December News: $2.8M for Brooklyn Youth, 2019 Spark Breakfast, and More from Your Community Foundation

$2.8M for Brooklyn Youth in 2018

Today we are pleased to announce support for 71 youth-focused nonprofit programs across Brooklyn, bringing this year's total Invest in Youth initiative funding to nearly $2.8 million—an increase of over $250,000 from last year.

These new grants provide critical investments in local nonprofits that:

• Develop youth leadership through workforce development, the arts, activism, environmental justice, and community safety, with a focus on girls of color and LGBTQIA youth
   
• Keep young people out of the criminal justice system and provide career opportunities, promote policy change, and foster healing
   
• Protect and lift up immigrant youth so they can be advocates for their families and communities in the face of destabilizing government policies  

“As we increase our support for Brooklyn’s next generation of leaders, we are proud to fund so many outstanding programs developed right here in our borough that carve out new opportunities for young people. An investment in the youth of our communities is an investment in a more fair and just future for Brooklyn. Thank you to our generous Community Fund donors whose support has made these grants possible!”

- President and CEO Cecilia Clarke

Staff Transitions

This month we welcome a new member to our Program team, while we say farewell to another:

• Sabrina Hargrave is the Foundation’s newest Program Officer, bringing over a decade of experience in performance management and program evaluation in research, nonprofit, and philanthropic settings. Welcome Sabrina!
   
• Our VP of Programs Kaberi Banerjee Murthy has departed the Foundation (and Brooklyn!) to become the Director of Program Strategy at Meyer Memorial Trust in Portland, Oregon. Many thanks to Kaberi for her dedication to Brooklyn’s communities—we wish her all the best in her newest endeavor on the West Coast.