We are excited to announce the 20 finalists for this year’s $100,000 Spark Prize—the only award of its kind honoring longstanding nonprofits that have “sparked change” across Brooklyn.

The finalists are:

• Atlas: DIY
• Bard Prison Initiative
• The Billie Holiday Theatre
• Bottom Line New York City
• Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A
• Brownsville Community Justice Center
• Central American Legal Assistance
• Children of Promise NYC
• Churches United for Fair Housing
• Council Of Peoples Organization
• Extreme Kids and Crew
• Footsteps
• Green City Force
• Groundswell Community Mural Project
• Grow Brooklyn
• Hester Street Collaborative
• New Sanctuary Coalition
• The Noel Pointer Foundation
• North Brooklyn Coalition Against Family Violence
• Sadie Nash Leadership Project

Each organization will advance in consideration for the $100,000 award, and will also be a beneficiary of a $5,000 match from the Foundation during the #BrooklynGives campaign.

The finalists were chosen by the 30-member Spark Prize Committee (pictured above), from a highly competitive pool of over 120 applicants. Following in-person interviews, the Committee will select five winners, to be announced in January.

“Congratulations to these outstanding nonprofits on becoming Spark Prize finalists! Each year this process reveals the unparalleled excellence, breadth, and diversity of Brooklyn nonprofits working for social change. We are deeply honored to recognize their work. We are also so grateful to the members of our Spark Prize Committee for volunteering their time to thoroughly review and select the finalists from such a highly competitive field of entries. It isn’t an easy job, but this Prize is made more special because of your commitment to our shared values and vision for Brooklyn.”

- Brooklyn Community Foundation President and CEO Cecilia Clarke

Created in 2015, the Spark Prize was designed to spotlight often overlooked nonprofits fighting on the frontlines for racial justice and social change. Finalists and winners are chosen based on four criteria: focus on equity and racial justice, track record of impact in Brooklyn, strong institutional values, and a dynamic vision for the future of their organization.

The Prize is named for and informed by our mission to spark change for a fair and just Brooklyn, and is the signature program of our Brooklyn Accelerator, a hub for building capacity and resources in Brooklyn’s nonprofit community.

Learn more about the Spark Prize and past winners.

​#BrooklynGives: Support the Spark Finalists and Give Where You Live!

For the 4th year in a row, each of the 20 Spark Prize finalists will receive a $5,000 donation match as part of our #BrooklynGives local giving campaign. Launching next month and culminating on Giving Tuesday—the year’s largest day of giving--#BrooklynGives encourages everyone who calls Brooklyn home to give where they live.

Our goal for #BrooklynGives is to raise more than $1 million for Brooklyn nonprofits. Explore the organizations participating at www.BrooklynGives.org and follow the hashtag #BrooklynGives on social media to help spread the word.

We're proud to present #BrooklynGives in partnership with the generous support of lead sponsors Sugar in the Raw and Santander Bank.