.25,"a":0.2,"b":0.5,"T":5,"lag":4,"u":0.6,"m":0.2,"L":5,"h":0,"g":1,"d":0.03}

Counterfactual: Enacted cooling law, existing HEAP, cooling centers, agency enforcement and other coalition members continue. Only improvement beyond that baseline is credited; no historical passage or total congestion-pricing gain.

Attribution: r is conditional incremental mortality reduction across the city after an additional implementation package; p is probability the coalition changes implementation, a is NYC-EJA contribution, b is ordinary funding response. Each is applied once.

Judgment-based scenario, not a statistical forecast or complete portfolio ranking. Marginal cooling uptake, health protection and campaign additionality are not observed. Positive alternatives, zero and harm are retained.

Sensitivity

  • Small implementation effect and short survival: 57,721,346,782 USD per 10 MSA QALYs. Scenario assumptions are judgments, not statistical confidence limits.
  • Substantial additional cooling protection: 1,624,237 USD per 10 MSA QALYs. Scenario assumptions are judgments, not statistical confidence limits.
  • Complete funding replacement: no finite positive-benefit price. Scenario assumptions are judgments, not statistical confidence limits.
  • No protection and implementation-related harm: no finite positive-benefit price. Scenario assumptions are judgments, not statistical confidence limits.
  • Added household and public resources: 91,067,696 USD per 10 MSA QALYs. Scenario assumptions are judgments, not statistical confidence limits.
  • Unrecognized coalition-resource sensitivity: 100,462,210 USD per 10 MSA QALYs. Scenario assumptions are judgments, not statistical confidence limits.

Unresolved inputs

  • Incremental cooling uptake, affordability and compliance beyond enacted-law baseline.
  • Campaign-specific coalition and NYC-EJA attribution, and unrestricted funding response.
  • Induced public/landlord/household resources and distributional harms.

5. Funding and previous grants

Original annual gross expense is $1,125,024 in 2022, $2,192,165 in 2023 and $2,504,216 in 2024. Each Schedule D reports audited expense equal to Form 990 expense, without donated-service additions; event, gaming, rental-expense and inventory-cost lines are blank. The latest return uses accrual accounting. Its $5,696,887 net assets include $3,429,390 restricted resources, so the full balance is not unrestricted spending capacity. No specific extra campaign commitment for a new gift was verified. Original return

Schedule L discloses a $120,000 annual rental transaction associated with a board member; this is a governance question, not evidence of impropriety or an additional expense. Disclosure

The city reports that HEAP cooling assistance closed June 5, 2026 with unmet demand. This makes affordability a concrete implementation concern, but does not prove NYC-EJA can secure more funding or that a gift does so. Current public funding Donate

Expense appendix: FY 2024 functional expense is $2,364,603 program, $94,580 management/general and $45,033 fundraising, totaling $2,504,216. Program expense includes $1,129,170 grants, so recipient grants and member spending must not both be added to this cost basis. The comparable 2022–24 mean is $1,940,468.33. The model projects three years at the latest annual cost, not this historical mean.

Annual expenses

Organization-level spending, including programs, administration and fundraising. The research list averages three comparable, consecutive full fiscal years when available.

  • FY 2022: $1.1M; NYC Environmental Justice Alliance Inc., EIN13-3779250, 12-month period, Original Form 990 gross expense; Schedule D audit reconciliation has no additions and separately netted resource-cost lines are blank.. Source
  • FY 2023: $2.2M; NYC Environmental Justice Alliance Inc., EIN13-3779250, 12-month period, Original Form 990 gross expense; Schedule D audit reconciliation has no additions and separately netted resource-cost lines are blank.. Source
  • FY 2024: $2.5M; NYC Environmental Justice Alliance Inc., EIN13-3779250, 12-month period, Original Form 990 gross expense; Schedule D audit reconciliation has no additions and separately netted resource-cost lines are blank.. Source

6. Sources

  1. FY2022 original Form 990. NYC-EJA / IRS. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  2. FY2022 original audit reconciliation. NYC-EJA / IRS. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  3. FY2023 original Form 990. NYC-EJA / IRS. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  4. FY2023 original audit reconciliation. NYC-EJA / IRS. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  5. FY2024 original Form 990. NYC-EJA / IRS. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  6. FY2024 original audit reconciliation. NYC-EJA / IRS. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  7. Current heat and air-quality campaign. NYC-EJA. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  8. Current transportation portfolio. NYC-EJA. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  9. Enacted cooling law and implementation requirements. NYC Council. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  10. 2026 heat-mortality report. NYC Department of Health. Published: 2026-06-15; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  11. Current cooling funding and unmet demand. NYC Department of Health. Published: 2026-06-15; retrieved: 2026-09-14.
  12. Official donation route. NYC-EJA. Published: not stated; retrieved: 2026-09-14.