Philanthropic Advisory Services Take Root, Connecting Donors With Community-Led Work

Brooklyn Org’s Donor Services team launched a series of donor briefings last spring as part of our growing philanthropic advisory services, and this fall we’ve had the chance to provide a robust crop of programming for our community of donors. We are proud to connect our donors and fund holders to community-led organizations with a wide impact, recently engaging in discussions covering justice reform and immigration.

But we’re not done yet! There’s still time to RSVP to our next  donor briefing and breakfast on workforce development, Empower Brooklyn: Workforce Innovations  on Wednesday, October 30th. The event will be hosted at the headquarters of 2024 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize winner Drive Change in Broadway Triangle/South Williamsburg, and promises to be an engaging conversation on how to advance racial justice through transformative economic opportunities.

In addition to Drive Change’s Executive Director Kalilah Moon, our panelists will include Tonya Gayle of Green City Force, Gregory Morris of New York City Employment & Training Coalition, and Aaron Shiffman of Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, with the discussion moderated by Nikki Evans from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. RSVP to join us and continue reading to learn more about our latest events below!

Oct 30

Empower Brooklyn: Workforce Innovations

Donor Briefing

Drive Change, 630 Flushing Ave, Suite 25, Brooklyn, NY
8:30 AM–10:00 AM EDT

RSVP

Sanctuary and Solutions for Migrants

On September 12, we had a lively discussion over breakfast (provided by Emma’s Torch, a finalist for last year’s Brooklyn Org Spark Prize), held at the offices of New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC). NYIC’s Executive Director Murad Awawdeh was joined by fellow panelists Adamah Bah from Afrikana and Lorena Kourousias of Mixteca with the discussion moderated by Brooklyn Org Program Officer Sabine Frid-Bernards. Their discussion covered topics including the underlying conditions that lead to increased migration, navigating friction between longstanding neighborhood residents and newer arrivals, understanding the current political climate and how it sows division, the range of services and solutions provided by the panelists’ organizations and their peers, and how individual community members can help.

Addressing Youth Justice and Reform

On October 10 – which was the first-ever DAF Day – an engaged group of donors gathered in the Red Hook home of one of our giving circle members to learn more about the complex issues surrounding the criminal justice system, court-involved youth, and the wrongfully convicted. Panelists Derrick Hamilton of Families and Friends of the Wrongfully Convicted (and 2024 Just Brooklyn Prize winner!), Christine Pahigian of Youth Justice Network, Mike Pope of Youth Represent, and Jessica Yager of Red Hook Community Justice Center (a program of The Center for Justice Innovation) shared moving testimonies of their own experiences and those of young people who have benefitted from their programs. The evening included a lively Q&A and discussion, with attendees learning about the individual programs of each participating nonprofit and what they as individuals can do to help improve conditions for system-involved individuals.