Brooklyn Community Foundation President and CEO Dr. Jocelynne Rainey shares reflections and stories of impact from the organization’s work across Brooklyn.
In the News
December 13, 2022
Over 1,000 children of Canarsie and East Flatbush are receiving $1,000 in college funds through the Save for College Program.
The money was donated Tuesday by the City of New York, NYC Kids RISE, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Brooklyn Community Foundation, the Gray Foundation, the NYC Department of Education, the NYC Mayor’s Office of Equity and families and community.
Nicole Perry with NYC Kids RISE said the money would help kids’ future.
December 13, 2022
Roughly 1,200 first graders from a Brooklyn school district with the city’s highest proportion of Black students are seeing $1,000 added to their new college savings accounts, the result of donations from Bloomberg Philanthropies and a local foundation.
December 11, 2022
Some nonprofits in the city are experiencing a perfect storm of tough circumstances this holiday season: an increased demand for services, fewer donations and the impacts of inflation. Because of this, some nonprofits are struggling.
A recent survey from the Brooklyn Community Foundation found if donations do not increase, the outlook next year could be even worse.
November 28, 2022
Giving Tuesday, the charitable cousin of Cyber Monday and Black Friday, is almost here!
This Tuesday on Nov. 29, donate to one of the many Brooklyn-based nonprofits and service organizations that have shown up for the communities of Brooklyn through thick and thin with free resources including accessible career building, legal representation, home repairs, mental health services, anti-gun violence initiatives and so much more to ensure that the future of the borough remains bright.
November 24, 2022
20 Brooklyn nonprofit organizations have been announced as finalists for this year’s Spark Prize. The announcement was made by the Brooklyn Community Foundation — a local foundation that partners with donors and community leaders to support vital nonprofits.
October 25, 2022
The Brooklyn Community Foundation is the only foundation that focuses primarily on Brooklyn, and it is led by someone who was born and raised in the borough: Jocelynne Rainey. As president and CEO of the foundation, she aims to grow the number of nonprofits the foundation serves by centering on community and ensuring that the foundation commits to grant making through a racial justice lens.
The nonprofit veteran also hopes to lead with trust in leadership through the foundation’s Spark prize, which awards unrestricted funding.
October 19, 2022
Community-led action was in the limelight at the Brooklyn Community Foundation’s inaugural ball.
On Oct. 12, the Brooklyn Community Foundation held its first Brooklyn Changemakers Ball at the Weylin, an event venue in Williamsburg.
Activists Alicia Garza, Ai-jen Poo and the chair of the foundation, Alan Fishman, spoke throughout the evening. Garza is the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, and Poo is the president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.
September 22, 2022
Cypress Hills Child Care Corporation and the Center for Law and Social Justice won the $100,000 Spark Prize from the Brooklyn Community Foundation back in 2019, an unrestricted grant awarded to organizations that hope to spark change for a “fair and just Brooklyn”, as mentioned on the Brooklyn Community Foundation’s website, and have been able to grow exponentially since then.
September 21, 2022
Crain's Power Corner profiles prominent leaders in politics and policy. In each edition, reporter Brian Pascus unpacks how each person defines power and how that person plans to help change the city.
