Brooklyn Arts Council
Brooklyn Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit intermediary that administers grants, arts education, professional development, wellness, and cultural heritage programs serving Brooklyn artists, K-12 students, seniors, and cultural entrepreneurs through institutional and government funding.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1964
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Brooklyn Arts Council does
Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC) is a Brooklyn-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in the mid-1960s that serves as a borough-wide intermediary for the arts ecosystem. The organization operates seven interconnected programs: BAC Grants (administering Brooklyn Arts Fund, the Charlene Victor & Ella J. Weiss Cultural Entrepreneur Fund, Creative Equations Fund, and Local Arts Support); Arts in Education delivering K-12 residencies and the SU-CASA creative aging program; the Brooklyn Innovation Institute for professional development of cultural entrepreneurs; the Wellness Studio for artist health; Cultural Heritage for traditional and folk artists; On-Demand Programming resources; and Arts Consultancy services to public agencies, developers, and corporate clients.
BAC's business model is a nonprofit hybrid of institutional grantmaking, government pass-through funding (NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NYSCA, NEA, NEH, IMLS), individual donations via Givelively, and modest earned revenue from event tickets and consultancy. Distribution is regional, confined to Brooklyn and New York City, and delivered through the website, the Submittable application platform, email newsletter, Instagram (@bkartscouncil), an editorial blog (Consider Culture), and on-the-ground programming at K-12 schools, older adult centers, branch libraries, and cultural venues including Weeksville Heritage Center, Hana House, and Prospect Park (via partnership with Prospect Park Alliance). Technology infrastructure is limited to off-the-shelf SaaS (Squarespace, Submittable, Givelively) with no proprietary systems.
The organization employs approximately 63 staff and is led by Executive Director Rasu Jilani. In 2025, the executive publicly acknowledged that the operating model must "change significantly" in response to federal arts funding withdrawals, and the organization is pursuing collective advocacy with other NYC borough arts councils. Recent strategic activity includes the 2024 launch of the Social Innovation Fellowship with NYSCA support and the mid-2025 relocation of headquarters from DUMBO to Downtown Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Arts Council firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Brooklyn Arts Council
- Legal name
- Brooklyn Arts Council
- Website
- https://brooklynartscouncil.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1964
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Brooklyn Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit intermediary that administers grants, arts education, professional development, wellness, and cultural heritage programs serving Brooklyn artists, K-12 students, seniors, and cultural entrepreneurs through institutional and government funding.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Brooklyn Arts Council industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Arts Nonprofit Services
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Public Art, Arts Councils & Grantmaking Programs (BPAGAHAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC), Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Cultural, Arts & Humanities Community Education (Museums/Arts Councils) (EDAAAFAD)
Keywords
Where Brooklyn Arts Council is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Brooklyn Arts Council business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Grant Funding: BAC receives government and institutional funding to operate grant programs that distribute financial support to Brooklyn artists and arts organizations. The organization administers multiple grant programs including Brooklyn Arts Fund, Charlene Victor & Ella J. Weiss Cultural Entrepreneur Fund, Creative Equations Fund, and Local Arts Support. Funding sources include NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, and other institutional partners.
- Individual Donations: BAC accepts charitable contributions through its donation portal (Givelively platform). Donors can contribute to support BAC's general operations and programs that empower Brooklyn artists and arts organizations.
- Event Revenue: BAC generates some revenue through event ticket sales, such as the Brooklyn Arts Awards After Party ($50 per ticket), as well as participation fees for certain programs and workshops.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | One time | Donation tiers with promotional items |
| Other | One time | Brooklyn Arts Awards After Party |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Brooklyn Arts Council product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Brooklyn Arts Council administers grant programs that distribute funding to Brooklyn-based individual artists and small arts organizations, and operates arts education, professional development, wellness, cultural heritage, and arts consultancy programs across the borough. The organization acts as an intermediary between public/institutional funders and Brooklyn's creative community, providing both financial support and capacity-building services. Programs are delivered free of charge to eligible participants and sustained through government grants, institutional partnerships, and individual donations.
Product overview
Brooklyn Arts Council offers a portfolio of interconnected programs supporting Brooklyn's arts ecosystem. The core offerings include BAC Grants (funding local artists and organizations through Brooklyn Arts Fund, Cultural Entrepreneur Fund, Creative Equations Fund, and Local Arts Support), Arts in Education (K-12 arts programming), Professional Development through Brooklyn Innovation Institute, Wellness Studio (artist well-being), Cultural Heritage preservation, On-Demand Programming, and Arts Consultancy services. These programs work together to support artists at all career stages, from funding to education to professional development.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Brooklyn Innovation Institute: Brooklyn Arts Council's professional development platform connecting voices and insights to drive creative development and build cultural assets, equipping and nurturing Creatives and Cultural Entrepreneurs.
- BAC Wellness Studio
Products and services
- BAC Grants Suite of grant programs supporting Brooklyn-based individual artists and small arts organizations, including the Brooklyn Arts Fund, Charlene Victor & Ella J. Weiss Cultural Entrepreneur Fund, Creative Equations Fund, and Local Arts Support, designed to encourage professional development, community growth, and fellowship. Applications are accepted through the Submittable platform and reviewed under an explicit equity-centered allocation policy.
- Arts in Education (AIE) Arts education programming for K-12 students, parents, and community members delivered through in-school residencies and the SU-CASA creative aging program across dance, digital media, theater, visual, and literary arts, representing Brooklyn's diversity.
- Brooklyn Innovation Institute (Professional Development) Professional development platform connecting voices and insights to drive creative development and build cultural assets, equipping and nurturing creatives and cultural entrepreneurs through Creative Experiences, Creative Ecologies, and Creative Equations programming, including the Social Innovation Fellowship.
- BAC Wellness Studio Wellness and healing program focused on what artists need to be healthy and how artists contribute to the holistic thriving of Brooklyn communities, building on BAC's mission of empowering artists.
- Cultural Heritage Program Program working with artists in traditional cultural practices to preserve and present arts expressive of Brooklyn's diverse living heritage, including music, storytelling, social dance, foodways, and material culture.
- On-Demand Programming Readily accessible tools and resources for Brooklyn's artists and art workers supporting creative, financial, and professional growth on demand.
- Arts Consultancy Fee-based consultancy service working with public agencies, corporate clients, real estate developers, and community groups to place art in public and private space, creating new artwork and cultural experiences.
Companies that use Brooklyn Arts Council
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Brooklyn Arts Council technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Brooklyn Arts Council partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Hana HouseminorHana House serves as the venue for the Brooklyn Arts Awards After Party, providing event space for BAC's annual celebration of grantees and teaching artists.
- Prospect Park AlliancecoreBrooklyn Arts Council co-presents the Brooklyn Roots Festival with Prospect Park Alliance, combining resources and audiences for community cultural programming in Prospect Park.
- NYC Arts in Education RoundtablecoreBAC joins the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable for Teaching Artist Tuesdays, a virtual workshop series supporting Teaching Artists with sustainability tools, freelance protections, and benefits navigation.
- SubmittablecoreAll BAC Grants and Teaching Artist applications are hosted on Submittable's platform, enabling online application submission, review, and administration of award processes.
- Weeksville Heritage CentercoreWeeksville Heritage Center serves as a venue for BAC's Social Innovation Salon and other community programming, supporting cultural events in historically significant Brooklyn spaces.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Brooklyn Arts Council competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- National Endowment for the Arts: The NEA is the federal source of much of BAC's redistributed grant funding; while not a direct competitor, its policy decisions directly determine BAC's pass-through capacity, making it the most consequential upstream peer.
- Creative Capital: Creative Capital provides grants and professional development to individual artists nationally, overlapping with BAC's Brooklyn Innovation Institute professional development and BAC Grants mission, but at a broader national scale.
- New York State Council on the Arts: NYSCA is a state-level arts funder that directly funds BAC's grant programs (e.g., Social Innovation Fellowship) and redistributes state arts appropriations to NYC borough councils — making it a critical upstream peer and structural analog.
Direct peers
- New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA): NYFA is a New York City-based nonprofit that supports individual artists and arts organizations across all five boroughs through grants, fellowships, and professional development — overlapping significantly with BAC's grant administration and artist-services functions.
- Bronx Council on the Arts: Bronx Council on the Arts is a direct peer as another NYC borough arts council with comparable grantmaking, arts education, and community programming functions funded through similar public and private sources.
- Manhattan Arts Council (LMCC): Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (formerly Manhattan Cultural Council) operates the same NYC borough-arts-council model in Manhattan, administering grants, residencies, and public arts programming for local artists and organizations.
- Queens Council on the Arts: Queens Council on the Arts is one of BAC's sibling NYC borough arts councils, distributing grants and providing arts services to Queens-based artists and organizations through a near-identical funding and program model.
- Staten Island Arts: Staten Island Arts (formerly Staten Island Council on the Arts) operates the same borough-arts-council charter model in Staten Island, distributing public funds and providing community arts programming — a structural peer to BAC.
Regional players
- Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation: Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation administers regional and state arts funding across the Mid-Atlantic, with grantmaking and program models structurally analogous to BAC's borough-level intermediary role, though operating at a larger regional footprint.
Emerging players
- Chicago Artists Coalition: Chicago Artists Coalition serves Chicago-based artists through grants, exhibitions, and professional development — a city-level arts-support organization analogous to BAC's role in Brooklyn, useful as a geographic comparable.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Brooklyn Arts Council social profiles
Digital presenceBrooklyn Arts Council financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Brooklyn Arts Council leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Brooklyn Arts Council funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Brooklyn Arts Council M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Brooklyn Arts Council
What does Brooklyn Arts Council do?
Brooklyn Arts Council administers grant programs that distribute funding to Brooklyn-based individual artists and small arts organizations, and operates arts education, professional development, wellness, cultural heritage, and arts consultancy programs across the borough. The organization acts as an intermediary between public/institutional funders and Brooklyn's creative community, providing both financial support and capacity-building services. Programs are delivered free of charge to eligible participants and sustained through government grants, institutional partnerships, and individual donations.
Is Brooklyn Arts Council a public or private company?
Brooklyn Arts Council is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Brooklyn Arts Council founded?
Brooklyn Arts Council was founded in 1964. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Brooklyn Arts Council based?
Brooklyn Arts Council is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does Brooklyn Arts Council make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Grant Funding is the primary driver. The others are individual Donations and event Revenue.
Who are Brooklyn Arts Council's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Capital and New York State Council on the Arts. Direct peers are New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Bronx Council on the Arts, Manhattan Arts Council (LMCC), Queens Council on the Arts and Staten Island Arts. Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation is listed as a regional player. Chicago Artists Coalition is listed as an emerging player.
Does Brooklyn Arts Council have an API?
No public API is recorded for Brooklyn Arts Council.
What industry is Brooklyn Arts Council in?
Brooklyn Arts Council's product category is Arts Nonprofit Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAHAH, Public Art, Arts Councils & Grantmaking Programs, with a secondary code of BPAGAHAC, Arts Education & Community Arts Programs. Its NAICS code is 81321 and its SIC code is 8600.