Belong Brooklyn 2025
Violence Interruption Campaign
As part of our ongoing commitment to the Brooklyn community, the Social Justice Fund is proud to reaffirm its support for local leaders and grassroots organizations through the launch of the 2025 Belong Brooklyn Initiative: The Violence Interruption Campaign. This year, we are partnering with four dedicated organizations that are actively responding to today’s urgent challenges. Each organization will receive a grant of $25,000 to continue their critical work in reducing harm, fostering safety, and strengthening community bonds.
The Belong Brooklyn Initiative was created to nurture a deep sense of belonging—both here in Brooklyn and around the world. At its core, the campaign is rooted in the belief that every person deserves to feel seen, valued, and connected. This vision is symbolized through acclaimed artist Tavares Strachan’s “You Belong Here/We Belong Here” public art installation, currently displayed outside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. The piece serves as a beacon of unity, reminding us that belonging is not only a personal need but a shared responsibility.
This year’s campaign will emphasize violence interruption, shining a light on the organizations and community leaders working every day to create pathways of peace, healing, and hope.
The supported organizations this year are:
The mission of El Puente is to inspire and nurture leadership for peace and justice, working as a human rights institution in NYC and Puerto Rico with national and international impact. El Puente creates community-led movements of self-determination through a holistic leadership and membership program model, as a high-impact youth and community development organization.
Young men and men of color have few safe spaces to express their feelings, share ideas, and cultivate character. They lack consistent access to robust and well-funded resources in the community to support their social, emotional, cultural, civic, and economic development. BRO’s mission is to build better humans by teaching and encouraging participants to be community change agents who are authentic, brave, and connected.
Elite Learners, Inc. is a community-based organization that provides athletic, educational, developmental, and mentorship programs for all ages. It has served to create a sustainable, supportive network for youth, re-entrants, families, and the entire community. We believe that providing supportive services such as these will aid in the overall improvement of life outcomes for all residents in Brownsville, East Flatbush and Prospect Lefferts Garden, as well as the neighboring Central Brooklyn communities. Ultimately, the communities benefit by an increase in education, commitment, and effectiveness.
Kings Against Violence Initiative (KAVI)
Kings Against Violence Initiative, Inc. (KAVI) is a nonprofit, youth-serving organization with a mission to prevent and eliminate interpersonal violence from the lives of young people through advocacy, peer leadership, community mobilization, and social justice. KAVI operates youth violence interventions programs in Central Brooklyn. Our programs take place in schools and hospital-based settings. We also work with a broad range of partners to do community strengthening and healing programs.