Brooklyn Paper: Five Nonprofits Recognized For Racial Justice Work With Brooklyn Org’s Spark Prize

Published In: Brooklyn Paper

Five local nonprofits were honored this week at the 2025 Brooklyn Org Spark Breakfast for their outstanding contributions to advancing racial justice in New York City’s biggest borough.

The event, held for the first time at Barclays Center, served as a platform to celebrate the chosen organizations’ impact on their communities and highlight the essential role nonprofits play in addressing systemic inequality.

Each winner was presented with a $100,000 grant, no strings attached, to support their ongoing work — work Brooklyn Org President and CEO Jocelynne Rainey said “embodies the greatness of Brooklyn” at a particularly crucial time.

“At a time when nonprofits have been rocked by federal funding freezes, rescinded government grants, and an onslaught of executive orders and legislation threatening our capacity to provide essential services to children, families, and older adults, these five nonprofits represent the values that unite us as Brooklynites,” Rainey said in a statement. “Diversity, inclusivity, equity, justice, belonging, compassion.”

“Brooklyn Org is proud to honor these organizations as a sign of our unwavering commitment to supporting our Brooklyn community and the nonprofits that are the backbones of our neighborhoods,” she went on.

This year’s honorees included:

Brooklyn Book Bodega

Founded in 2019, Brooklyn Book Bodega aims to provide access to and ownership of books for children and families across the city. Their mission is to create 100+ book homes for kids aged 0-18 in New York City. Through free literacy-based community programming and volunteer efforts, they bring books to local neighborhoods and collaborate with educators, city officials, and community organizations to ensure that literacy is integrated into social and family services.

“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, 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 the organization expand its outreach and programming, they said.

Brownsville Community Culinary Center

Since its founding in 2015, the Brownsville Community Culinary Center has worked to increase access to healthy food and provide culinary vocational training to residents of Brownsville. Their multi-week culinary workshops help neighborhood youth learn valuable skills while working alongside industry professionals. The Center also offers fresh, affordable, and culturally relevant foods to the community, creating a space for both nourishment and personal development.

The Spark Prize comes at a crucial time for the organization, which last year launched a funding push to stay afloat.

“After COVID we got hit and we were unable to recover for a variety of reasons,” Chairman Chris Kossifos told Brooklyn Paper in January 2024.

Without proper funding, Kossifos said certain perks like the diabetes wellness program could be cut altogether. “That’s a program that we don’t want to see go and it’s helped so many people,” he said. “In fact, it’s helping them today. It’s helping them every single day.”

In a statement, Executive Director and Executive Chef Alexis Aquino said BCCC will use the Spark Prize to expand its reach in Brownsville, “and increase the longevity and quality of life of our neighbors.”

Community Help in Park Slope (CHiPS)

Founded in 1971, CHiPS began as a soup kitchen serving hot meals to residents of Park Slope and Gowanus. Since then, it’s grown to include pantry and breakfast programs, as well as the Frances Residence, a supportive housing initiative for single, expectant, and new mothers. CHiPS remains committed to serving “anyone who comes to our door,” ensuring that no one is turned away due to their circumstances.

“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,” said CHiPS Executive Director Peter Endriss. “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.”

Last May, the organization expanded its mobile food pantry program with funding from U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman.

Good Call

Founded in 2016, Good Call leverages technology to address the challenges faced by low-income New Yorkers navigating the criminal justice system. With a focus on early legal intervention, Good Call has provided critical support to over 10,000 individuals from marginalized communities, helping to reduce arrests and disrupt the cycle of mass incarceration. Their work continues to challenge systemic inequities and ensure fairer treatment for Brooklyn residents.

The group’s co-founder and CEO, Jelani Anglin, recalled its humble beginnings as a hotline for those looking for legal representation.

“[It] 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,” Anglin said in a statement. “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.”

Technology for Families in Need (TechFIN)

TechFIN, founded in 2013 by Shadan Deleveaux and Nigel Frankson, aims to close the digital divide by providing low-income families across New York City with refurbished computers. By repurposing unused technology from corporate environments, TechFIN has empowered thousands of families with the tools needed to succeed in an increasingly digital world, ensuring equal access to education, job opportunities, and more.

“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,” said Nigel Frankson, co-founder and Chairman of TechFIN. “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.”