September News from Your Community Foundation
Don't Miss Stacey Abrams in Brooklyn!
Tickets are going fast for our Invest in Brooklyn Dinner, which supports our grantmaking to vital nonprofits across the borough.
The evening will feature the incomparable Stacey Abrams, known for her groundbreaking 2018 Georgia gubernatorial campaign, in conversation with Brooklyn journalist and former Teen Vogue Editor-in-Chief Elaine Welteroth discussing the big issues facing our nation—including the 2020 Census and the 2020 election—and how to achieve real change in our communities. Get your tickets today!
BHS Series Explores Legacy of Slavery
This October, we are partnering with Brooklyn Historical Society to spotlight our nation’s legacy of slavery in the program series 400 Years of Inequality: Slavery, Race, and Our Unresolved History.
In 1619, a ship carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans landed in Jamestown, its human cargo sold into bondage. This immersive series explores the ensuing history of slavery in the United States and its ramifications today. Conversations about housing, healthcare, criminal justice, reparations, and more, will reframe the telling of America’s story of inequality in order to shape a more complete narrative for the future.
The series features our Brooklyn Community Foundation Fair and Just Fellow Heather McGhee in conversation with Michael Eric Dyson for the 10/18 event "Reckoning with Racism."
Census 2020: Tell Gov. Cuomo to Fund Local Nonprofits!
Last April, New York State budgeted $20 million for community-based outreach for the 2020 Census. Five months later, the funding has yet to be allocated.
Some advocates are hearing that the Governor plans to deploy the funds via advertising and state agencies. However, we know that local nonprofits make the greatest difference in whether or not someone chooses to participate in the Census—a higher response than advertising and social media. Specifically, we are calling on the Governor to allocate $4 million for Brooklyn nonprofits—given that nearly half of the State’s 500 census tracts most at-risk of an undercount are located here.
Join us today in calling on Governor Cuomo (518-474-8390) and leaders of the State Senate (518-455-2585) and Assembly (518-455-3791) to quickly allocate the funding to New York State nonprofits.
Seeking Advisors for Elders Grant Program
We're looking for Brooklynites age 50+ to join our inaugural Brooklyn Elders Fund Advisory Council! Members will be paid to guide our grantmaking through their expertise and lived experience. Our goal is to recognize and tap into Brooklyn community leaders—particularly older adults of color—committed to strengthening their neighborhoods and the borough.
How We're Shaping a New Approach to School Discipline
Our Program Officer Amy Cho and Brooklyn Restorative Justice Project evaluator Dr. Anne Gregory are featured in The Indypendent’s September 9th story, “Plugging the School to Prison Pipeline.”
Here’s an excerpt:
The Education Department is also launching a citywide restorative-justice initiative, an alternative to suspensions, summonses and arrests that several city schools have already been exploring.
Restorative justice asks “after a harm is committed, how do you repair the harm that has been done by bringing all parties into a conversation,” says Amy Chou, project officer for a restorative-justice pilot program launched by the Brooklyn Community Foundation at two high schools and a middle school.
....Schools involved in the Community Foundation pilot saw a 53 percent reduction in the number of suspensions over three years when compared to the three years preceding the program, said Dr. Gregory, who was in the midst of compiling a report detailing the pilot’s results for the foundation when she spoke to The Indy. Based on student surveys, there was also “documented progress in creating more equitable school climates,” she added.