Invest in Youth

The project—which focused on a small cohort of Brooklyn secondary schools—aimed to implement restorative justice as an alternative to punitive discipline; with a goal to positively transform schools, repair harm, and promote the equitable treatment of Black students, students with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ students citywide. 

On Saturday, June 27th, streaming live from across Brooklyn, our Brooklyn Youth Activists presented the 2020 Youth Voice Awards, honoring eight exciting projects led by youth that offer innovative solutions to the impacts of COVID-19 and systemic injustice in their communities. 

Invest in Youth grantee Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) are taking on a source of major injustice they face every day in their own schools. GGE’s new policy brief “Suspending Self Expression” examines the link between school dress codes in NYC public schools and school pushout—and the disproportionate impact it has on Black and Latinx young women and gender non-conforming/non-binary (GNC/NB) youth.

We are announcing funding for 55 local nonprofits as part of our Invest in Youth initiative, bringing our overall support for youth-focused programs to $2.6 million in 2019! 

We have come a long way in our 10 years as Brooklyn’s community foundation. In our annual Insights to Impact Report, you will learn more about our work meeting the needs of our borough’s most vulnerable communities and supporting nonprofits on the frontlines of change.

Brooklyn Community Foundation is committed to supporting the leadership and agency of youth in creating community change. The Brooklyn Youth Activists is a youth-led grantmaking and advocacy program that sees youth as experts and central players in making decisions around supporting youth-centered and youth-led projects.