20 Brooklyn Nonprofit Finalists Selected for $100K SPARK Prize
Brooklyn Community Foundation’s SPARK Prize has returned for 2021 to honor nonprofits that have sparked changed across Brooklyn
by BROOKLYN READEROctober 25, 2021
After a year’s hiatus with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brooklyn Community Foundation SPARK Prize has returned for 2021 — and the organization has announced the 20 nonprofit finalists for the $100,000 prize.
The SPARK Prize was launched in 2015 honoring long-standing nonprofits that have sparked change across Brooklyn, with previous winners including The Brownsville Community Justice Center, The Noel Pointer Foundation, Sadie Nash Leadership Project, Cypress Hills Child Care Corporation and VOCAL-NY.
The 2021-22 finalists were chosen by a 35-member Spark Prize Committee, which will now undertake interviews with the finalists and select five winners to each receive the $100,000 “no strings attached” award in January 2022.
Finalists and winners are chosen based upon their embodiment of the Prize’s four criteria: commitment to equity and racial justice, track record of impact in Brooklyn, strong institutional values, and a dynamic vision for the future of their organization, BCF said in a press release.
To be eligible, organizations must have a minimum annual budget of $250,000 and have been in operation for at least five years. Of the 20 finalist organizations, 80% are led by people of color, 100% are led by women, trans, or gender nonconforming individuals, and 80% have annual operating budgets under $2 million.
This year’s finalists are:
Arab American Association of New York
Arab-American Family Support Center
Black Women’s Blueprint
Brownsville Community Culinary Center
Brooklyn College Community Partnership
Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A
Brooklyn Movement Center
Center for Community Alternatives
Center for NuLeadership on Human Justice and Healing
Extreme Kids & Crew
The F.A.R.M.
Girl Be Heard
Good Call NYC
Grow Brooklyn
Groundswell Community Mural Project
Mixteca Organization
Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility
Neighborhood Housing Services of Brooklyn
New York City Network of Worker Cooperatives
Weeksville Heritage Center
Each finalist organization will receive a $5,000 donation match from the Foundation during the #BrooklynGives on Giving Tuesday campaign, which launches November 9 and culminates on Giving Tuesday, November 30.