Groundswell is a 2022 Spark Prize Award Winner!!

It was announced today by the Brooklyn Community Foundation that Groundswell is one of five recipients chosen to receive their $100,000 Spark Prize, the only award of it’s kind honoring long-standing nonprofits that have “sparked change” across Brooklyn. Groundswell and the Brooklyn Community Foundation have collaborated in the past on various initiatives, programs, and murals.

Finalists and winners are chosen based upon their embodiment of the Prize’s four criteria: commitment to equity and racial justice, track record of impact in Brooklyn, strong institutional values, and a dynamic vision for the future of their organization.

Groundswell’s Executive Director, Robyne Walker Murphy said of the award,

“It is an honor to be recognized by the Brooklyn Community Foundation as a winner of the 2021-2022 Spark Prize! Groundswell takes a tremendous amount of pride in our commitment to racial justice and our deep roots here in Brooklyn. This award is reflective of the incredible communities that are at the heart and soul of our work: Artists, Young People, and Community members–they have collectively changed the physical landscape of Brooklyn with works of public art that inspire, challenge and, ultimately, “Spark Change”. Heartfelt thanks to the Spark Prize Committee and to all our supporters! Special thanks to Team Groundswell, through your dedication, flexibility, creativity and innovative thinking, we have been able to weather the storm and meet the needs of our community by creating strategic access to the arts for healing and transformation.”

Throughout the last 25 years in New York City, Groundswell has partnered with over 825 community organizations, to service more than 6,800 youth, engaged over 50,000 members of various communities, and produce 253,700 square feet of public art (the size of four football fields).

Congratulations to our fellow recipients - Arab American Association of New York, Black Women's Blueprint, Brooklyn Movement Center, and Weeksville Heritage Center - and thank you to the Brooklyn Community Foundation as well as the 2021-2022 Spark Prize Committee for the incredible honor.