Insights to Impact

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August 2019

Jameela Syed
Communications Manager (She/Her/Hers)
Esmeralda Simmons, founder and executive director of 2018 Spark Prize winner the Center for Law and Social Justice, spoke with us about her work and the importance of celebrating philanthropy in the Black community.
Jameela Syed
Communications Manager (She/Her/Hers)

In this second half of our interview with author Valaida Fullwood, we discuss the theme of this year’s Black Philanthropy Month, and how people can get started on their journey as philanthropists.

 
 
Jameela Syed
Communications Manager (She/Her/Hers)

Our #BlackPhilanthropyMonth interview with Valaida Fullwood, award-winning author of Giving Back: A Tribute to Generations of African American Philanthropists

Last month, our donors responded to the threats of widespread ICE arrests with an outpouring of support that raised nearly $35,000 for our Immigrant Rights Fund. With those crucial funds, we were able to issue two new Immediate Response grants.

 

    We have come a long way in our 10 years as Brooklyn’s community foundation. In our annual Insights to Impact Report, you will learn more about our work meeting the needs of our borough’s most vulnerable communities and supporting nonprofits on the frontlines of change.

    For our Black Philanthropy Month series we spoke with BlackSpace about philanthropy, legacy, and their work to protect and create Black spaces. BlackSpace is a collective of Black residents, changemakers, urban planners, architects, artists, activists, designers, and leaders, and one of the Foundation’s 2019-2020 Incubator Project Winners.

    The moment demands that every institution with a platform use it to speak out. Together, we must raise our voices to drown out the hate and call it out for what it is. This is racism. We must not tolerate or normalize it. We must condemn it, and then we must connect that rhetoric to the policies that are ruining the lives of people of color and holding back progress for us all.

    For Black Philanthropy Month (BPM) we are highlighting stories of those who are committed to informing, inspiring, and investing in Black communities. Our first spotlight is on Jocelynne Rainey, Chief Administrative Officer and Executive Vice President at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation and member of the Foundation’s Spark Prize Committee.