Welcome
Anne Sperling, Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Committee Member
Senior Vice President For Government & Community Affairs, NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital
___
BROOKLYN ORG
SPARK BREAKFAST
March 3, 2026
Barclays Center
Special Thanks To The Scout Fund For Underwriting the Brooklyn Roasting Company Brooklyn Backs Brooklyn Blend 12oz Tin For Every Guest!
Program
Video
Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Committee: Meet The Decisionmakers
Opening Remarks
Dr. Jocelynne Rainey, President & CEO, Brooklyn Org
2026 Winner Presentation
Featuring Videos Produced by BK Reader
THE B.R.O. EXPERIENCE FOUNDATION
Juan Mejia, President, NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital
Presenting The Award
James Jefferson, Program Participant
Accepting The Award
ASIYAH WOMEN’S CENTER
Tamika Matheson, Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Committee Member
Presenting The Award
Soraya, Former Resident
Accepting The Award
BLACK TRANS FEMMES IN THE ARTS
Salvador Muñoz, Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Committee Member
Presenting The Award
N'yomi Stewart, BTFA’s 2024-25 Artist in Residence and 2024 Rising Star Award Winner
Accepting The Award
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY OVERSIGHT PROJECT
Sophie Lippincott Ferrer, Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Committee Member
Presenting The Award
Marwa Sayed, Legal Fellow and Former Legal Intern
Accepting The Award
YVOTE
Lindsay Pizzi, Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Committee Member
Presenting The Award
Ariel Segura, Participant and Youth Leader
Accepting The Award
Closing Remarks
Hilary Ley Jager
Vice Chair, Brooklyn Org Board of Directors
Alexis Aquino
2025 Winner, Brownsville Community Culinary Center
Dr. Jocelynne Rainey
President & CEO, Brooklyn Org
Support The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize
Volunteer With The 2026 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Winners - Sat. April 25th!
Join BKO and our community partners across the borough — including this year's Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Winners — at multiple family-friendly volunteer sites throughout the day. You’ll get to learn about the day-to-day work of amazing Brooklyn nonprofits and lend a helping hand.
BROOKLYN ORG SPARK PRIZE
The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize is named for our mission to spark lasting social change. Launched in 2016, the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize awards unrestricted grants of $100,000 to five pioneering nonprofits committed to racial and social justice with deep roots in our borough. With the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize, we elevate exceptional yet under-the-radar organizations, while emphasizing the need to provide general operating support that gives nonprofits the flexible resources required to serve their communities and grow.
The 2026 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize cycle launched in Spring 2025 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. Applications were reviewed by the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Committee, who narrowed submissions to 20 finalists, and then chose the five winners following in-person interviews.
2026 Winners
Asiyah Women’s Center
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
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, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (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
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
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.
2026 Finalists
The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize has invested over $5 million to date in 45 winners and 180 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.
See This Year's Finalists
- Accompany Capital
- Brooklyn Arts Council
- Brooklyn Debate League
- Center for NuLeadership on Human Justice and Healing
- Emma’s Torch
- Flatbush Development Corporation
- Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy
- IMPACCT Brooklyn
- Little Essentials
- Neighbors Helping Neighbors
- Oko Urban Farms
- Read 718
- Red Hook Art Project
- Street Vendor Project
- The Children’s Law Center
2025-26 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize Committee
The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize would also not be possible without the time and dedication our Spark Prize Committee put into selecting this year’s winners.
About the Committee Members
Lisa Cohen
Founding Partner, Schindler Cohen & Hochman LLP
Brooke Safford Cohen
Founder, BES Dwellings
Isabel Cristo
Writer and Journalist
Bethany D’Meza
Fashion Stylist, Investor and Fundraiser
Kenneth Ebie
Founder and Principal, Ebie Strategies
Sophie Lippincott Ferrer
Education Strategy Consultant
Amy Freesun
Interpretation Specialist
Lillian Goldenthal
Community Member
David Golub
Founder, Agentic Foundry
Helen Hadzismajlovic
Small Business Owner and Hairdresser, Bee + Malu Salon
Erica Hamilton
CEO & Founder
Meredith Hostetter
Clinical Psychologist
Melissa Jamal
Lawyer and Educator
Lauretta Joseph
Advocate
Deitra Mara
Strategy and Operations Consultant
Alison Maschmeyer
Community Activist/Philanthropist
Tamika Matheson
Founding Principal, Frederick Douglass Academy VII High School
Lindsay McCann
Nonprofit Consultant
Salvador Muñoz
Vice President of Programs and Strategy, Open House New York
Robyne Walker Murphy
Arts and Culture Strategist
Amanda Sue Nichols
Attorney and Philanthropist
Angela Outlaw-Matheny
Sr. Executive Manager, Research and Investments; Pivotal Advisors
Lindsay Pizzi
Community Member
Melissa J. Prober
Attorney
Jenna Shapiro
Partner, Women’s Brain Trust
Harry Schiffman
LMSW
Esmeralda Simmons
Esq.
Anne Sperling
Senior Vice President, Government and Community Affairs, NewYork-Presbyterian
Karen St. Hilaire
Chief of Staff at NYC DSS
Laurie Tamis
Non-Profit Advisor
Seble Tareke-Williams
Principal, Marchtree Group
Adrian Techeira
Community Member
Marc Wancer
Principal, School Investments at Equitable Facilities Fund
Jackie Wilson
Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, BSE
Jessica Yager
Senior Director, Housing Justice Initiatives at the Center for Justice Innovation
Selin Zalma
Senior Partner and Managing Director at BCG
Follow + Tag Brooklyn Org On Instagram!
The Foundation of Our Future
Brooklyn Org is a champion for Brooklyn. We celebrate Brooklyn’s brilliance and resilience, its incomparable culture and uncompromising grit – and we demand more for our communities. Building on the “big idea” born 15 years ago as Brooklyn Community Foundation, we are bringing together Brooklynites, Brooklyn backers, businesses, and broader believers in equity and justice to make Brooklyn a beacon for the world.
