Charity Guide: Where to Donate Time, Money and Goods in Brooklyn
The holiday season and the end of the year are here, and there’s no better time to consider charitable donations.
Dozens of nonprofits are making a difference in Brooklyn and they need your help. We’ve compiled a list of organizations worthy of your attention.
They span a wide spectrum of causes, including the arts, families and children, the environment and civil rights. All aim to make life better in Brooklyn.
Most of the charities and nonprofits on our list are headquartered here; a few are New York City or national organizations with outposts or projects in Brooklyn.
Some need volunteers, others donations of goods. All can use donations of money.
Brooklyn-Based Charities and Nonprofits
Arab American Family Support Center
The Arab-American Family Support Center helps Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian immigrants throughout the five boroughs with legal services, adult education, health and other programs. The nonprofit aims to create “an environment of tolerance and understanding for all nationalities and beliefs.”
Boys Hope Girls Hope of New York
Boys Hope Girls Hope of New York helps academically capable and motivated children from at-risk backgrounds by offering academic support and guidance to finish high school, graduate from college, and become responsible and productive citizens.
Brooklyn Animal Action helps spay and neuter feral cats and finds homes for adoptable animals.
The Brooklyn Arts Council showcases and promotes the work of Brooklyn artists and cultural groups, produces free arts events, trains artists and students, and provides grants.
BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) is a multi-arts performance center that for more than 150 years has been the home for adventurous artists, audiences, and ideas relevant to global and local communities. BAM showcases new and established artists.
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation is the nation’s first community development organization. It partners with area residents and businesses to improve the quality of life in Central Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy
The Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy puts on cultural events in Brooklyn Bridge Park such as live music and free movies.
The Brooklyn Children’s Museum was the first museum created expressly for children when it was founded in 1899. It offers programs and exhibits that focus on the natural sciences, technology, and cultural awareness.
The Brooklyn Greenway initiative advocates for the completion and maintenance of the full 14 miles of the Brooklyn Greenway. The Greenway is a trail for biking, walking and running that hugs the Brooklyn shoreline of the East River.
Brooklyn Community Pride Center
The Brooklyn Community Pride Center provides services and support to the borough’s LGBT community and supporters through partnerships and original programming, including meetups and support groups.
Brooklyn Community Services gives aid and services, such as early childhood education and employment training for people with disabilities, to at-risk children, families, and adults with mental illness or developmental disabilities.
The Brooklyn Kindergarten Society offers early childhood education for low-income families.
Founded in 1881, the Brooklyn Historical Society maintains an extensive archive of historic documents and hosts exhibits and events related to Brooklyn history and culture.
Brooklyn Information and Culture
BRIC produces Brooklyn-related television, video and events. Its programming presents artists and media-makers who reflect the diversity of the borough. It also offers low-cost video and photography classes.
Brownstoners of Bedford Stuyvesant
Founded in 1978, Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant Inc. works to preserve and improve the community with its annual house tour, scholarships for college students, voter registration drives, and tax and water lien outreach project.
The NAACP is the nation’s oldest civil rights organization.
Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens
The 115-year-old Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens sponsors more than 160 programs and services for children, adults and seniors, persons with developmental disabilities, the mentally ill and the isolated.
CAMBA is a nonprofit that helps low and middle income Brooklynites find affordable housing, seek out legal services and find work.
Center for Anti-Violence Education
The Center for Anti-Violence Education strives to break cycles of violence through education, physical empowerment and the development of leadership skills in communities.
Center for Family Life — Sunset Park
The 100-year-old Center for Family Life provides family counseling, foster care and emergency help to the families of Sunset Park.Â
The Family Center’s mission is to strengthen families affected by crisis, illness or loss to create a more secure present and future for their children by providing social, legal and health-care services.
The Fifth Avenue Committee seeks to bring about economic and social justice in South Brooklyn by developing and managing affordable housing and community facilities, creating economic opportunities, organizing residents and workers, providing student-centered adult education, and combating displacement caused by gentrification.
The Hope Program strives to empower Brooklynites living in poverty to achieve success through economic independence and employment.
Legal Information for Families Today
Legal Information for Families Today helps children and families by providing legal information, community education and guidance, while promoting system-wide reform of the courts and public agencies.
Little Essentials improves the health, safety and well-being of children living in poverty by providing urgently needed resources and parenting education to families in crisis. The organization was born in Brooklyn and has helped over 23,000 children in need.
Founded in 1987, the Prospect Park Alliance preserves and maintains Prospect Park. It also puts on cultural programming in the park, including the park’s year-long celebration of its 150th anniversary in 2017.
Pioneer Works is a gallery, performance space and garden that offers studio space and residencies to artists. It hosts educational programs, performances and exhibitions. The space is free to the public Wednesday through Sunday.
Make the Road New York seeks to build the power of Latino and working class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation and educational services in Bushwick and beyond.
Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City is a community-based organization with a focus on the following neighborhoods: Bedford Stuyvesant, East Flatbush, North Bronx, Northern Queens and South Bronx. It seeks to improve the lives and economic outlooks of New York’s communities by providing the education and support needed to buy and keep a home in New York City.
The Red Hook Initiative seeks to create social change to overcome systemic inequities, starting with helping the neighborhood’s young people in their pursuit of education.
The Weeksville Heritage Center is Brooklyn’s largest African-American cultural institution. The multidisciplinary museum hosts frequent performances, house tours and gallery exhibitions. It preserves the history of the 19th-century African American community of Weeksville, one of America’s first free black communities.
Charities and Nonprofits Based in New York City
AHRC New York City offers a wide array of services, including workshops, schools, residences and support systems, to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout the five boroughs.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC
Since 1904, Big Brothers Big Sisters offers strong mentoring relationships to children in New York City who are faced with adversity.
GrowNYC runs the Grand Army Plaza greenmarket, is a resource for community gardens, offers environmental education, and promotes recycling.
Housing Works serves the community of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. The charity’s stated mission is to end the dual crises of homelessness and AIDS through relentless advocacy and sustainable resources such as wellness programs and youth services.
The Legal Aid Society, founded in 1876, provides quality legal representation to low-income New Yorkers.
The New York Immigration Coalition
The New York Immigration Coalition coordinates and advocates for New York’s diverse immigrant communities. Projects include voter registration and legal education.
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
The New York Lawyers for the Public Interest puts its legal, policy and community organizing expertise at the service of New York City communities and individuals. Founded in 1976, it serves the legal needs of underserved and underrepresented New York communities, including pro bono work.
Transportation Alternatives promotes bicycling, walking and public transit and discourages the use of cars.
WNYC, one of the oldest radio stations in New York City, provides public radio content with 100 hours a week of original programming.
National Charities and Nonprofits
The American Civil Liberties Union works to preserve First Amendment Rights, rights to equal protection, rights to due process, and privacy rights.
The American Red Cross is a charity that provides aid in emergencies. Each year victims of roughly 70,000 disasters receive aid from the more than half a million volunteers and 35,000 employees of the Red Cross in the U.S.
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation defends civil liberties in the digital world and promotes net neutrality.
Madison Square Boys and Girls Club
The mission of Madison Square Boys & Girls Club is to improve the lives of New York City’s youth by providing services and programs including sports and performance art. Its Brooklyn chapter has operated in Flatbush for decades.
Planned Parenthood’s mission is to empower individuals to make independent, informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive lives. It provides information and healthcare, and promotes public policies that makes those services available to everyone.
ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.
The nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center fights hate and bigotry and seeks justice for the most vulnerable members of our society through both education and litigation.
United Way of New York City aims to improve the lives of low-income New Yorkers with a focus on income stability, health and education.
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