We are pleased to announce the winners of our annual $100,000 Spark Prize, the only honor celebrating the most pioneering organizations advancing equity in the borough.

The 2019 Spark Prize Winners:                                          

• The Campaign Against Hunger
• Cypress Hills Child Care Corporation
• Girls for Gender Equity
• Red Hook Community Justice Center
• VOCAL-NY

The five winners will receive their awards at the Spark Breakfast on Thursday, February 28, 2019 from 8-10AM at BAM Lepercq Space. The event will also pay tribute to the Reverend Emma Jordan Simpson, an esteemed community and religious leader. Tickets are on sale now »
 

“As Brooklyn’s community foundation, we are honored to spotlight these five incredible organizations that have done so much to build equity and strength in our communities and take on our borough’s most pressing challenges—from poverty and hunger to criminal justice reform, the opioid epidemic, young women’s leadership, and opportunities for youth and children. Brooklyn is a hub for groundbreaking, high impact nonprofits, and we hope that this prize not only rewards these organizations’ excellence, but also springboards their future work across our borough and beyond.”

- Brooklyn Community Foundation President and CEO Cecilia Clarke

The winners were chosen from a competitive pool of more than 120 applicants by a committee of 35 Brooklyn civic leaders. Learn more about the selection process and award criteria.

The Spark Prize is sponsored by National Grid, Santander Bank, Sugar in the Raw, Cleary Gottlieb, and Kirkland Ellis, with support from Bklyner.

2018-19 Spark Prize Recipients

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The Campaign Against Hunger (TCAH): Founded in 1998 in Bedford Stuyvesant, today TCAH aims to empower its neighbors across Brooklyn to lead healthier, more productive and self-sufficient lives by increasing their access to nutritious food and related resources. Read more

Cypress Hills Child Care Corporation (CHCCC): Serving families in the Cypress Hills neighborhood of northeast Brooklyn since 1990, CHCCC aims to increase the availability of high-quality, affordable child care for low-income families while creating entrepreneurship opportunities for low-income women. Read more

Girls for Gender Equity (GGE): Based in Brooklyn since its founding in 2002, GGE is an intergenerational organization committed to the physical, psychological, social, and economic development of girls and women. Read more

Red Hook Community Justice Center: Launched in 2000, the Red Hook Community Justice Center works to strengthen Red Hook and surrounding areas by reducing crime and the use of incarceration, improving public trust in justice, and collaborating with the community to solve local problems. Read more

Voices of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY): VOCAL-NY is a Brooklyn-based, statewide network building a movement led by low-income people of color to end the AIDS epidemic, the war on drugs, mass incarceration, and homelessness. Read more