Cave Canem Wins $100,000 Spark Prize

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Cave Canem Foundation has been named a recipient of Brooklyn Community Foundation’s annual Spark Prize, a distinction that includes a grant award of $100,000 in general operating support. Now in its second year, the Spark Prize honors “outstanding organizations that stand for and build equity and strength in Brooklyn’s communities.”

Named for its mission to spark lasting change in Brooklyn, the Spark Prize provides recognition as well as meaningful support to organizations that demonstrate strong values, a commitment to equity and racial justice, and a dynamic vision for the future. “Brooklyn Community Foundation’s investment in Cave Canem is an important validation of the necessary work we do in Brooklyn and beyond to expand and democratize the field. This honor, this grant award, the largest single-year grant in Cave Canem’s history, is a game changer for our small but mighty organization,” said Nicole Sealey, executive director of Cave Canem. “Receiving the Spark Prize,” Cave Canem grants manager Isissa Komada-John said, “highlights our influence beyond the literary arts—Cave Canem is also a service and justice-oriented organization for the people of Brooklyn.”

The Spark Prize is the only honor of its kind celebrating excellence and impact in the borough’s thriving nonprofit sector. Organizations were selected from a competitive pool of over 130 applicants by a distinguished committee of 30 members representing Brooklyn’s civic, business, and philanthropic communities. Cave Canem congratulates fellow recipients of the prize: the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, Exalt Youth (exalt), GRIOT Circle, and Red Hook Initiative.

For more information about the Spark Prize, visit Brooklyn Community Foundation’s website.