Brooklyn Org on Monday handed out the first round of its new Microgrants program, sending support to 38 small, community-based groups across the borough.
Each organization received funding of up to $10,000, providing essential operating support to nonprofits and grassroots initiatives with annual budgets under $100,000. The microgrants are meant to strengthen Brooklyn’s nonprofit ecosystem, giving community leaders and volunteers the tools they need to sustain and grow their work, officials said.
The initiative reflects Brooklyn Org’s larger goal of breaking down barriers for smaller organizations and expanding donor-backed grantmaking where it’s most needed.
Dr. Jocelynne Rainey, president and CEO of Brooklyn Org, emphasized the value of these grassroots groups, noting that some of the borough’s most innovative and impactful solutions come from neighbors supporting neighbors.
“Often the most powerful ideas and solutions come from the smallest organizations - neighbors supporting neighbors and responding directly to what their communities need,” she said in a statement.
Brooklyn Org’s microgrants sit alongside a suite of programs designed to support nonprofits of all sizes. Its Strategic Grants program focuses on multi-year support for organizations with budgets over $100,000, while the annual Spark Prize awards $100,000 to five nonprofits. Neighborhood Collective Impact grants provide $25,000 to collaborative projects tackling shared local issues. Microgrants fill the gap for smaller, volunteer-driven initiatives that might otherwise go unsupported.
This grant cycle includes a wide range of organizations serving immigrant families, survivors of violence, youth, artists and historically underserved communities. Recipients include:
- 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
Brooklyn Org accepts microgrant applications year-round, with decisions announced twice a year. Eligible applicants must be Brooklyn-based or actively working in the borough, have budgets under $100,000 and hold 501(c)(3) status or operate under a fiscal sponsor. For more information on how to apply to the program, click here.
