Brooklyn Org Reveals Winners of the 2026 Spark Prize Honoring Five Trailblazing Nonprofits

Brooklyn Org today announced the five winners of the 2026 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize presented by NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, which celebrates exceptional nonprofits across the borough. Each organization will receive a $100,000, no‑strings‑attached grant in recognition of their work to improve the lives of Brooklynites and be recognized at the Brooklyn Org Spark Breakfast on March 3, 2026 at the Barclays Center.

At a time of unprecedented cuts in federal funding and challenges for Brooklyn’s communities, the 2026 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize winners are empowering and protecting Brooklynites by supporting survivors of domestic violence, investing in the emotional development of young men of color, uplifting trans performing artists, protecting civil rights, and helping young people take the lead in democratic and civic engagement.

The 2026 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize winners are:

• Asiyah Women’s Center— Provides emergency shelter, advocacy, and mental health and housing support for survivors of domestic violence from Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian communities in Brooklyn. The center delivers culturally sensitive survivor-led care using a model built on community trust, partnerships with local mosques and organizers, and pathways that help families move from crisis to safety, healing, and leadership.

• Black Trans Femmes in the Arts (BTFA) — Supports Black trans femme artists in Brooklyn through community-led programming, event production, and mutual aid that meet both creative and material needs. By offering residencies, emergency grants, free studio space, and public platforms for performance and storytelling—from ballroom events to a hit YouTube series—BTFA invests directly in artists and the sustainability of their creative lives.

• Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) — Founded in Brooklyn in 2019, S.T.O.P. protects civil rights by confronting the expansion of discriminatory surveillance technologies, like facial recognition tools, that threaten privacy and deepen racial and religious profiling of overpoliced communities. As a leading advocacy organization and legal services provider, S.T.O.P pairs community-led digital safety trainings with litigation, research, and policy advocacy to equip communities across Brooklyn and beyond with tools to protect their rights and drive systemic change.

• The B.R.O. Experience Foundation — Offers trauma-informed mentorship and healing programs that help Black and Latino young men in Bed-Stuy, Brownsville, and Bushwick build emotional resilience and leadership skills. Through summer camps, rites of passage groups, fatherhood workshops, and facilitated spaces for reflection and connection, The B.R.O. Experience Foundation supports young people in building coping skills, stronger relationships, and a sense of purpose.
• YVote — Builds pathways for young people to actively shape democracy through peer-led, issue-driven civic engagement led by students and educators. Founded in Brooklyn in 2017, YVote works in high schools across the borough to equip the next generation of civic leaders with real-world organizing and leadership experience through voter registration drives, participatory budgeting campaigns, and school-based civic clubs.

Tickets for the Brooklyn Org Spark Breakfast are now on sale at brooklyn.org/spark.

Launched in 2016, the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize has invested over $5 million in pioneering local nonprofits,providing unrestricted general operating support so organizations have the flexibility to serve their communities and grow. Winners are selected by a committee of leaders from Brooklyn’s civic, business, and philanthropic sectors following application review and interviews.

“This year’s Brooklyn Org Spark Prize winners reflect the ingenuity and determination to overcome every challenging moment that define what makes Brooklyn great. From expanding safety and dignity for Muslim women to elevating youth civic leadership and protecting communities from harmful surveillance, these organizations are moving our borough toward lasting equity,” said Jocelynne Rainey, president and CEO of Brooklyn Org.

“As long-standing supporters of Brooklyn Org and its mission to spark lasting social change and transform community-led philanthropy, we are proud to celebrate this year’s Spark Prize winners and the crucial work they are doing for our Brooklyn community,” said Juan Mejia, president, NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.

“When we started Asiyah Women’s Center seven years ago, we used our savings to rent a single apartment to give women survivors of domestic violence a safe space. Today we serve more than 35 women and their children at four locations, providing legal support, counseling, and economic empowerment. The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize will help us start to build more housing and a permanent wellness center for women in Brooklyn,” said Dania Darwish, founder and executive director of Asiyah Women’s Center.

“We are building infrastructure where Black trans femme artists own the means of production and care. With Brooklyn Org’s support, we will grow BTFA Studios into a full‑scale production hub and strengthen our residency so our artists can make work, make history and make a living,” said Jordyn Jay, founder, Black Trans Femmes in the Arts.

“Privacy is a fundamental right for people living in every neighborhood in Brooklyn, but our communities of color bear the overwhelming brunt of discriminatory surveillance. The funding provided by the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize will allow S.T.O.P. to scale up our community trainings and strategic litigation to help Brooklyn communities protect privacy, increase government transparency, and limit the NYPD’s use of invasive technology,” said Michelle Dahl, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.).

“Our Boys deserve safe wellness spaces where they foster authenticity, bravery, and connection. At the B.R.O. Experience we help young men of color learn how to emotionally regulate so they live healthy lives. The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize will help us reach more than 2,000 young men each year, expand our BRO Space Wellness Center, and launch our digital bewellbro.org, bringing mentors to young men of color in communities across the borough,” said Barry Cooper, founder, The B.R.O. Experience Foundation.

“YVote was founded by young people who were frustrated and decided to do something about it by creating an organization that meets their needs politically, socially, and civically. YVote helps young people move from learning to leading, so The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize will help us expand civic clubs in schools and launch new internships so Brooklyn teens can shape policy, run campaigns and vote with power,” said Randy Frazer, Executive Director, YVote.