Make the Road New York builds the power of immigrant and working class communities of color to achieve dignity and justice. Recognizing that real and lasting improvements will be achieved only when all New Yorkers have sufficient power to enforce their legal rights, access educational and work opportunities, and achieve broad-based policy change, Make the Road NY supports and enables residents’ efforts to access education and legal services and to shape policies that affect their lives.

Make the Road NY’s model integrates four core strategies:

• Legal and Survival Services to tackle discrimination, abuse and poverty;
• Transformative Education to develop community members’ abilities to lead our movement and society;
• Community Organizing to transform the systems and structures impacting our communities and win policy changes that benefit millions;
• Policy Innovation to rewrite unjust rules and make our democracy accountable to all of us.

The organization applies its multifaceted approach to issues critical to its community: workers’, immigrant and civil rights; environmental and housing justice; justice for TGNCIQ people; and, educational justice. Make the Road NY has over 23,000 members in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester.

With Change Capital Funding, Make the Road NY increased the impact of its programs by learning to continually evaluate and retool programs and by connecting participants across programs.