Brooklyn Elders Fund Awards Over $1M to Caring for Brooklyn’s Older Adults
At the heart of our mission at Brooklyn Community Foundation is working towards creating a more fair and just Brooklyn – that means making sure that Brookynites of all ages have the resources they need to thrive in the place they call home.
We are proud to announce that we are committing $1,485,000 from our Brooklyn Elders Fund to support 14 local nonprofits dedicated to providing resources and services to our borough’s older adults across three focus areas: Access to Benefits and Entitlements, Aging in Place, and Promoting Elders’ Rights.
“As the population of older adults continues to grow in our borough and around New York City, we know that we need to invest in the nonprofits who are showing up for this vulnerable population each and every day,” our President & CEO Dr. Jocelynne Rainey said. “That’s why we are so proud to announce this year’s Brooklyn Elders Fund grant recipients, a wide selection of nonprofits who devote time and resources to help older adults improve their mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing.
The recipients of the 2023 Brooklyn Elders Fund grants are:
Three-year funding
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YWCA of Brooklyn
Two-year funding
One-year funding
Because we believe that those closest to the problem are also closest to the solutions, we relied heavily on our innovative participatory grantmaking approach to select the Fund’s grantee recipients. We are so grateful to our Brooklyn Elders Fund Advisory Council, comprised of older adults from across Brooklyn, for lending us their insight to review grant applications, attend site visits, and ultimately provide funding recommendations.
“Having lived in Brooklyn for the past 40 years, I’ve seen firsthand the issues that affect our older population–be it healthcare, housing, transportation, or food insecurity,” Selma Jackson, a Brooklyn Elders Fund Advisory Council member shared. “Now that I'm a member of this population, I feel even stronger about stepping up and supporting programs that enrich our lives. It’s exciting to finally choose a strong selection of nonprofits after a year of sorting through applications, conducting site visits, and discussing with others about the stand-out applicants.”
Building strong relationships with local community leaders over the years and tapping into their expertise has been crucial to our ability to reframe how we do philanthropy. “I’ve spent my career in the nonprofit sector, and was blown away by the participatory process that Brooklyn Community Foundation employs through all of their grantmaking initiatives. I was honored to be part of that selection process,” Monique Brizz-Walker, a Brooklyn Elders Fund Advisory Council member said. “And how special it is to see the final list of recipients, especially those I got a chance to visit in-person.”
The Brooklyn Elders Fund is seeded with $10 million from two field of interest funds established in 2019—CABS Community Foundation and the Fund for the Health & Integrity of Seniors—which are held permanently at Brooklyn Community Foundation.
Learn more about the Brooklyn Elders Fund here.
