October Newsletter: $100,000 Spark Prize Finalists, Cecilia Clarke Fund + More News from Your Community Foundation

October 25, 2021

The $100,000 Spark Prize Finalists Are...

After being on pause last year, our Brooklyn Community Foundation $100,000 Spark Prize has returned—and we are thrilled to share the 20 nonprofit finalists selected by our Spark Prize Committee: View the List of Finalists Created in 2015, the Spark Prize honors outstanding nonprofits that have “sparked change” in Brooklyn's communities. Next, the Committee will conduct interviews with finalists and award five winners with $100,000 “no strings attached” grants in January.

Each of the 20 finalists will also receive a $5,000 donation match from the Foundation when our #BrooklynGives on Giving Tuesday campaign launches November 9th!  

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The Spark Prize and #BrooklynGives are made possible with the generous support of lead sponsors Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Sweet ‘N Low, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

 

New Fund Pays Tribute to Cecilia Clarke

Cecilia Clarke (center) with Tené Howard (left), executive director of the Sadie Nash Leadership Project (SNLP), and Chitra Aiyar, former executive director of SNLP, at the 2020 Spark Breakfast

To honor the leader who shaped nearly a decade of growth and transformation for our institution, we are proud to announce the Cecilia Clarke Fund for Nonprofit Leaders.

Seeded by nearly $175,000 (and growing!) in contributions from generous trustees, partners, and friends, this endowed fund at Brooklyn Community Foundation will invest in the development of nonprofit leaders of color in Brooklyn for generations to come. 

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Get Ready for Year-End Giving!
 

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Join us for a virtual one-hour "lunch and learn" for tips on how to create your annual giving strategy and have a bigger impact right here in Brooklyn:

  • Explore questions to guide your giving with intention
  • Learn new tools and resources to maximize your giving
  • Meet other donors and share ideas and strategies - and more!

RSVP

 

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Learn Mor

Welcoming New Board and Staff Members

This month, we are announcing two new members of our Board of Directors:

  • Thomas Bettridge, leader of Plymouth Church's Racial Justice Ministry 
  • Hilary Ley Jager, transportation advocate and former federal prosecutor

And introducing three new staff members:

We're honored to welcome each of them to our growing team!