Brooklyn Arts Council

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.

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

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 industry

PRIMARYBPAGAHAH

Public Art, Arts Councils & Grantmaking Programs

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Arts, Culture & Heritage Nonprofits

SECONDARYBPAGAHAC

Arts Education & Community Arts Programs

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Arts, Culture & Heritage Nonprofits

SECONDARYBPAGAKAE

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Philanthropy, Foundations & Grantmaking

SECONDARYEDAAAFAD

Cultural, Arts & Humanities Community Education (Museums/Arts Councils)

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Community & Public Education Programs (Libraries, Community Centers)

Keywords

• Arts grant funding
• Arts education programs
• Cultural heritage preservation
• Artist professional development
• Nonprofit arts services

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core 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.

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Hana HouseminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2025Hana 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 AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrooklyn 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 RoundtablecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBAC 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.
• SubmittablecoreTechnology or IntegrationAll BAC Grants and Teaching Artist applications are hosted on Submittable's platform, enabling online application submission, review, and administration of award processes.
• Weeksville Heritage CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeeksville 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

Broad 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

• Instagraminstagram.com/bkartscouncil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brooklyn-arts-council

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Brooklyn Arts Council