The Literacy Assistance Center
Lobbying client
The Literacy Assistance Center is a nonprofit founded in 1983 that supports adult education programs across New York City through teacher training, instructional coaching, curriculum development and data services for schools, libraries and community-based organizations. From 2024 through 2026 it filed 14 lobbying disclosures, without a paid outside lobbyist, to lobby nine City Council members for increased city funding for adult literacy education, reporting $19,823.55 in compensation. It holds $9.3 million in city contracts since 2014, none currently active.
- Council members lobbied
- 9
- Filings (since 2024)
- 14
- Lobbyist firm(s)
- In-house
- Lobbying compensation (since 2024)
- $20,465
- Industry (per city contracts)
- Human Services
- City contracts
- none active as of 2026-08-22 · $9,294,203 awarded since 2014
- Paid to date
- $9,083,275
- Won without a fresh bid
- 68% of contract value · $6,348,853 · 11 contracts
- Discretionary funding (FY2009-FY2027)
- $1,897,000 · 9 awards
- Funding history
- Funded 8 years (FY2010–FY2027), including each of the last 6
- Top officer pay (FY2024)
- $155,114 · Ira Yankwitt, Executive Di
Lobbied these council members
- Althea V. Stevens Council Member, District 16 (Bronx)
- Linda Lee Council Member, District 23 (Queens)
- Julie Won Council Member, District 26 (Queens)
- Alexa Avilés Council Member, District 38 (Brooklyn)
- Shahana K. Hanif Council Member, District 39 (Brooklyn)
- Julie Menin Council Member, District 5 (Manhattan)
- Gale A. Brewer Council Member, District 6 (Manhattan)
- Elsie Encarnación Council Member, District 8 (Manhattan/Bronx)
Holds contracts at
- Department of Youth and Community Development City agency
Funded by these agencies
- Department of Youth and Community Development City agency
Lobbied former members
Members who have since left their seat
- Adrienne Adams
What they lobbied on
subjects from their filings
- Budget - Lobby for an increase in city funding for adult literacy education
- Budget - Lobby for increase in city funding for adult literacy education
- Budget - We lobby the Administration and the City Council to increase and expand funding for community-based adult literacy education programs.
City contracts
Registered city contracts, largest first by current contract value (not amount spent): running now, then registered to start later, then ended. Totals count every registered contract. Each line shows its Checkbook contract ID. The tag on each row is how it was awarded (“no-bid” = non-competitive).
- Service Option I - Adult Literacy - Comp 3-Technical Assist Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020180001471 · ended 2021 $2,454,372
- Technical Assistance Services for Literacy Support Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020248805902 · ended 2026 $1,586,464
- Literacy Capacity Building Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020228804229 · ended 2023 $1,227,186
- Service Option I - Adult Literacy - Comp 3-Technical Assist Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020150002716 · ended 2017 $1,158,886
- City Council Adult Literacy Pilot Project FY 2024 Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020248806375 · ended 2026 $1,108,000
- To fund WIOA Literacy Services Citywide Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020191405176 · ended 2020 $353,975
- FY23 WIOA WORKFORCE LITERACY NAE Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020238800472 · ended 2023 $306,000
- Workforce Investment Opportunity Act Capacity Building Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020228802034 · ended 2022 $285,000
- To fund WIOA Literacy Services Citywide Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020211402780 · ended 2021 $282,220
- Adult Literacy Department of Youth and Community Development · CT126020238807504 · ended 2023 $100,000
Largest payments, by purpose
The organization's largest individual city payments (roughly $25,000 and up), grouped by purpose, to show what recent money was for. This is NOT a total — smaller payments aren't listed; see “Paid to date” above for the complete amount paid against its contracts. Fiscal years 2020 and later.
- City Council Adult Literacy Pilot Project FY 2024 Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2026 · 4 payments $779,138
- Service Option I - Adult Literacy - Comp 3-Technical Assist Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2021 · 9 payments $396,240
- Technical Assistance Services for Literacy Support Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2025 · 8 payments $303,661
- Literacy Capacity Building Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2023 · 7 payments $296,160
- Service Option I - Adult Literacy - Comp 3-Technical Assist Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2020 · 6 payments $210,880
- Literacy Capacity Building Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2024 · 4 payments $163,440
- Technical Assistance Services for Literacy Support Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2026 · 4 payments $155,077
- City Council Adult Literacy Pilot Project FY 2024 Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2025 · 2 payments $152,500
- Literacy Capacity Building Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2022 · 2 payments $82,880
- To fund WIOA Literacy Services Citywide Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2020 · 3 payments $80,736
- Technical Assistance Services for Literacy Support Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2024 · 2 payments $68,628
- Adult Literacy Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2024 $66,894
- Workforce Investment Opportunity Act Capacity Building Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2023 $35,679
- To provide digital literacy and professional development Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2023 $32,880
- To fund WIOA Literacy Services Citywide Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2021 $27,260
- To provide digital literacy and professional development Department of Youth and Community Development · FY2022 $25,000
Discretionary funding received
City Council discretionary (member-item) awards, largest first. Covers FY2009-FY2027.
- Adult Literacy Forward (Formerly Adult Literacy Pilot Project) Adult Literacy Forward (Formerly Adult Literacy Pilot Project) · DYCD · FY2026 $504,000
- NYC RISE with Adult Literacy Forward (Formerly Adult Literacy Initiative and Adult Literacy Forward) NYC RISE with Adult Literacy Forward (Formerly Adult Literacy Initiative and Adult Literacy Forward) · DYCD · FY2027 $504,000
- Adult Literacy Pilot Project Adult Literacy Pilot Project · DYCD · FY2025 $434,000
- Adult Literacy Pilot Project Adult Literacy Pilot Project · DYCD · FY2022 $100,000
- Adult Literacy Pilot Project Adult Literacy Pilot Project · DYCD · FY2023 $100,000
- Adult Literacy Pilot Project Adult Literacy Pilot Project · DYCD · FY2024 $100,000
- Adult Literacy Pilot Project Adult Literacy Pilot Project · DYCD · FY2025 $70,000
- Local DYCD · FY2010 $50,000
- Local DYCD · FY2011 $35,000
Officer & key-staff pay
Reportable compensation from this organization's IRS Form 990 (Part VII), latest available filing (FY2024). Includes pay from related organizations where reported; an annual figure, not a running total. Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
- Ira Yankwitt Executive Di $155,114
- Venugopal Thelakkat Director Of $154,025
- Lizelena Iglesias Director. Of Adul $121,204
- Gregory Jacques Senior Devel $119,313
- Sierra Stoneman-Bell Director. Of Stra $116,773
- Cynthia Bell Director. Of Work $111,275
Officer pay over time
Total officer pay changed +166% from FY2020 to FY2024. Top-officer reportable compensation by year (org-paid only), with each year's share of total revenue. Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer 990 filings.
- FY2020 Ira Yankwitt · 11.97% of revenue $154,826
- FY2021 Ira Yankwitt · 12.75% of revenue $158,743
- FY2022 Ira Yankwitt · 12.49% of revenue $172,538
- FY2023 Ira Yankwitt · 32.66% of revenue $169,317
- FY2024 Ira Yankwitt · 29.44% of revenue $155,114
Where their influence converges
Outside interests connected to this official through more than one independent channel — drawn straight from the records the rest of the site already shows. “Lobbied them” = a lobbying filing that named the member. “Outside spending” = an independent-expenditure committee the interest funds spent in
- Althea V. Stevens It lobbied them; it holds contracts at 1 agency in their committees' jurisdiction
- Julie Menin It lobbied them; it holds contracts at 1 agency in their committees' jurisdiction
- Linda Lee It lobbied them; it holds contracts at 1 agency in their committees' jurisdiction