2025 Impact Report: The Power of Proximity

We are proud to release the 2025 Impact Report from the Francine A. LeFrak Foundation and Same Sky Foundation, a year defined by what happens when we stay close to the people we serve.

This report is more than a record of outcomes. It is a reflection of a conviction we have held for decades: working in proximity is powerful. When we meet people where they are, listen to even the simplest need, and remove barriers at the moment they matter most, lives change. And those changes last.

In 2025, our three-pillar model of mental, physical, and financial well-being, developed through our work with Rwandan survivors, proved itself as a replicable blueprint for communities everywhere:

• The Francine A. LeFrak Foundation Center for Well-Being at Barnard College welcomed more than 60,000 visits in its first year, hosted 828 stigma-breaking conversations at The Wellness Spot, and graduated over 100 students from its Financial Well-Being Undergraduate Certificate program
• Grace Institute generated more than $11.47 million in economic impact, moving 345 women from an average pre-program wage of $5.03/hour to a career-path average of $24.11/hour
• Brooklyn Workforce Innovations delivered 5,500+ instances of support through the LeFrak Friedberg Tools of the Trade Fund, helping 922 jobless New Yorkers move toward stable employment with a 92% graduation rate
• The Francine A. LeFrak Wellness Center at New Jersey Reentry Corporation maintained 0% recidivism among the women it serves, compared to a 50% national average, and has now reached 5,198 justice-involved women since opening in 2021
• 109 LeFrak-Friedberg Scholars with Bridge2Rwanda continued building the leadership pipeline for Africa, while 80 Same Sky Scholars at FAWE Girls' School in Rwanda pursued tracks in HealthTech, AgriTech, FinTech, and EduTech
• The Same Sky x Indego Africa Artisan Small Business Incubator reached 700 Rwandan women artisans across 17 cooperatives, generating approximately $20,000 in artisan pay since August 2025
• 21 arts professionals enrolled in the relaunched Creative Entrepreneur Program with the Entertainment Community Fund, building "second act" businesses for long-term financial stability
• The Foundation became the sole funder of the Constructive Dialogue Pilot Program with Harvard Kennedy School and Professor Julia Minson, championing civil discourse with a public launch planned for September 2026

What unites these efforts is a belief we return to again and again. Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. Microgrants deliver outsized returns. Well-being and workforce outcomes are inseparable. And the most replicable models are the ones built in proximity to the people they serve.

If you'd like to see the full picture of what we accomplished in 2025, we invite you to download our Impact Report. Inside, you'll find the stories behind the numbers: women rebuilding careers, students stepping into leadership, artisans growing businesses, and communities finding new footing.

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Together, let's keep building a future where opportunity knows no boundaries.