"Participating in Brooklyn Insights 2020 was a great experience for our organization because we love any excuse to come together and talk - and it's a practice we are going to keep, these community conversations."

In Fall 2020 we launched Phase 2 of our Brooklyn COVID-19 Response Fund, beginning with Brooklyn Insights 2020, an extensive eight-week community engagement process with residents in the hardest hit communities to inform an additional $3M in grants.

Guided by the belief that those who are closest to the challenges are closest to the solutions, this process has allowed us to learn from, and partner with, the communities most impacted by the pandemic.

Through Brooklyn Insights 2020, we aimed to identify recommendations for community-led solutions to achieve structural change, as well as responsive relief for urgent ongoing needs.

But, we know real change doesn’t happen overnight - change starts here, and it starts with you. Please consider making a donation today to invest in a better future for Brooklyn.

In the conversation below, Executive Director of viBe Theater Experience Toya Lillard, Brooklyn Elders Fund Advisory Council Member Samuel Manning, our Brooklyn Insights 2020 Community Engagement Consultant Renee K. Smith, and our VP of Programs and Partnerships Marcella Tillett discuss the findings of these community discussions, including community-led solutions to barriers of systemic inequity.