Inside Philanthropy: Communities Already Know What They Need. Philanthropy Should Listen.

Published In: Inside Philanthropy

For decades, philanthropy has decided what communities need without asking them. Decisions about priorities and investments have often been made without meaningful input from the people they are intended to serve. Too often, the people closest to the challenges are the furthest from the decisions.

That reality has shaped my work as president and CEO of Brooklyn Org, New York City’s only public foundation solely dedicated to Brooklyn. In 2023, we rebranded as Brooklyn Org, leaving our old name — Brooklyn Community Foundation — behind. The move away from the word “foundation” was intentional. It was a signal to our communities that we are not what comes to mind when one thinks of philanthropy — a small group of trustees and donors making decisions. At Brooklyn Org, we see ourselves not just as a funder but as a platform for civic life — a place where residents, donors, nonprofits and businesses can come together to shape the future of their communities.

Over the last several years, we have reimagined our model and spent countless hours in neighborhoods across Brooklyn listening to residents, nonprofit leaders, business owners and community stakeholders. We have heard concerns about affordability, mental health, youth opportunity, housing, immigration and public safety. But we have also witnessed something equally important: Communities already possess the talent, knowledge, relationships and leadership needed to address many of these challenges.

From 2019 to 2025, community input in our grantmaking increased by nearly six-fold. Rather than deciding our priorities behind closed doors, we committed to letting the conversations we were having with communities shape our investments. In 2022, we added Listening Tours, and the themes that emerged from those conversations — from food insecurity and housing affordability to immigrant support and mental health — became the basis for new initiatives. Our Neighborhood Collective Impact Grants bring together nonprofits already doing similar work on the ground and empower them to create projects and programs that implement their own community solutions. Our microgrants program provides general operating support of up to $10,000 to small, neighborhood-based nonprofits and grassroots groups with budgets under $100,000 — organizations that are often deeply embedded in their communities but face barriers accessing traditional philanthropic funding.

A concern that arose during the pandemic and continues to surface in our conversations with residents is the rising cost of food and growing strain on working families and older adults. What we heard was significant enough to prompt us to rethink our primary issue areas. Food insecurity had not historically been a pillar of Brooklyn Org’s work the way youth, immigration or housing had been. But residents were telling us it needed to be, and we listened.

That shift led us to support organizations we hadn’t backed in the past. One example is Brooklyn Rescue Mission Urban Harvest Center, a long-time community food pantry in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Because our grantmaking was informed by what we heard on the ground, we were able to support a longstanding organization that the community knew, trusted and depended on, but larger funders had often overlooked. We began funding Brooklyn Rescue Mission during the pandemic, and with our support, the organization now serves more than 100,000 meals annually while operating a community food pantry and urban farm that helps families access healthy food close to home.

As community nonprofits continue to be stretched thin, especially given the gaps created by government cuts, philanthropy must decide whether to continue “business as usual” grantmaking or try something different. Whether in rural towns, suburban communities or major cities, communities want a greater voice in shaping the future of the places they call home. They want investments that reflect local priorities. And they want opportunities to contribute to solutions rather than simply receive them.

Here’s my message to the philanthropy community: The old model isn’t working. It’s time to rethink how decisions are made, who gets a seat at the table and what it really means to serve the community. To residents and community members: Your voices matter and organizations like ours need you on our advisory committees during the community input process and involved in every opportunity to shape the investments coming into your neighborhoods.

The strongest solutions come from within. Philanthropy’s responsibility is not to lead communities, it is to listen to them, trust them and act on what they say.

Dr. Jocelynne Rainey is President and CEO of Brooklyn Org, where she has led more than $150 million in community investments while advancing participatory philanthropy, racial justice, and equitable opportunities across Brooklyn.