Community Fund Grants

Filter the grants using the options below:

Organization Year Amount Initiative Programsort descending Project Description Neighborhoods
Red Hook Community Justice Center 2022 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize Launched in 2000, the Red Hook Community Justice Center works to strengthen Red Hook and surrounding areas by reducing crime and the use of incarceration, improving public trust in justice, and collaborating with the community to solve local problems. At the Justice Center, a single judge hears cases that ordinarily would go to three different courts: civil, family, and criminal. Whenever possible, cases are resolved through a restorative, problem-solving approach that seeks to repair harm and address the underlying issues that bring individuals into the justice system. The Justice Center also serves as a hub for an array of unconventional programs that are available to litigants as a means of resolving their cases, as well as to the community at large. Red Hook
Audre Lorde Project 2017 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize An inter-generational organizing center for LGBT people of color that promotes community wellness and progressive social and economic justice in New York City. Founded in Brooklyn in 1996, ALP works with over 8,000 members on issues including creating safety models against police brutality and hate crimes, as well as training small businesses, community organizations, and neighborhood leaders on de-escalation and safety strategies. Boroughwide
Groundswell Community Mural Project 2022 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize Groundswell Community Mural Project was founded in 1996 to bring together artists, youth, and community organizations to use art as a tool for social change. Its projects beautify neighborhoods, engage youth in societal and personal transformation, and give expression to ideas and perspectives that are underrepresented in the public dialogue. Each year, Groundswell engages over 450 youth, led by trained teaching artists, and in partnership with community partner organizations and city agencies, in the presentation of afterschool, summer, school-based, and community commissioned programs. In addition, Groundswell hosts free, often youth-led, events and programs for the general public. Boroughwide
VOCAL-NY 2018 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize Voices of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY) is a Brooklyn-based, statewide network building a movement led by low-income people of color to end the AIDS epidemic, the war on drugs, mass incarceration, and homelessness. Founded in 1999 as a progressive AIDS housing network at a time when the epidemic was increasingly concentrated in low-income communities of color, VOCAL-NY was formed to shift attention toward root causes, like homelessness and incarceration. Today, VOCAL-NY operates a syringe exchange that distributes over 50,000 clean syringes annually, provides overdose prevention training and other services to hundreds of New Yorkers, and has worked to pass 15 pieces of legislation since 2013. Boroughwide
Common Justice 2017 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize A restorative justice program of the Vera Institute of Justice that works with responsible parties and those harmed by violent crime in Brooklyn. Founded in 2008, Common Justice is the first and only alternative to incarceration program for violent crimes in the adult courts in the United States. It works with 16 to 24-year-olds to address the criminal justice system’s over-reliance on incarceration, to halt cycles of violence, and to meet the needs of victims of crime. To date, fewer than 8% of its participants have been terminated from the program for committing a new crime. Boroughwide
Weeksville Heritage Center 2022 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize Weeksville Heritage Center upholds the legacy of one of the largest free Black communities in pre-Civil War America, using historic preservation, education, the arts, and a social justice lens to keep this unique chapter of American history relevant and resonant for contemporary audiences, particularly Black residents in Central Brooklyn. The Weeksville Heritage Center is the steward of the historic Hunterfly Road Houses, and serves as an education space, community hub, and presenter of free or low-cost recreational and artistic programming—all with a nexus to the Weeksville legacy of self-determination. Having emerged from a crippling financial crisis in 2019, Weeksville reestablished a record of fiscal accountability under a new strategic plan, and was included in New York City’s esteemed Cultural Institutions Group in 2020. Boroughwide
Make the Road New York 2017 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize An immigrant-led organization that develops grassroots leadership to mobilize Latino and working class communities. It provides legal services, education, and employment access to achieve policy change. MRNY is dedicated to building community power and racial equity in Bushwick, where it was founded in 1997. It now has over 20,000 members and 200 staff working across New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. Boroughwide
MoCADA 2017 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize A “museum without walls” that serves the African Diasporan community through art exhibitions, education, and community programs to promote African diasporan art, racial equity, and social justice in Brooklyn. Founded in 1999, this year it is expanding from 2,000 sq. ft. to a new 20,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Fort Greene. Boroughwide
Neighbors Together 2017 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize A dynamic soup kitchen, social service provider, and community center committed to ending hunger and poverty in Ocean Hill, Brownsville, and Bedford Stuyvesant since 1982. It provides empowerment and community action programming to organize community members to advocate for policy change, in addition to serving 80,000 meals annually out of its community café. Ocean Hill, Brownsville, Bedford Stuyvesant
Cave Canem 2018 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize Founded in 1996 to remedy the under-representation and isolation of black poets, Cave Canem has grown from a gathering of 26 poets to become an influential movement and artistic incubator based in Brooklyn with a high-achieving international fellowship of over 425, and a local workshop community of over 900 poets. Boroughwide
Center for Law and Social Justice 2018 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize Founded in Brooklyn in 1985 as a community service unit of Medgar Evers College to serve as an institutional response to pervasive racial injustices, the Center for Law and Social Justice continues pushing for meaningful policy changes to stem the institutionalization of police brutality and systemic racism across New York City. In addition to promoting alternative community policing solutions, it is a leading advocate for the protection and integrity of voting rights and for racial equity in public education. Boroughwide, Bedford Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Flatbush, East Flatbush, Brownsville
Brownsville Community Justice Center 2020 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize For a multi-faceted initiative that seeks to re-engineer how the justice system works in Brownsville, Brooklyn. The Justice Center addresses systemic inequities by helping young people disengage from the justice system and discover routes to economic security, so they can, in turn, reinvest in their community. Brownsville
exalt 2018 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize Since its founding in 2006 in Brooklyn, exalt has worked with over 1200 youth ages 15-19 who have been involved in the criminal justice system. exalt equips youth with tools and experiences to avoid further criminal justice system involvement through structured classes for tangible skill development, individualized support to navigate the education and justice systems, placement in paid internships, and an alumni network of resources. Boroughwide
Children of Promise, NYC 2020 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize To empower children of incarcerated parents to break the cycle of intergenerational involvement in the criminal justice system. CPNYC offers a broad array of services in a safe supportive space where young people, ages 6-18, can share similar experiences. Boroughwide
Griot Circle 2018 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize Founded in 1996 by a group of LGBTQ elders of color living in Brooklyn to address the systemic racial, social, and economic injustices that LGBTQ elders of color experience, GRIOT Circle now offers culturally-sensitive, innovative programming to over 400 members throughout the year, Boroughwide
The Noel Pointer Foundation 2020 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize To enrich the lives of children of color in under-served communities by connecting them with music education and performance opportunities. Boroughwide
Red Hook Initiative 2018 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize Founded in 2002 as a program of a local hospital in response to the severity of health and social issues in Red Hook, RHI has become a neighborhood stronghold and nationally recognized model for youth and community development, providing safe and enriching opportunities for young people ages 11- 24 primarily living in the Red Hook Houses—New York City’s largest NYCHA housing development. Red Hook
North Brooklyn Coalition 2020 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize To address systemic racism, institutional injustice, and cultural barriers facing survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault by creating a community-based support network. Williamsburg, Bushwick, Greenpoint
Sadie Nash Leadership Project 2020 $100,000 Spark Prize Spark Prize To equip, strengthens, and supports young women and gender-expansive youth of color to be agents of change in their lives and in the world. Citywide
Arab-American Family Support Center 2023 $100,000 Brooklyn Accelerator Spark Prize Arab-American Family Support Center (AAFSC) has provided culturally and linguistically competent, trauma-informed social services to low-income immigrants and refugees in New York City since 1994. AAFSC's services promote mental and physical well-being, prevent child abuse and work to end gender-based violence, provide the tools for learners of every age to succeed, and uplift the voices and needs of under-represented communities. Their programs include adult education, youth enrichment, mental health counseling, domestic violence support, health insurance enrollment and education, legal services, and more. In addition to offering direct services, the AAFSC Research Institute is a trusted source for information and publications on the voices and experiences of Arab, Middle Eastern, North African, Muslim, and South Asian (AMENAMSA) communities. Their staff speak over 30 languages, enabling them to serve populations that mainstream providers struggle to reach.  Boroughwide, Cobble Hill, Downtown
Kings Against Violence Initiative 2023 $100,000 Brooklyn Accelerator Spark Prize Kings Against Violence Initiative (KAVI) was founded in 2009 by Dr. Robert Gore, an Emergency Room physician who felt compelled to address the rising incidence of violence among youth in Central Brooklyn. KAVI works to prevent and eliminate interpersonal violence from the lives of young people through social justice advocacy, peer leadership, and community mobilization in hospitals, schools, and community settings. Through community and school programs, they serve over 300 youth annually, and have helped hundreds of youth overcome a history of violence and behavioral issues to graduate from high school and attend college. Through their hospital program, they engage and support over 750 patients each year and have reduced hospital recidivism rates by over 75% percent by providing up to a year of follow-up support and care for youth patients admitted with assault-related injuries. Bedford Stuyvesant, East Flatbush, Crown Heights, Flatbush, Brownsville
Partnership with Children 2015 $100,000 Invest in Youth Brooklyn Restorative Justice Project Partnership with Children will provide restorative justice practices and coordination at Ebbets Field Middle School in Crown Heights. Partnership with Children provides critical social and emotional support for the hardest-to-reach students and engages families in the school community so they can succeed in school, society and life. They have social workers in 32 public schools in all five boroughs and manage all community resources and support services in 12 community schools. Crown Heights
Sweet River Consulting 2015 $100,000 Invest in Youth Brooklyn Restorative Justice Project Sweet River Consulting will provide restorative justice practices and coordination at Science Skills Center High School in Downtown Brooklyn. The founders of Sweet River Consulting have over 10 years’ experience implementing school-wide restorative justice policies and programs, and providing youth programming and leadership development. Sweet River Consulting is supported by the Center for Nu Leadership, a criminal justice advocacy organization in Central Brooklyn. Downtown
New York Peace Institute 2015 $100,000 Invest in Youth Brooklyn Restorative Justice Project New York Peace Institute will provide restorative justice practices and coordination at the Rachel Carson High School for Coastal Studies in Coney Island. New York Peace Institute is one of the nation’s largest community mediation services, with expertise in special education mediation. They have previously partnered with the Department of Probation, the New York City Department of Education, NYPD and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s offices. Coney Island
Good Shepherd Services 2015 $100,000 Invest in Youth Brooklyn Restorative Justice Project Good Shepherd Services (GSS) will provide restorative justice practices and coordination at the School for Democracy and Leadership in East Flatbush. GSS is a leading New York City youth and family development agency with over 85 programs serving more than 30,000 children, youth, and families in under-resourced communities. East Flatbush
Brooklyn Free School 2016 Invest in Youth Youth Voice Awards Award recipient The Brooklyn Free School Team for "Let's Talk About It! Housing Justice," a project aimed at educating and creating a documentary on housing justice and gentrification. It will engage youth by arranging visits to town hall meetings, reading articles and watching interviews addressing housing, gentrification and justice, as well as opportunities to engage with the Mayor’s office and participate in local shelter events. As part of the project, the youth team will create a documentary and facilitate a workshop for youth on housing rights. Fort Greene, Clinton Hill
Ancient Song Doula Services 2016 Invest in Youth Youth Voice Awards Awarded to Sevonna Marie Brown with Ancient Song Doula Services for "Reproductive Renaissance," which uses grassroots political philosophy to foster a restorative space for women of color to come together and seek refuge in reproductive justice and education. Black girls and women of color have a history of using their personal spaces—the living room, grandma’s bedroom, the kitchen, the beauty salon, the front porch—as spaces for women-centered empowerment and healing. Bedford Stuyvesant
Eco:StationNY 2016 Invest in Youth Youth Voice Awards Award recipient Iyeshima Harris with Eco:StationNY for "Farm to Cafeteria," a student-led outreach project focusing on healthy eating and self-empowerment that engages students at a place and time they are thinking about food: the lunchroom. The project will use school lunch and culturally relevant food to teach youth how to healthfully and affordably prepare meals they love. Through cooking demos, students will learn how they can combine fresh produce with goods from their supermarket, instilling in them the knowledge, access, and creativity to needed to transcend and redefine what food means in a low-income neighborhood. Bushwick
Center for NuLeadership 2016 Invest in Youth Youth Voice Awards Award recipient Yamil Torres with the Center for NuLeadership for “Bridging the Healing Gap,” which will facilitate gatherings that provide space and educate youth who are affiliated with gangs and/or are street involved about how, why, and where gangs originated, explain political and racial history, and principles of what gangs were founded on. The second half of the project will focus on changing the way the larger community views the youth by opening up dialogue with an intergenerational event. Bedford Stuyvesant
Off the Page, Inc 2016 Invest in Youth Youth Voice Awards Award recipient Shaqur Williams with Off the Page, Inc for "All American Boys," a show adapted from the book by the same name that addresses different points of view between a black teenager and a white teenager in a community and the way police officers approach them. The project brings black and white actors together to work on this production and to talk about the problem facing the black community and how to work together to address it. Park Slope
Arts & Democracy 2016 Invest in Youth Youth Voice Awards Award recipient Hasiba Haq with Arts & Democracy for "Sari Project," which aims to connect young Bangladeshis with women in the community in an intergenerational exchange of stories using the idea of Saris, a traditional outfit for Bangladeshi women, to explore their immigration stories and their histories. The project will help young immigrants and second-generation youth connect with elders in their society, and help carve an identity for them in a diverse borough. Kensington
Arab American Association of New York 2019 $25,000 Immigrant Rights Fund Sustained Response Grants Immigrant Rights Fund To support immigration legal services for the Arab American community that has been deeply impacted by ongoing changes, including the removal of re-designation for Temporary Protective Status for Syrian and Yemeni arrivals post-2017 Bay Ridge, Boroughwide
Mexican Coalition for the Empowerment of Youth & Families 2021 $40,000 Immigrant Rights Fund Immigrant Rights Fund To increase language access and provide culturally relevant food, health and legal services to Latinx indigenous New Yorkers. Sunset Park, Bushwick, Coney Island, Park Slope
NYC Fund for Girls and Young Women of Color 2016 $20,000 Girls of Color Fund Girls of Color Fund Grant A collaboration of 16 foundations that awarded $2.1 million to 28 nonprofit organizations working to cultivate the leadership of young women of color as change agents to advance cultural and systemic shifts. The grantees provide services, leadership development and advocacy in the areas of health, economic and workforce development, community support and opportunity, education, and anti-violence/criminal justice. Boroughwide
Bangladeshi American Community Development & Youth Services 2016 $10,000 Immigrant Rights Fund Immigrant Rights Fund Emergency Grants Support for neighborhood-based, immigrant-led organizations working on the frontlines to address legal, safety, and civil rights issues. East New York, City Line

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