Brooklyn Arts Council
The Brooklyn Arts Council is a New York City-based nonprofit that specializes in funding and supporting the arts in Brooklyn. While the group does mostly fund artists, it does occasionally fund activist groups that produce arts such as a 2021 mural painted by the left-of-center criminal justice policy group Youth Justice Network. 1
Contents
The Creative Equations Fund is one of the group’s grant programs, which funds artists and others who work on left-of-center ideas of “social justice” and guided by the values of “justice, equity, and sustainability.” 2
Background
A group of Brooklyn residents founded the Brooklyn Arts Council in 1966. In 1980, the group began making grants on behalf of the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. In 1986, the group adopted its current name. 3
Grant Programs
The Brooklyn Arts Council has three grant programs: the Creative Equations Fund, the Brooklyn Arts Fund, and Local Arts Support. 4
The Creative Equations Fund funds arts that reflect left-of-center views on “social justice.” The program adopts the far-left view of “intersectionality” and driven by the values of “justice, equity, and sustainability.” The Howard Gilman Foundation and Mertz Gilmore Foundation fund the program. 2
The Brooklyn Arts Fund awards grants to artists working in Brooklyn and connects them with mentors and training. The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs funds the program. 5
The Local Arts Support funds local arts projects that engage the community. The New York State Council on the Arts funds the program. 6
Antiracism
In June 2020, the Brooklyn Arts Council adopted the far-left critical race theory inspired worldview of “antiracism.” The group announced that it was going to “amplify and ameliorate the issues of injustice, inequity, and entrenched institutional racism” and not perpetuate systems of oppression and exclusion. The group committed to increase grants to non-white artists and incorporate more non-whites on its staff. 7
Advocacy Grants
Youth Justice Network
In 2021, the Brooklyn Arts Council awarded a grant to the left-of-center criminal justice policy group Youth Justice Network to help young people released from jail paint murals of famous people. The first mural was of Fred Hampton, the Illinois chairman of the Black Panther Party. 1
Art and Resistance Through Education (ARTE)
In 2022, the Brooklyn Arts Council awarded a grant to Art and Resistance Through Education through the Brooklyn Arts Fund to promote how human rights issues affect people through the combination of art and activism. 8
Arts & Democracy
In 2022, the Brooklyn Arts Council awarded a grant to Arts and Democracy through the Creative Equations Fund to advance left-of-center viewpoints on economic and social justice through art. 9
Cart Collective-Ganja War Veterans for Equity
In 2022, the Brooklyn Arts Council awarded a grant to Cart Collective-Ganja War Veterans for Equity through the Creative Equations Fund to help Brooklyn illegal marijuana dealers enter the legal marijuana market. 10
Gung Ho Projects
In 2022, the Brooklyn Arts Council awarded a grant to Gung Ho Projects through the Creative Equations Fund and Local Arts Support to produce a film project advocating for more liberal immigration laws. 11
The Free Black Women’s Library
In 2022, the Brooklyn Arts Council awarded a grant to the self-described “anti capitalist, anti racist and anti sexist” group The Free Black Women’s Library through the Brooklyn Arts Fund. The Free Black Women’s Library contains over four thousand books by Black women and features film screenings and other events. 12
Theater In Asylum
In 2022, the Brooklyn Arts Council awarded a grant to Theater In Asylum through the Brooklyn Arts Fund for the FTP Cabaret, which is a performance celebrating the New Deal-era Federal Theatre Project. The Federal Theatre Project put thousands of theater artists back to work between 1935-1939. The performance also featured a discussion about a modern version of the program. 13
Unheard-Of Ensemble
In 2022, the Brooklyn Arts Council awarded a grant to the Unheard-Of Ensemble through the Brooklyn Arts Fund for a performance advocating for more government action fighting climate change. 14
Womxn’s Tango Collective
In 2022, the Brooklyn Arts Council awarded a grant to the Womxn’s Tango Collective through the Brooklyn Arts Fund for the La Nuestra Tango Festival push back against the “gender inequality and oppressive norms” in tango. The festival featured an all-female tango orchestra. 15
Oye Group
In 2022, the Brooklyn Arts Council awarded a grant to the Oye Group through the Creative Equations Fund to produce productions to promote left-of-center views on “immigration, racism, income inequality gentrification and displacement.” 16
Leadership
The Brooklyn Arts Council’s executive director is Rasu Jilani. He was previously the cultural network curator at the Lambert Foundation. 17
Toni Yuille Williams is the chair of the board of directors. 17
Donors
The Brooklyn Arts Council receives money from both governments and private companies and foundations. 18
The government agencies which support the group are the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department for the Aging, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, New York State Education Department, and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. 18
The private companies and foundations which support the group are American Immigration Council, Rose Badgeley Charitable Trust, Bloomberg, Brookfield Properties, Brooklyn Brewery, City Point, Con Edison, Damascus Bakery, Fulton Street Property, Howard Gilman Foundation, Hyde and Watson Foundation, Kettering Foundation, Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, New York Community Trust, Henry Nias Foundation, NYC and Company Foundation, Scherman Foundation, Sudarsky Family Foundation, TD Bank, Tiger Baron Foundation, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, and H.W. Wilson Foundation. 18
Financials
According to the Brooklyn Arts Council’s 2022 tax return, the group had $3,833,843 in revenue, $4,127,616 in expenses, and $3,044,754 in assets. 19
Financial Statistics
Total Assets
Total Revenue
Total Expenses
| Year | Total Assets | Total Revenue | Total Expenses | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $2,145,801 | $4,308,333 | $5,067,937 | View |
| 2022 | $3,044,754 | $3,833,843 | $4,127,616 | View |
| 2021 | $3,792,186 | $4,166,214 | $2,996,750 | View |
| 2020 | $2,393,675 | $2,796,950 | $3,073,291 | View |
| 2019 | $2,188,763 | $3,683,604 | $3,264,459 | View |
Prior year filings: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011
Revenue Detail
Expenses Detail
Employee Compensation
- Number of Employees: 90
Highest Earning Employees
| Employee | Title | Total Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte Cohen | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (THROUGH 8/22) | $172,061 |
| Jilian Gersten | DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR | $138,085 |
Grant Activity
All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:
- Total Grant Value: $7,901,211
- Number of Grants: 268
- Number of Funders: 95
Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:
All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:
- Total Grant Value: $916,859
- Number of Grants: 102
- Number of Recipients: 69
Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years: