Our History

Brooklyn Org’s parent institution, the Independence Community Foundation, was born during the revival of Brooklyn as a cultural, artistic, and economic powerhouse that started in the 1990’s.

When Independence Community Bank, founded in Brooklyn in 1850, went public in 1998, it set aside 8% of the value of stock sold to create a charitable arm serving Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. When the bank was purchased in 2006, the foundation’s board, under the leadership of its Chairman Alan Fishman, adopted the community foundation model focused on supporting the growing momentum of a changing Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Community Foundation (BCF) officially launched in 2009, using the bank foundation’s assets as base for grantmaking while appealing to old and new Brooklynites to increase public giving to and from the borough. BCF developed community foundation tools — a Donor Advised Fund program, strategic funding opportunities, and community engagement initiatives — to attract supporters; however, its base struggled to match the growth happening across the borough. The standard model that BCF was following did not reflect the opportunity, the need, or the ambition that defines Brooklyn today.

Following the seismic shift of the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial justice protests in response to the murder of George Floyd, BCF’s leaders embarked on a necessary evolution to yield the kind of institution that the borough has so desperately needed.  A new strategic plan and a new eye-catching brand designed by the Brooklyn-based global design firm Mother New York announced the foundation’s transformation in the fall of 2023 into Brooklyn Org.

Our unique Brooklyn-backing, market-competitive Donor Advised Fund (DAF) program has also been integral to expanding the reach of Brooklynites’ generosity. Our DAF program has reshaped what giving in Brooklyn looks like, with over $70 million in DAF-directed grants distributed over the past decade. And while our DAF holders can give wherever they choose, they can rest assured that 100% of their fund fees go right back to Brooklyn nonprofits.

We’re so proud of our work to date, but we know we’re barely scratching the surface of what Brooklyn deserves. As Brooklyn’s communities continue to grow, their needs grow too. During a time when inequity throughout the borough is unprecedented, we’re eager to tap into Brooklynites’ hunger to give back to the place we call home.