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COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS FOR YOUTH INC
BRONX, NY · EIN 264482112 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE I21 · Crime & Legal-Related · Medium ($1M-$10M) · cc-fy.org
revenue
$1.2M
expenses
$1.7M
net assets
$1.0M
employees
9
volunteers
21
program ratio
61%
mission · from form 990

TO STRENGTHEN COMMUNITIES THROUGH THE PROMOTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY-BASED ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION OF YOUTH; TO ASSIST YOUTH IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM AND YOUTH AT-RISK FOR JUSTICE SYSTEM INVOLVEMENT BY PROVIDING THEM COURT ADVOCACY AND CASE-MANAGEMENT SERVICES, MENTORING AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS, JOB TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, VICTIM-OFFENDER MEDIATION SERVICES, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TRAINING AND SIMILAR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION PROGRAMMING AND SERVICES.

profile · synthesized from sources

Community Connections for Youth (CCFY) strengthens communities by developing community-based alternatives to youth incarceration. The organization serves youth involved in or at risk of entering the juvenile justice system through direct advocacy, mentoring, family support, and capacity-building programs. Operating primarily in the South Bronx, CCFY also provides training and technical assistance nationally to support systemic juvenile justice reform.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $372K
    TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE - IN CITIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, CCFY PROVIDES EXPERT CONSULTATION TO SYSTEM AND COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS SEEKING TO IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING PROJECTS FOR JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM. CCFY'S TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE INCLUDES: (1) FACILITATING PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN SYSTEM AND COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS TO DEVELOP COMMUNITY-BASED ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION; (2) CONSULTING WITH JUVENILE JUSTICE AGENCIES TO IMPROVE FAMILY ENGAGEMENT, CULTURAL COMPETENCE, AND POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS; AND (3) GROWING PROGRAMMATIC AND ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY OF GRASSROOTS FAITH AND NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS THAT SERVE YOUTH IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM.
named programs · 5 · from sources

What they call their work

GIRLS Ambassador Project
Train-the-trainer initiative developed from participatory action research on system-impacted girls; supports girls as experts and culture change agents in organizations serving justice-involved youth.
Parent Support Program (PSP)
Provides parent peer coaches to families of system-involved youth through a partnership with the NYC Department of Probation; offers bilingual workshops, restorative circles, and crisis support to strengthen families and improve navigation of the juvenile justice system.
South Bronx Community Connections (SBCC)
Direct support program for youth ages 12–18 facing Family Court, providing court advocacy, mentoring, family engagement, and connections to community-based programming to prevent deeper justice system involvement.
Training and Technical Assistance
National program offering workshops and consulting on alternatives to incarceration, including the 3-Day ATI Training Institute, Credible Messenger Boot Camp, and G.I.R.L.S. curriculum, to community organizations and juvenile justice stakeholders.
Youth Justice Capacity Challenge (YJCC)
Pilot project that builds capacity of grassroots organizations through small grants, training, technical assistance, and data infrastructure to develop community-based alternatives to youth incarceration.
activities · 8 groups

What they do

  • Gun Violence Prevention & Intervention 2 activities
    • Community-led alternatives to youth incarceration
      Operates community-led programs in the South Bronx that provide early intervention, direct support, mentoring, advocacy, and system navigation for youth involved in or at risk of entering the juvenile justice system, aiming to disrupt the pipeline to incarceration.
    • Youth mentoring and restorative practices
      Delivers individual and group mentoring, community guidance, and restorative practice models to foster healing, repair, and connection for justice-impacted youth in the South Bronx.
  • Flexible Grants to Grassroots Organizations 2 activities
    • Fiscal sponsorship for youth justice initiatives
      Provides fiscal sponsorship to four start-up organizations offering alternatives to youth incarceration, enabling them to deliver youth leadership development, media production, and community engagement programming while obtaining independent nonprofit status.
    • Grantmaking for grassroots youth justice organizations
      Funds small grants to grassroots organizations through the Youth Justice Capacity Challenge to support self-determination, power, and liberation of Black, Brown, and Indigenous youth impacted by justice systems.
  • Restorative Justice and Peer Mediation Programs 1 activity
    • Capacity building for community organizations
      Provides training, technical assistance, facilitation, and coaching to grassroots organizations and juvenile justice stakeholders to build capacity for community-based alternatives to youth incarceration and promote cultural competence and family engagement.
  • Family and Juvenile Legal Defense 1 activity
    • Court and crisis intervention support
      Provides court advocacy, 24/7 crisis intervention, emotional support for caregivers, and system navigation in family court, schools, and probation settings for youth and families impacted by the justice system.
  • Parenting Education and Support Programs 1 activity
    • Parent and family support programs
      Provides a Parent Peer Support Program with parent coaches deployed at the Bronx Family Court Probation Office and offers monthly support groups, parenting workshops, advocacy training, and family strengthening sessions to support families navigating the juvenile justice system.
  • Youth and Community Research Initiatives 1 activity
    • Participatory Action Research and knowledge sharing
      Conducts Participatory Action Research projects and produces writings to document and share best practices in youth support and community-led justice alternatives.
  • Back-to-School Supply Distribution 1 activity
    • School and employment connection services
      Connects youth to internships, jobs, and other developmental opportunities while providing annual school supply backpacks to 200 children and youth in the South Bronx.
  • Criminal Justice Policy Advocacy 1 activity
    • Youth justice advocacy and policy reform
      Convenes community leaders, youth, families, and stakeholders to advocate for policy and law changes addressing systemic oppression in youth and family justice systems and to develop community-driven alternatives to incarceration.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$1.17M
Contributions & grants$831K71%
Program service revenue$268K23%
Investment income$67K6%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$1.67M
Program expenses61%
Admin / overhead31%
Fundraising7%
Salaries & benefits$922K
Grants paid out$16K
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$1.47M
Cash$629K
Investments$0
Liabilities$445K
Net assets$1.02M
Liquid reserves4.5 mo
6 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue -20.1%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 3
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
BELINDA RAMOS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 40 $169K
LISETTE NIEVES CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER 40 $159K
JULIO ALEXANDER CASTRO CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER 40 $157K
board members · 8
  • ANTONY BUGG-LEVINE — TREASURER
  • ASHRUFA MISHI FARUQEE — DIRECTOR
  • CHANABELLE ARRIAGA — DIRECTOR (THRU NOV 2024)
  • HA NGUYEN — DIRECTOR
  • HERNAN CARVENTE MARTINEZ — CHAIRPERSON
  • MARIELY MORONTA-SANCHEZ — DIRECTOR
  • MICHELLE DIAZ — SECRETARY
  • VAN DYKE BILLINGS III — DIRECTOR
relationships · 14

Who they work with

  • Andrus Family Fund Funder — Supports Community Connections for Youth through grantmaking focused on youth impacted by justice and family policing systems.
  • Bernstein Wealth Management Group Partner — Partners with CCFY to facilitate non-cash charitable giving, including crypto, stocks, art, and jewelry.
  • Family Court Government — Engages with Family Court as a setting where mentors provide advocacy and support for youth and families.
  • Grassroots Faith and Neighborhood Organizations Partner — CCFY partners with grassroots faith and neighborhood organizations to serve youth in the juvenile justice system through capacity-building and technical assistance.
  • Johnson Family Foundation Funder — Connected through Mia Legaspi-Cavin, a program officer who advances justice-focused grantmaking and supports youth-serving initiatives.
  • NYC Department of Probation Partner — Partners with CCFY on the Parent Peer Support Program to provide parent coaches at the Bronx Family Court Probation Office.
  • New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services Government — Funding source for the Uptown Transformative Youth Justice Hub initiative
  • NonProfit Finance Fund Partner — Provides financial capacity building training and technical assistance to grassroots organizations participating in the Youth Justice Capacity Challenge.
  • Probation Government — Provides mentorship and advocacy support for youth during probation check-ins and interactions with probation systems.
  • Schools Partner — Supports youth in school settings, including during suspension hearings, through advocacy and mentoring.
  • South Bronx Partner — Community-based partner and geographic focus where CCFY's programs are rooted and implemented.
  • South Bronx Partner — Community-based partner in delivering alternatives to youth incarceration
  • community leaders Partner — Collaborates with community leaders to build solutions and advocate for policy change.
  • faith and neighborhood organizations Partner — Partners with faith and neighborhood organizations to address systemic issues affecting youth and communities of color.
strategies · 4

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Community-Driven Systems Change
    methodology: grassroots_coinnovation
    By brokering community influence in public investment and co-developing solutions with grassroots leaders, we shift resources and decision-making power to communities of color, because locally-led innovation produces more effective and equitable youth outcomes than top-down reforms.
  • Community-Rooted Intervention
    methodology: community-rooted_intervention
    By leveraging relationships and leadership from within the community—especially those with lived experience—we prevent youth incarceration and transform trajectories, because trust, cultural understanding, and shared identity enable more effective, sustainable engagement than system-driven approaches.
  • Restorative and Healing-Centered Practices
    methodology: healing_centered_engagement
    By applying restorative and healing-centered models that prioritize repair, wellness, and youth-adult partnerships over punishment, we support long-term youth disengagement from the justice system, because addressing harm through relational healing fosters accountability and resilience more effectively than punitive measures.
  • Strengths-Based, Relational Care Model
    methodology: relational_care_model
    By centering youth assets, lived expertise, and relational presence—especially through credible messengers—we foster leadership and disengagement from incarceration pathways, because love, trust, and affirmation of identity are more transformative than deficit-focused interventions.