2025 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Honors Five Trailblazing Nonprofits
Brooklyn Org’s Spark Prize provides $600,000 annually to outstanding Brooklyn organizations advancing racial justice and addressing critical challenges in our communities. The Prize is named for and informed by our mission to spark change for a fair and just Brooklyn.
Founded in 2016, the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize has since awarded over $4.8 million. Winners and finalists are selected annually by the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Committee, a distinguished group of 30 Brooklynites, to receive the $100,000 prize based upon three primary criteria:
Born in Brooklyn: Organizations that have a deep history in Brooklyn and a continued commitment to serving the borough.
Commitment to Equity: Organizations that address systemic challenges and advance racial and social justice for all Brooklynites.
Vision for Future: Organizations that have a strong vision for the future of their work in Brooklyn and beyond.
Twenty finalists for the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize also receive up to $5,000 in matching funds through our Brooklyn Gives on GivingTuesday campaign—celebrated each year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving—to encourage local donors to support their work.
2023 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize winners KAVI with our President & CEO Dr. Jocelynne Rainey (center left) and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso (second from right).
Brooklyn Org has its ear to the ground and has been very intentional about supporting organizations that weren’t necessarily the most well known — but they are definitely organizations that are doing their level best to have an impact.
Dr. Raymond Codrington, President and CEO of Weeksville Heritage Center, 2022 Spark Prize Winners
The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize will enable us to serve more young, formerly incarcerated New Yorkers and invest in additional resources and tools to prepare them for successful careers in the hospitality industry.
Kalilah Moon
Executive Director of Drive Change
Anthony Rowe, Program Director, Neighbors in Action
The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize is an incredible opportunity to expand our work in Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant...to increase safety, economic opportunity, and community well-being, and empower young people as leaders.
Anthony Rowe
Program Director, Neighbors in Action
Coleen Stevens Porcher, Executive Director of Power of Two
The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize is game changing for our communities...allowing us to help more families heal from intergenerational trauma and toxic stress, setting their babies up to lead happy, healthy and fulfilling lives.
Coleen Stevens Porcher
Executive Director of Power of Two
The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize inspires us to keep focusing on how we can make Brooklyn more sustainable, compassionate, and a leader in creating a dignified industry for canners, who are essential workers on the frontlines of the waste crisis.
Ryan Castalia
Executive Director of Sure We Can
Quardean Lewis-Allen, Founder and Executive Director of 2024 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Winner Youth Design Center
The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize marks a pivotal moment, fueling the evolution of our new maker space into a cutting-edge facility for creative exploration, truly befitting the aspirations of our youth.
Quardean Lewis-Allen
Founder and Executive Director of Youth Design Center
