Fishman Family Fund for Economic Opportunity
Funded through donor contributions honoring the service, vision, and leadership of Brooklyn Community Foundation’s Chair Emeritus Alan Fishman, the Fishman Family Fund for Economic Opportunity is designed help close the racial wealth gap in Brooklyn by tackling structural barriers that limit BIPOC Brooklynites’ access to financial and economic stability.
The Fishman Family Fund operates in alignment with the Foundation’s commitment to racial justice, prioritizing support for BIPOC-led organizations working towards the systemic redistribution of power, opportunities, and access.
The Fishman Family Fund supports organizations working with low-income communities of color across three focus areas, which were identified through consultation with community groups and local experts:
- Workforce Development: Organizations that ensure people of color have employment via accessible opportunities (including internships, apprenticeships, workforce development training) that leads to economic mobility.
- Expansion of Worker Cooperatives: Both policy/advocacy and direct-service organizations working to create, develop, and sustain worker cooperatives.
- Financial Systems Navigation Support: Organizations that work to alleviate systemic barriers to communities of color. This includes connecting people to education and resources around banking, saving, entrepreneurship, investment, and homeownership.
In addition, Brooklyn Community Foundation supports policy and advocacy efforts directed at increasing the awareness around economic growth and change.
Recent Grants
- Brooklyn Workforce Innovations (BWI): To support workforce development programming that connects low- and moderate-income people with living wage employment opportunities in commercial driving, film and television production and post-production, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), Information and Communications Technology (ICT), woodworking, and tech industries.
- NYC NOWC: For programming that supports New York City worker cooperatives and worker-owners—particualatly in historically marginalized communities—throughorganizing, advocacy, technical assistance, leadership development, training, and by providing direct grants.
