After being on pause last year, our Brooklyn Community Foundation $100,000 SPARK Prize has returned for 2021—and we are thrilled to share the 20 nonprofit finalists selected by our Spark Prize Committee: 

​Created in 2015, the SPARK Prize is the only award of its kind honoring long-standing nonprofits that have “sparked change” across Brooklyn. Our 2021-22 finalists were chosen by the 35-member Spark Prize Committee from a highly competitive applicant pool. Next, the Committee will conduct interviews with finalist organizations and then 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. 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.

Each of the 20 finalists will also receive a $5,000 donation match from the Foundation during the #BrooklynGives on Giving Tuesday campaign. Launching November 9th and culminating on Giving Tuesday, November 30th, #BrooklynGives encourages Brooklynites to give where they live on the year’s biggest day of giving. Go to www.BrooklynGives.org to learn more about the participating local nonprofits and follow the hashtag #BrooklynGives on social media to help spread the word.

The Spark Prize and #BrooklynGives are made possible with the generous support of lead sponsors Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Sweet ‘N Low, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.