Borough President Antonio Reynoso on Feb. 26 announced the first seven recipients of funding through his second annual Community Baby Shower Fund, committing $50,000 in discretionary funding for a second year to support locally organized baby showers across the borough.
The initiative, first launched in Aug. 2024, provides up to $5,000 in matching reimbursement funds to nonprofits hosting community baby showers before May 31, 2026. The events distribute essential infant supplies, including diapers, wipes, blankets alongside breast pumps, while linking new and expecting parents to local organizations and city agencies that offer family support services.
Funding is aimed at neighborhoods with historically high maternal mortality and morbidity rates.
“Brooklynites thrive when their community shows up for them and pregnancy and early parenthood are no different. Community baby showers are so impactful because, beyond distributing essential baby supplies, they foster support networks that parents can lean on, right in their own neighborhoods,” said Reynoso. “Each organization receiving funding recognizes the unique needs of the neighborhoods they serve, and the importance of community support for parents welcoming our youngest Brooklynites into the world. I can’t wait to see their community baby showers improve outcomes for families across our borough.”
The seven organizations receiving awards are:
- Brownsville Community Culinary Center, serving Brownsville
- Holding Hands Ministries, serving Coney Island
- Kiwanis Kings Plaza & Canarsie, serving Canarsie
- Life Equip Group, serving East New York and Brownsville
- New Neighbors Partnership Association, serving Flatbush and Midwood
- Nuestros Niños Daycare Center, serving Williamsburg
- Public Housing Community Fund, serving Bedford-Stuyvesant
The fund builds on Reynoso’s broader maternal health agenda. Over the past two decades, Black women in New York City have been significantly more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.
In 2021, Reynoso allocated his office’s full $45 million capital budget to maternal health improvements at Brooklyn’s three public hospitals, the first time a borough president directed an entire fiscal year of capital funding to a single cause within one city agency.
The Community Baby Shower Fund remains open on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted.
Eligibility requirements
Applicants must:
- Hold current 501(c)(3) status
- Provide a dollar-for-dollar funding match
- Demonstrate a history of service in at least one target neighborhood
- Show experience serving prenatal and postpartum individuals and families
- Have experience organizing baby showers or similar resource events
- Host events between Jul. 21, 2025 and May 31, 2026
Priority neighborhoods
Funding is prioritized for events in:
- Bedford-Stuyvesant
- Brownsville
- Bushwick
- Canarsie
- Coney Island
- Crown Heights
- East Flatbush
- East New York
- Flatbush/Midwood
- Sunset Park
Awards are issued on a reimbursement basis and are not guaranteed upon application. A step-by-step Community Baby Shower Guide, including planning templates and activity ideas, is available through the Borough President’s office. Applications must be submitted via the online request form, with required financial documentation emailed separately.
