February Newsletter: Our New Grantmaking Approach, Spark Breakfast, Celebrating Black History and Future + More From Your Community Foundation
Get Your Spark Breakfast Tickets Today!
The Spark Breakfast—an inspiring celebration of Brooklyn's nonprofit community—returns in three weeks, and tickets are going fast! Don't miss your chance to hear from exceptional leaders who are advancing racial justice and community-led change across our borough.
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WATCH: Robyne Walker Murphy, Executive Director of 2022 Spark Prize winner Groundswell, talks about the impact of the $100,000 'no strings attached' award
Shifting Power: A Closer Look at Our New Grantmaking Approach
2021 marked a significant transition in how we do grantmaking that positions community members as central decisionmakers in all of our investments across Brooklyn.
To learn more about our innovative "participatory grantmaking" approach—and why it sets us apart from most foundations—read our interview with the authors of the book, Letting Go: How Philanthropists and Impact Investors Can Do More Good by Giving Up Control.
And be sure to check out these Brooklyn Paper and NY1 stories on how young people helped us grant $2.3 million last year:
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Meet Our New Board Members
We are pleased to welcome four new members to our Board of Directors: Michelle DeFossett, Lesleigh Irish-Underwood, Lawanna Kimbro, and Andi Phillips. The new members, with strong ties to neighborhoods across Brooklyn, are leaders in the fields of impact investing, nonprofit management, politics, and social justice philanthropy.
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Celebrating Black History and Future
Change Starts Here: Center for Law and Social Justice from Brooklyn Community Foundation on Vimeo.
This Black History Month, we're featuring the voices and insights of Black leaders in Brooklyn at the forefront of the movement for racial justice, like Lurie Daniel Favors, Executive Director of the Center for Law and Social Justice (above), a 2018 Spark Prize winner and Brooklyn COVID-19 Response Fund Community-led Social Change grantee partner.
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Plus: Our VP of Programs and Partnerships Marcella Tillett is featured in this Crain's New York spotlight on Black leaders.
New Donor Advised Fund Creates a Legacy for Aging New Yorkers
Donor Advised Funds at Brooklyn Community Foundation can take on various forms, including the Endowed Field of Interest Fund, which provides a permanent source of support for a specific cause. We spoke with Kendall Christiansen and Tom Bettridge, two advisors for the Congregational Home Legacy Fund, to tell about its unique origins and how they hope to build on a century-old legacy of serving older adults in Brooklyn.