Making Service Careers Sustainable
We support nonprofit staff and human services workers in creating sustainable careers focused on service to others. We believe mission-driven organizations thrive when their people thrive.
Workers who serve society deserve our greatest investment.
Nonprofit and human services organizations are essential to a healthy society, but the people who support them are often underpaid, overworked, and overlooked. Young professionals who want to dedicate their careers to service often can't afford to, especially in high-cost cities like New York.
The result is high turnover, understaffed organizations, and talented people who can’t afford to enter the field at all.
The Challenge
In 2026 and 2027, the Otigo Foundation is awarding $1.5M per year in grants directly to nonprofit workers and the organizations that support them.
We imagine a future where service work is a viable, respected career path, and where helping others is not a financial sacrifice.
Our Vision
The Otigo Foundation is building a people-first funding model to close the gap between program funding and the people who make those programs possible. We're developing:
Direct-to-individual microgrant programs
Career sustainability fellowships
Multi-year organizational partnerships for worker retention
We are in strategic development, including conducting research, building partnerships, and making early investments in mission-aligned organizations. Our formal programs launch in 2026.
Our Purpose
Interested in partnering, advising, or staying informed?
Our core mission is to pay nonprofit and social service staff, especially early and mid-career talent, across sectors. Our longterm plan is to direct funding to workers while also partnering and co-granting with organizations already in this space. In the short term, we also direct grants to local mutual aid and workforce development organizations in the NYC metro area.
Early Giving
Our Story
Nonprofit and service-oriented careers have been systematically undervalued, making it increasingly difficult for young and early-career professionals to enter or remain in lower-paid service fields. The Otigo Foundation was founded in 2025 to provide an additional layer of financial support to those dedicating themselves to careers in mission-driven organizations, especially those in NYC-based nonprofits, education, social work, and library sciences.
At The Otigo Foundation, we’re building a mutual aid-inspired funding model that centers the humans behind the missions. By directing support to program staff and essential administrative roles, we help organizations deliver on their goals, sustain their impact, and maintain continuity within their teams.
We're investing in future leaders’ financial stability, growth, and long-term impact. Because when we support the people who care for others, the entire community thrives.
“After more than a decade in nonprofit work, I saw talented colleagues leaving roles in education and social work, not because they wanted to, but because they couldn’t afford to stay. I founded The Otigo Foundation to support people like them, the individuals who strengthen our social safety net, so they can build sustainable lives doing the work they believe in.”