Our Invest in Brooklyn Dinner, held on Friday, October 18th, featured a powerful discussion with progressive leader Stacey Abrams and award-winning journalist Elaine Welteroth.

Stacey and Elaine shared an electric conversation on democracy, representation, and the urgent need for a fair count in the upcoming U.S. census—reminding us that the change needed to influence issues we see on the national stage can start right here with us, in our borough.

"If we erase people from the narrative of who we are, we erase them from the future of our country." 

- Stacey Abrams at the 2019 Invest in Brooklyn Dinner

A fair and accurate census count is integral to our democracy, and an undercount would not only jeopardize Brooklyn’s potential access to millions of dollars in federal resources but could also cost us up to two congressional seats and deny our communities their due representation.

Watch the full conversation:

Almost 300 guests joined us for dinner at the Weylin, catered by our Immigrant Rights Fund grantee Emma’s Torch, with wine generously donated by Diane and Joseph Steinberg and beer provided by Sixpoint Brewery. 

We’d like to thank Stacey and Elaine, our staff and board, our generous sponsors, and our guests for making the evening unforgettable!  

Proceeds from the evening support our Community Fund, a flexible source of support for our grantmaking, advocacy, and leadership work in the borough.