Morningside is a Spark Prize Finalist!
We are honored that the Brooklyn Community Foundation has picked Morningside as a finalist for the Spark Prize. See the latest update.
I am excited to report that Morningside has just been selected as a finalist for the Spark Prize.
The prize, a project of the Brooklyn Community Foundation, is awarded to organizations that have demonstrated a “commitment to equity and racial justice, track record of impact in Brooklyn, strong institutional values, and a dynamic vision for the future of their organization.”
That we are in the running for this highly competitive prize warms my Brooklyn-born heart! Brooklyn is still my home, as it is for many staff and board members – as well as donors.
PAZ After School Program, Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Born in Brooklyn
Morningside’s work was born in Brooklyn too – starting in 1985, when we partnered with some courageous Brooklyn schools to foster “peace education.”
A few years later, we established a decades-long bond with Sunset Park’s PS 24, where we collaborated with principal Christina Fuentes (now our Board chair) to make that school a model of whole-school social and emotional learning, equity, and youth empowerment. We are still there.
i3 Project: Brooklyn principals, along with
our staff and Rutgers researchers.
Today, we are partnering with Brooklyn’s District 19 to roll out, and study, our comprehensive approach for “Whole School Racial Equity,” developed through a federal Investing in Innovation (i3) research grant.
Matching Grant Award
Those who win the prize receive a $100,000 grant – an amazing commitment by the Brooklyn Community Foundation to justice and an equitable future. The foundation awards the prize not only to recognize important work, but to raise additional funds to support the work of both prize winners and finalists.
As a finalist, we will receive a matching grant of $5,000 from the foundation – if we can raise the matching funds from generous donors. We want to use this matching grant to build the capacity of NYC students and teachers to confront the twin pandemics of Covid and racism.
We’ll need your help with this - and we'll keep you posted on how you can take us over the top!
Gratitude
Meanwhile, we send our deep gratitude to the Brooklyn Community Foundation – and to you for being part of our Morningside Center community.
