Insights to Impact

#BrooklynGives aims to give Brooklyn nonprofits an extra boost by providing them with an innovative and exciting way to both fundraise and build awareness for their work. This year, our goal is to raise more than $1 million for 100+ Brooklyn nonprofits on Tuesday, November 27th from 12:00am to 11:59pm.

As this summer’s Program intern, I have had the opportunity to read applications from organizations seeking funding through our grant programs, as well as reports from grantees on their progress over the past year. Getting to know these organizations has deepened my understanding of the needs of Brooklyn community members. One of my favorite projects has been mapping the neighborhoods and communities our Immigrant Rights Fund (IRF) grantees serve. 

The second stop on my Neighborhood Strength tour of Crown Heights this summer was to Repair the World NYC, located at 808 Nostrand Ave, where I met with Alli Lesovoy, the nonprofit’s Program Manager.

As the Foundation’s Communications Intern for the summer, I was given the opportunity to dive into Neighborhood Strength. Earlier this Spring, the Crown Heights Council voted to renew three Neighborhood Strength projects. This summer, I’m stopping by each organization to document their space and learn about their process for engaging the community.

In the third year of Neighborhood Strength — our resident-led grantmaking model — the Crown Heights Advisory Council has recommended that we renew support for three community-based organizations addressing the challenge of limited public space for community engagement in the neighborhood.

While celebrating the theme of justice and healing, the Brooklyn Youth Fellows presented the 2018 recipients of The Youth Voice Awards in a ceremony held at the Foundation on Friday, June 8th.

This year’s Spark Prize Committee is made up of people from all walks of life across Brooklyn, including but not limited to filmmakers, writers, attorneys and olympic medalists!

As of May 21st, VOCAL-NY has bailed out 15 mothers, with bails ranging from $750 to $10,500.

We are proud to share a recently released report on the first two years of the NYC Fund for Girls and Young Women of Color, a funders collaborative aimed at supporting young women of color and transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) youth.

As we continue the work of our Immigrant Rights Fund—an emergency and long-term response fund launched in the weeks after the 2016 Presidential Election—our communities’ needs are evolving and deepening, creating a “new normal” amidst an almost constant onslaught of urgency and crises.

This month, we’re bringing you a multi-part update on our Brooklyn Restorative Justice Project. In this post, our evaluator Dr. Anne Gregory discusses the outlook for the second half of the project.

This month, we’re bringing you a multi-part update on our Brooklyn Restorative Justice Project. Here,Dr. Anne Gregory shares findings from the first two years of the project.

Since October 2017, 14 youth activists have been learning and organizing as part of our new Reproductive Justice Activists (RJA) program. In June, they will share their advocacy experiences and recommendations with Brooklyn Community Foundation and celebrate the culmination of their 10-month project. 

Our President and CEO Cecilia Clarke reflects on actions taken by corporations and foundations in the wake of the Parkland school shooting, and highlights the Foundation’s 2016 decision to divest from gun manufacturers and our deep commitment to investing in the leadership of young people to advocate for policy change.