Brooklyn Heights Association

What Brooklyn Heights Association does

The Brooklyn Heights Association (BHA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community organization founded in 1910 and headquartered at 55 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn, New York. It is the oldest ongoing neighborhood association in New York City and functions as the organized civic voice of Brooklyn Heights, with a two-person professional staff (Executive Director Lara Birnback since July 2019 and Deputy Director Kim Glickman since 2022) supported by a volunteer Board of Governors. The BHA's core activities are neighborhood advocacy and preservation, community programming, and member services, with its most consequential historical outcomes including passage of the NYC Landmarks Law in 1965, designation of Brooklyn Heights as the city's first Historic District and a National Historic Landmark, and the defeat of multiple large infrastructure and urban renewal proposals.

The BHA delivers its mission through six core offerings: a tiered membership program (nine price points from $25 to $5,000 annually), a Neighborhood Partners discount program linking members with 40-50+ local businesses, a weekly email newsletter, signature community events (Book Club, Dog Show, The Longest Table, Halloween Parade, Open Streets, sandwich-making volunteer days), donation and fundraising services (including a BQE Fund and Tree Fund), and ongoing advocacy on historic preservation, the BQE corridor, traffic safety, and urban planning. Distribution runs primarily through thebha.org and the weekly newsletter, with secondary presence on Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and YouTube; the tech stack is standard nonprofit web/CRM infrastructure (WordPress and CiviCRM) rather than proprietary technology.

The BHA's revenue model is dual-track: approximately 35% of operating budget from recurring annual membership dues and roughly 65% from tax-deductible donations, stock gifts, corporate matching, and charitable bequests. It is funded entirely by its community; there is no parent company, no venture backing, and no institutional grants identified. The geographic scope is single-neighborhood (Brooklyn Heights, NYC), and the organization publishes audited financial statements and IRS Form 990 filings annually.

Name

Brooklyn Heights Association

Legal name

Brooklyn Heights Association

Website

https://thebha.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1910

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Brooklyn Heights Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 1910 and the oldest ongoing neighborhood association in New York City, that advocates for preservation, organizes community events, and serves Brooklyn Heights residents through a tiered membership program and partnerships with local businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues from residents and supporters of Brooklyn Heights. Membership dues provide approximately 35% of the operating budget, with the remainder coming from donations.
2. Donations: Tax-deductible donations from members and supporters, including general donations and designated funds (BQE Fund, Tree Fund). Accepts donations of stock, corporate matching gifts, and charitable bequests.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Brooklyn Heights Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit neighborhood association that serves as the organized voice for Brooklyn Heights residents. It delivers a tiered membership program, organizes community events such as book clubs and street gatherings, advocates for historic preservation and thoughtful urban planning (including BQE corridor issues), and connects members with local businesses through the Neighborhood Partners discount program.

Product overview

The Brooklyn Heights Association (BHA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community organization that serves as the organized voice for Brooklyn Heights residents. Rather than offering a technology product, the BHA provides community programs and services including membership programs, community events (such as book clubs, dog shows, neighborhood gatherings), advocacy initiatives (including BQE corridor advocacy and urban planning), a Neighborhood Partners discount program connecting members with local businesses, volunteer opportunities, and donation/charitable giving services. The organization uses web-based platforms for membership management, event registration, and newsletter distribution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BHA Membership Program Tiered annual membership program for Brooklyn Heights residents, with levels including Leadership Circle (Visionary $5,000, Advocate $2,500, Steward $1,500), Sponsor ($600), Benefactor ($300), Family/Household ($120), Individual ($60), Senior Household ($50), and Senior/Student ($25). Members gain access to the Neighborhood Partners discount program, advocacy representation, community events, and the weekly newsletter.
• Community Events Program Year-round calendar of community events for Brooklyn Heights residents and members, including the BHA Book Club, Dog Show, The Longest Table community gathering, Halloween Parade, Open Streets programming, Egg Hunt, and volunteer sandwich-making events for the community fridge.
• Neighborhood Partners Program Discount network connecting BHA members with more than 40 local Brooklyn Heights businesses offering special offers, spanning restaurants, fitness studios, retail stores, and professional services. Local businesses participate as promotional partners to drive visibility and foot traffic from BHA members.
• Charitable Donations and Designated Funds Tax-deductible donation service accepting general donations as well as designated funds including the BQE Fund (advocacy) and Tree Fund, with options for stock donations, corporate matching gifts, and charitable bequests. Donations cover approximately 65% of the BHA's operating budget.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,081 trees planted since 1940
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Montague Street Business Improvement DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBHA works closely with the Montague Street BID to drive Open Streets programming and other initiatives to improve the Montague Street commercial corridor.
• Promenade Gardens ConservancycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA public-private partnership between the BHA and NYC Parks Department dedicated to maintaining the plantings along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade.
• Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Environmental Justice CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition advocating for a transformative and forward-looking solution for the entire BQE corridor that benefits all communities.
• Neighborhood Partners (Local Businesses)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerOver 50 local businesses participate in the Neighborhood Partners Program, offering special discounts to BHA members. Includes restaurants, fitness studios, retail stores, and services.
• A Better Way NYCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginally Save the Promenade, this organization works with BHA on advocacy against the BQE Promenade Highway proposal and alternative solutions.
• Cobble Hill AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNeighboring community association that BHA works with on BQE advocacy and other regional issues affecting both neighborhoods.
• New York Landmarks ConservancycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistoric preservation organization that has supported BHA's efforts and joined in opposition to the BQE Promenade Highway plan.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Park Slope Civic Council: Long-standing Brooklyn neighborhood association focused on quality-of-life, land-use, and historic preservation advocacy — a near-identical operating model to BHA in an adjacent geography.
• Carroll Gardens Association: Brownstone Brooklyn community organization offering civic advocacy, events, and member services; closest geographic and structural peers to BHA among neighborhood associations.
• Boerum Hill Association: Neighborhood association serving a brownstone Brooklyn community adjacent to BHA, with parallel focus on preservation, community events, and civic advocacy.
• Fort Greene Association: Brooklyn civic association engaged in neighborhood preservation, community programming, and local advocacy. Comparable membership-driven nonprofit structure and advocacy-heavy mission.
• Cobble Hill Association: Neighboring Brooklyn civic association with an overlapping mission of neighborhood preservation, advocacy, and quality-of-life issues. BHA explicitly collaborates with this group on BQE advocacy, making it the most directly comparable peer.

Regional players

• Brooklyn Community Board 2: Local government advisory body covering Brooklyn Heights and adjacent neighborhoods. While not a nonprofit, it shares BHA's neighborhood-quality-of-life mandate and serves as the formal public-sector counterpart to BHA's advocacy role.
• Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant: Brooklyn neighborhood preservation and civic association focused on a different Brooklyn geography. Comparable operating model (preservation, advocacy, member events) but serving a separate community.

Broad incumbents

• Municipal Art Society of New York: Citywide civic and preservation advocacy organization with overlapping interest in landmarks, urban planning, and historic preservation. Operates at greater scale and broader geography than BHA.
• New York Landmarks Conservancy: Citywide historic preservation nonprofit that BHA partners with on advocacy. Same landmarks-preservation focus but at a citywide scale and with professional preservation services beyond BHA's scope.
• Historic Districts Council: NYC-wide preservation advocacy organization that awarded BHA-associated figures the Landmark Lions Award. Directly comparable mission on historic preservation advocacy, though operating at city scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thebhanow
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCVoU4sFvThkNPhKI_OmlO1w
• Facebookfacebook.com/BrooklynHeightsAssociation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brooklyn-heights-association-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/brooklynheightsassociation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 Heights Association