# Canary

> Canary is a New York-based benefits company that helps employers, nonprofits, and foundations give employees fast, dignified cash grants when a financial emergency hits. Its flagship product, Grant Circle, handles the legal, tax, and administrative machinery of running an employee relief fund so an organization can move money to a worker facing an eviction, a medical bill, or a natural disaster in days rather than weeks. Founded by Rachel Schneider - co-author of The Financial Diaries - Canary has channeled millions in emergency grants to workers, with an average grant of roughly $848.

- **Founded:** 2021
- **Headquarters:** New York, United States
- **Founders:** Rachel Schneider (Founder & CEO)
- **Team size:** ~22 employees
- **Products:** Grant Circle, Employee Relief Fund administration, Natural Disaster Relief, Impact reporting & research
- **Notable:** Raised a total of roughly $4.35M across pre-seed and seed rounds, led by Capital One Ventures., Facilitated millions in emergency grant assistance for workers, with an average grant of about $848., Published research revealing 58% of emergency-relief grantees - including some high-income earners - are financially vulnerable.

## Products & services

- **Grant Circle** — A third-party hosted emergency relief fund solution that lets organizations of any size deliver charitable cash grants to individuals facing financial hardship, handling the legal, tax, and administrative work of running the fund.
- **Employee Relief Fund administration** — End-to-end setup and management of employer-sponsored relief funds, including anonymous employee application intake, review, and rapid disbursement of emergency payments.
- **Natural Disaster Relief** — Rapid-response relief programs that let employers and foundations move aid to workers affected by hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other disasters.
- **Impact reporting & research** — Data analytics and published reports on relief-fund usage and workforce financial stress, including annual 'Strengthening the Safety Net' and sector reports.

## Achievements

- Raised a total of roughly $4.35M across pre-seed and seed rounds, led by Capital One Ventures.
- Facilitated millions in emergency grant assistance for workers, with an average grant of about $848.
- Published research revealing 58% of emergency-relief grantees - including some high-income earners - are financially vulnerable.
- Released sector research including a 'State of Manufacturing' workforce report on hardship relief.
- Featured across NPR Marketplace, Employee Benefit News, HR Brew, BuiltIn NYC, and Fast Company.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — NPR Marketplace profiled Canary as a nonprofit-minded platform helping employers fund financial care for employees.
- **2026-01** — Released a 2026 manufacturing workforce report on how hardship relief closes a gap wages can't.
- **2023-01** — Raised $2.85M seed round and published a report on the financial vulnerability of emergency-relief grantees.

## Links

- Website: https://workwithcanary.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/workwithcanary

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/canary
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-06