Brooklyn Org this week announced the first round of recipients of its Brooklyn Org Microgrants, a new funding stream designed to strengthen smaller Brooklyn-based nonprofits.
The microgrants program complements Brooklyn Org’s existing Donor Advised Fund grantmaking and Strategic Grants program for organizations with budgets exceeding $100,000. The new stream supports smaller Brooklyn-based nonprofit and grassroots groups with annual budgets under $100,000 that might not otherwise qualify for larger grant opportunities.
Dr. Jocelynne Rainey, president and CEO of Brooklyn Org, said the smallest organizations often have the most powerful ideas and solutions for their communities’ needs.
“Through our Microgrants program, we are proud to invest in these grassroots leaders who are building community power and delivering critical services across Brooklyn,” Rainey said.
The 38 recipients of the first round of microgrants, which provide awards of up to $10,000, are:
- afrolatin@ forum
- Alfreda’s Picture Show
- Arts & Democracy
- Black Diaspora Liberty Initiative (BDLI)
- Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival
- Brooklyn Community Kitchen
- Central Asian Foundation
- Como un lugar
- For The Better Inc.
- Good Co. Cares
- Gowanus Mutual Aid
- HealthJox Foundation
- Heart, Body & Soul
- Iglesia Cristiana Pentecostal Movimiento Las Maravillas del Éxodo
- Imani’s Safehouse
- It’s All Love Assisting Through Action (IALATA)
- Loving You Into Freedom
- Meals for Unity
- Mindfulness & S.T.E.A.M. Lab
- Muscle Inspires New Empowerment (M.I.N.E.)
- Ñaños in Action
- New Sanctuary Coalition
- NYC Trans Archives
- Parlé Endeavors
- Passive House for Everyone
- Perennial Muse
- Pineapple Ride
- Plaza Proletaria
- Power Of We (POW!)
- Princess Chambers
- Ready, Set, Grow to Glow
- ReImagine Legacy
- Rooted Theater Company
- Rovaco Dance Company
- Tea Arts & Culture
- Uniquely Me Creative Arts
- Woman Unsilenced
- Yadestiny Treasure Chest
Power Of We (POW!) is a free, inclusive weekly youth enrichment program in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, serving the whole family. It offers activities such as art, music, dance, soccer and storytime for children with developmental diagnoses like autism, ADHD, Down syndrome and other developmental differences, as well as neurotypical children, in an environment designed to accommodate individual needs.
Unlike traditional youth programs, POW! does not require a diagnosis, and its programming is designed to address participants’ sensory needs, offering calm-down spaces and activities for children who need breaks.
“In New York there are lots of great youth enrichment programs that are mostly tailored for neurotypical kids, but there’s not a lot out there that is inclusive and open and is accommodating for kids with and without diagnoses and with a wide range of different abilities,” Jesse Laymon, the organization’s executive director, told Brooklyn Paper, noting that over time children with developmental diagnoses became more comfortable and confident, and even discovered hidden talents, like a young participant with Down syndrome who discovered an affinity for the harmonica and now plays alongside the music teacher.
Thanks to the microgrant, the traditionally free program remains free for families and covers the costs of instructors, the program director and materials, Laymon said.
“This micro grant certainly allowed us to tell the whole community of families and how that they could sign up for ongoing semesters, ongoing weeks at PAL, and not have to pay anything,” Laymon explained.
Passive House for Everyone educates New York City public school students in grades K-12 on passive house principles through hands-on workshops and creative STEAM-based learning. A passive house is a highly energy-efficient building designed to reduce carbon emissions through air sealing, high-performance windows and doors, thermal-bridge-free construction and balanced ventilation.
In Cho, an architect and co-founder of Passive House for Everyone, told Brooklyn Paper that while designing passive houses for private clients, she wanted to make sustainable building technology accessible to all. The workshops teach students how building science can reduce energy costs, improve indoor air quality and make homes more climate-resilient.
“We have two tracks,” Cho explained. “One is where they combine science and art. And this is especially for the younger students in elementary school. We also have another track for high school students, particularly in what we call CTE schools, which is career technical education, and they’re getting technical training. This is a pathway to prepare them for green careers, especially in the building sector.”
Currently, 100 schools are on the organization’s waitlist for workshops. Thanks to the microgrant, it can “say yes to more schools and to more students,” Cho said.
“We all know public schools are stretched thin financially, so this allows us to continue delivering these workshops for free. It also allows us to build our capacity moving forward,” she explained.
Cho’s fellow co-founder and executive director of Passive House for Everyone, Caroline Zayas King, added: “Brooklyn Org’s Microgrant is major for us. It powers the behind-the-scenes work that is essential to our programming. With this funding, we can say ‘yes’ to more Brooklyn teachers and students. Also, attending their capacity-building series has already led to new collaborations with other organizations serving Brooklyn youth, so we can expand our reach together.”
