Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership Awarded $100,000 Grant To Fund Outreach App
The Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership announced yesterday that it is among five community-based organizations to receive a $100,000 grant from the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS).
The SBS conducted the Neighborhood Challenge grant competition to partner community-based organizations with tech companies in developing innovative solutions that “boost neighborhoods and quality of life,” a SBS announcement explains.
Of the 40 proposals received for the competition, consisting of organizations throughout New York City, twelve finalists were selected. Each team presented a three-minute pitch to a panel of judges that included representatives from tech companies, non-profit organizations, as well as city agencies.
Each of the five winners will receive $100,000 to use toward implementing data-based solutions that address challenges in the commercial district of each of the community-based organizations.
“Great neighborhoods make a great city, and we are using technology to build vibrant neighborhoods across the five boroughs,” the Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services, Gregg Bishop, said in a statement. “These awards will empower community-based organizations to meet local needs—boosting small businesses and enhancing quality of life.”
Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership’s grant will support a program to help low-income Fort Greene and Clinton Hill residents find federal, state, and local benefits available to them. The Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership team worked with Benefit Kitchen, a Brooklyn-based financial literacy technology platform, to create an outreach app that will screen a user’s eligibility for 18 government benefits along with local promotions.
“This technology will help families struggling to meet their needs locally, by connecting them to benefits they already qualify for,” Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership Executive Director, Meredith Phillips Almeida, said in a statement.
The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and DUMBO Improvement District also received a $100,000 grant that will go toward the development of a Visitor Engagement Solution technology. Wayfinding technology will help better connect visitors to Downtown Brooklyn, as well as locals, to businesses, events, and other community initiatives via Smartphone.
The other grant winners include the Chinatown Partnership, the Long Island City Partnership, and the Rockaway Business Alliance. Congratulations to all the winners!