Brooklyn Public Library relies on the support of foundations to ensure we can provide high-quality free programming that is responsive to the diverse needs and interests of Brooklyn’s 2.7 million residents. Private funding is truly what allows the Library to turn a good program into a great program; it’s also what helps BPL to pilot new, innovative programs to test their efficacy before becoming part of our core offerings.
Among New York City's most democratic civic institutions and important public spaces, Brooklyn Public Library serves patrons in every Brooklyn neighborhood, providing an alternative to school, a place where children, teens and adults are surrounded by books and other resources and can follow their intuitions and interests at their own pace. For people who want to pursue knowledge alongside others, the Library offers an enormous range of programs, classes, workshops and cultural events.
Unlike coffee shops or bookstores, everything at the Library is free. People are welcome to come into the Library to sit for five minutes or all day. BPL's branches serve as cooling centers in summer and provide respite from the cold in wither. They also provide safe, welcoming and non-judgmental places that provide a multitude of entry points for engagement with the Library's many offerings.
New programs and services that have launched and been sustained thanks to the generosity of foundations include: Brainy Babies and East New York Reads literacy initiatives for children; Brooklyn Connections school partnership program; Librarians of Tomorrow and Today’s Teens, Tomorrow’s Techies teen internship programs; the tuition-free Bard at BPL associate degree program; Culture Pass providing free museum passes to library cardholders; Neighborhood Tech Help helping Brooklynites improve their digital literacy skills; Creative Aging art classes for older adults; and the expansion of the Center for Brooklyn History’s archival collections.
BPL is pleased to acknowledge the generous support of our donors:
- Altman Foundation
- Arete Foundation
- Arnhold Foundation, Inc.
- Believe in Reading
- Carmel Hill Fund
- Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust
- ELSAM Fund
- Epstein Teicher Philanthropies
- Ezra Jack Keats Foundation
- Fred L. Emerson Foundation
- George Backer Family Foundation, Inc.
- Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, Inc.
- Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation.
- J.M. Kaplan Fund
- John Pritzker Family Fund
- John Sperling Foundation
- Kingsley H. Murphy Family Foundation
- Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
- Leon Levy Foundation
- Long Ridge Foundation
- Mellon Foundation
- Michael Tuch Foundation, Inc.
- Peck Stacpoole Foundation
- Pritzker Traubert Foundation
- Reparations Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of New York
- Rose M. Badgeley Residuary Charitable Trust
- Shawn Carter Foundation
- Siegel Family Endowment
- Sills Family Foundation
- Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation
- The Aaron Copeland Fund for Music
- The Alvin and Fanny B. Thalheimer Foundation
- The Charles Hayden Foundation
- The Cowles Charitable Trust
- The Destina Foundation
- The Eisner Foundation
- The Ferriday Fund Charitable Trust
- The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
- The Harold and Colene Brown Family Foundation
- The Hearst Foundation
- The John P. and Anne Welsh McNulty Foundation
- The JPB Foundation
- The McCutchen Foundation
- The Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund
- The Mose L. Parshelsky Foundation
- The New York Community Trust
- The Picsha Foundation
- The Pine Tree Foundation of New York
- The Pinkerton Foundation
- The Robert and David Lion Gardiner Foundation
- The Steve Nash Foundation
- The Weissman Family Foundation, Inc.
- Tiger Baron Foundation
- Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Life Improvement
- Zeldin Family Foundation