Happy New Year! The B.R.O. Experience’s 2023 in Review
Hello, amazing people.
Well, here we are at the end of 2023. There’s so much going on in the world it can often feel like just too much. One thing we’re grateful for is the rising awareness and action to protect the mental health of young men of color. The world is waking up to the fact that this work benefits racial equity, gender equity, community strength, and economic empowerment. Each year we strive to play our part in this growing movement.
Thank you for reading as we share highlights from an intense and productive year.
Constantly Growing Programming
In 2023 we worked hard to deliver innovative, high-quality programming to Brooklyn youth. Little BRO Summer Camp returned this year, serving a cohort of 3rd and 4th grade boys with free urban day camp. Look for an even bigger and better camp this coming summer.
Our Rites of Passage high school program expanded to include a new cohort of incoming freshmen and is on its way to being a full four-year curriculum. That means for this academic year we’ll have 41 young men across our 9th and 11th grade cohorts at Frederick Douglass Academy in Brownsville.
And this year we worked hard developing a new curriculum, The BRO Project, a one-year transformational program that will be headquartered at The BRO Space. Stay tuned for the official launch of The BRO Project.
Our Extraordinary Men Awards fundraiser at The B.R.O. Space this month
Bringing People Together
We also produced a robust calendar of events bringing together amazing people on key issues.
The “I Hear You, Bro” Middle School Summit was a collaboration with District 16 Middle School and The My Brother's Keeper Alliance/Obama Foundation. Check out the photos of the young men translating their emotions into colors.
The Men to Health event was a night of speakers, performers, and service providers shedding light on the struggles and opportunities of mental wellness for men of color.
Our recent Legislative Breakfast convened policymakers, elected officials, and experts to exchange learnings on how to rally resources for equitable community care.
And we’re still glowing from the Extraordinary Men Awards this month that honored some of our bravest trailblazers in Black excellence. A deep thank you to everyone who attended and shared their love. Here’s a batch of great photos from the event.
Building Our Ship
Launching a new nonprofit is hard. We were struck recently by a study that found Black-led nonprofits that serve Black boys receive 45% less funding than similar orgs with white leaders (Echoing Green & The Bridgespan Group).
But here, in our third year, we know we’re making substantial progress. We serve more young men with each passing season. We continue to earn the trust and support of community members who contribute their valuable money and time. Our local elected officials continue investing in our work (with a special thank you to State Assemblywoman Stefani Zinerman for her ongoing trust and support).
And we’re humbled and energized to announce that we were just approved for our second year of funding from The Pinkerton Foundation, one of NYC’s most venerable philanthropies supporting youth outside the classroom. Thank you, Pinkerton!
In 2023 we applied to more grants and fellowships than ever before (these included The David Prize, Echoing Green, The New York Community Trust, NBC/Universal, The Venable Foundation, Arbor Rising, The Just Brooklyn Prize, and the Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Grant). Along the way we benefited from the guidance of nonprofit consultancy Cause Effective, thanks to an initiative of The Atlas Innovation Fund and The United Way. Wish us luck!
And finally, if having our Instagram hacked is any sign of progress – we reached that milestone too. 🤨
Join the Cause
Please know that we can’t do this work without you, our community. For those of you who are already donors, we thank you profoundly. Please consider if you can make an additional end-of-year gift. For those who have yet to contribute, please become a recurring donor. This generosity builds our impact capacity, and it shows the world that the community wants us here. Whether it’s $10 or $100 a month, it truly means so much.
Words from Barry
And lastly, absolutely none of this would be happening if not for the constant efforts of Coach Coop. The level of dedication Barry invests, month after month, is nothing short of heroic. Despite juggling other education contracts (not to mention his amazing family and two-year-old August) Barry has maintained an unwavering dedication to The B.R.O. Experience.
We’d like to share some recent words of reflection from Barry:
“Here in my community, New York is forever willing to have the conversations to include people in the journey of excellence. This is a place with so many bright minds creating social impact, so many businesses building connection with community. But I also see our young men of color facing tremendous obstacles. They’re often treated as trespassers outside the doors of opportunity. They’re taught not to see themselves in the positive New York equation.
The B.R.O. Experience pushes to be a proactive preventative organization that supports the evolution and elevation of Black men’s consciousness so they can be better fathers and community members.
New York has been doing some genuinely innovative things to reduce violence by supporting young men with a range of initiatives and organizations. But the vast majority continue to only focus on youth when they hit a crisis point. The B.R.O. Experience stands out for the unique way we offer support to young men who may be at risk of violence. All of our services are rooted in Cognitive Behavioral and Social Emotional approaches designed to counteract the trauma that our young men receive in nearly all aspects of their human experience.
We build this culture of care by cultivating spaces of personal wellness, building sustainable relationships with others doing impactful work, and exposing our young men to the goodness of their community. Creating spaces for young men will be what helps raise New York to the next level.”
We thank each and every one of you for caring about this work and making the world brighter. We wish you a beautiful end of 2023, and a warm and hopeful new year.
With love,
–The B.R.O. Experience team