2025 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Honors Five Trailblazing Nonprofits

Brooklyn Org, a partner and platform for giving in Brooklyn, today announced the five winners of the 2025 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize for outstanding nonprofits advancing racial justice in New York City’s largest borough. Each of the five nonprofits will receive a $100,000 ‘no strings attached’ grant and will be honored at the Brooklyn Org Spark Breakfast on February 25, 2025 from 8-10 a.m. at the Barclays Center. Tickets are on sale now at brooklyn.org/sparkprize.

The 2025 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize winners are:  

• Brooklyn Book Bodega

• Brownsville Community Culinary Center

• Community Help in Park Slope (CHiPS)

• Good Call

• Technology for Families in Need

Launched in 2016, the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize recognizes nonprofits committed to racial and social justice with deep roots in the borough. Brooklyn is home to hundreds of nonprofits led by and serving communities of color that are often overlooked by the City’s philanthropic sector and wealthy donors. The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize has invested over $4.8 million to date in 40 winners and 160 finalists, to spotlight organizations in the borough, while emphasizing the need to provide general operating support that gives nonprofits the flexibility and resources they need to serve their communities and grow.

“The five organizations receiving the 2025 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize represent the very best of Brooklyn: they’re deeply rooted in our communities, led by passionate changemakers, and working tirelessly to create a more equitable borough for all,” said Dr. Jocelynne Rainey, Brooklyn Org President & CEO. “From expanding access to books and culinary training to providing emergency legal support and access to essential resources like food, shelter, and technology, each of this year’s winners exemplify Brooklyn’s spirit of innovation and commitment to justice.”

Brooklyn Org convenes a committee of leaders from Brooklyn’s civic, business, and philanthropic sectors to first determine 20 finalists and then ultimately select the five $100,000 winning organizations from a highly competitive applicant pool of local nonprofits. All 20 finalists received a $5,000 fundraising match as part of Brooklyn Org’s Brooklyn Gives on Giving Tuesday campaign.

“Being recognized by the Spark Prize is incredibly special because it validates what we’ve always believed: when we come together as a community to support youth literacy, we’re strengthening New York for all of us,” said Rebecca Cohen and Seema Aghera, the co-founders of the Brooklyn Book Bodega. “Having books in all the different spaces and places where kids spend their time is transformative. We’ve seen the impact firsthand, from mothers reconnecting with their children through reading to teachers telling us their students have become the strongest readers in their school. The Spark Prize will help us expand our outreach and programming to create more strong Brooklyn readers.”

“At the Brownsville Community Culinary Center, we know that good food can spark powerful positive changes in the health and overall well-being of people, so we are thrilled to be honored with the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize, which is rooted in the idea of sparking transformational change in communities,” said Alexis Aquino, Executive Director and Executive Chef at Brownsville Community Culinary Center. “From our culinary training program that opens career pathways, to our Food is Medicine initiative, we are excited to use the Spark Prize to expand our reach in Brownsville and increase the longevity and quality of life of our neighbors.”

“For over 50 years, CHiPS has stood as a beacon of hope at the intersection of Park Slope and Gowanus, serving hot meals and providing shelter to our neighbors in need. This recognition from the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize will help us increase our visibility across Brooklyn and allow us to reach even more New Yorkers facing food insecurity and homelessness. Our success has always come from the community – our volunteers and supporters who keep our doors open and our meals hot – and the Spark Prize strengthens our ability to continue this vital work for the next 50 years,” said Peter Endriss, Executive Director, Community Help in Park Slope (CHiPS).

“We are so honored to receive the 2025 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize. Good Call began as a hotline connecting arrested individuals to lawyers and has evolved to use technology, community engagement, and policy advocacy to advance the idea that access to justice isn’t just a privilege, but a fundamental right that everyone deserves,” said Jelani Anglin, co-founder and CEO of Good Call. “The Spark Prize will help us invest additional resources towards our goal of providing free, immediate access to legal support to empower our communities and promote a fairer justice system for all.”

“We are thrilled that Brooklyn Org has recognized the value of our work using donated corporate computers to create digital equity for low-income families across New York City. The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize will allow us to help transform the lives of moms who cannot fully access job opportunities or health care services and their kids who are forced to complete homework assignments on their phone all because they don’t have a computer in the home,” said Nigel Frankson, co-founder and Chairman of Technology for Families in Need.

About the 2025 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Recipients

Brooklyn Book Bodega was founded in 2019 to provide access to and ownership of books, build community, and create a passion for learning in Brooklyn. Their mission is to increase the number of 100+ book homes for kids 0-18 in NYC. They bring neighbors together through free events and literacy-based community programming. The organization partners with volunteers who bring books to places where they live and work and play. Brooklyn Book Bodega collaborates with local educators, city officials, and community-based organizations to ensure that literacy is layered into social and family services.

The Brownsville Community Culinary Center (BCCC) was founded in 2015 to increase access to healthy food, nutritional education, and career and personal development opportunities. The Center provides free, culinary vocational training to Brownsville residents through its culinary training program. The Center’s multi-week culinary workshops provide neighborhood youth with the opportunity to learn culinary skills alongside industry professionals. And it provides a safe, comfortable space where neighbors can access fresh, healthy, affordable, culturally relevant foods.

Community Help in Park Slope (CHiPS) was founded in 1971 as a literal “soup kitchen” serving hot soup to vulnerable residents of Park Slope/Gowanus out of a storefront on Sixth Avenue in Brooklyn. Since 1976, CHiPS has been providing a welcoming space for people experiencing food insecurity by serving hot meals at its current location on Fourth Avenue. In addition, CHiPS launched a a pantry program in 2008, and a breakfast program in 2016. All CHiPS food services maintain a policy of feeding “anyone who comes to our door”, without asking for any form of identification or “proof of need”. In 1999, CHiPS’ services expanded with the establishment of the Frances Residence, which provides fully furnished studio apartments to single, expectant and new mothers and their young children.

Good Call was founded in 2016 with the aim of leveraging technology to address the challenges faced by low-income New Yorkers in the criminal justice system. Born from extensive research and collaboration with communities heavily affected by policing, especially in Brooklyn, Good Call has become a pivotal resource. Good Call has provided access to early legal intervention for more than 10,000 individuals from marginalized communities facing excessive and unnecessary arrests and unfair treatment by the criminal justice system, dramatically impacting the trajectory of their cases and disrupting the cycle of mass incarceration.

Technology for Families in Need (TechFIN) In 2013, Shadan Deleveaux and Nigel Frankson co-founded Technology for Families in Need (TechFIN) with a vision to close the digital divide. Growing up without home computers, both experienced the challenges of limited access to technology. Later, while working in corporate environments, they saw companies upgrading employee computers every two to three years, leaving perfectly functional devices unused. This stark contrast inspired the creation of TechFIN, which has since provided thousands of refurbished computers to low-income families across New York City, empowering them with the tools needed to succeed in today’s digital age.

About the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize

The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize is named for Brooklyn Org’s mission to spark lasting social change in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Org 2025 Spark Prize cycle launched in Spring 2024 with an open call to Brooklyn nonprofits to share their history of service to Brooklyn, commitment to equity and racial justice, and vision for the future of their work in Brooklyn and beyond.

To be eligible, organizations had to have annual operating budgets above $200,000 and have been in operation for at least five years. Applications were reviewed by the Spark Prize Committee, who narrowed submissions to 20 finalists, and then chose the five winners following in-person interviews. For a full list of the 2025 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize finalists visit: brooklyn.org/article/meet-the-finalists-for-our-2025-brooklyn-org-spark-prize/