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THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATIONS OF WEEKSVILLE & BEDFORD-STUYVESANT

BROOKLYN, NY · EIN 237330454 · Form 990 · FY2023 · Medium ($1M-$10M) · weeksvillesociety.org
revenue
$2.0M
expenses
$2.6M
net assets
$3.2M
employees
27
volunteers
14
program ratio
37%
mission · from form 990

PRESERVING HISTORICAL SITES & ARTIFACTS FROM THE WEEKSVILLE SECTION OF BROOKLYN, NY.

profile · synthesized from sources

Weeksville Heritage Center is a historic site and cultural center in Brooklyn, NY, dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of Weeksville, one of the largest free Black communities in pre-Civil War America. Through education, arts, and public programming, it engages the community with African-American history, heritage, and social justice themes centered on the Historic Hunterfly Road Houses.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2023

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $29K
    RESEARCH PROGRAM - PROVIDES TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES THAT ENCOURAGE LIFE LONG LEARNING AND POSITIVE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS.
named programs · 5 · from sources

What they call their work

Education Programs
School and group tours with pre-visit materials and curriculum-aligned content focused on emancipation, entrepreneurship, and empowerment in African-American history.
Historic Tours
Guided and self-guided tours of the Historic Hunterfly Road Houses, offering immersive educational experiences about Weeksville’s history as a free Black community in the 19th century.
Juneteenth Food Festival
Annual public festival celebrating Black foodways and culture, featuring local Black-owned food businesses, performances, and community engagement in honor of Juneteenth.
Public Programs
Community events including yoga, film screenings, art exhibitions, and panel discussions at the intersection of history, art, and culture.
Weeksville Green Market
Farmer’s and community market promoting local businesses, workshops, and preservation of Black foodways and environmental stewardship.
activities · 11 groups

What they do

  • Community-Based Educational Programming 1 activity
    • Delivers educational programs on African American history and social justice
      Offers educational programs that highlight the legacy of Weeksville in relation to empowerment, self-determination, activism, social justice, creativity, and culture, supporting lifelong learning and community engagement.
  • Community Festival & Event Production 1 activity
    • Hosts cultural festivals and public events celebrating Black culture and history
      Organizes annual public festivals including the Juneteenth Food Festival (co-presented with Black-Owned Brooklyn), the Black Man's Health Festival, and "Black & Free: Pleasure Histories" event featuring film, performance, and storytelling, to celebrate Black cultural traditions, food, health, and identity.
  • Trauma-Informed Yoga and Mindfulness Programs 1 activity
    • Hosts wellness and community-building programs
      Offers regular Rest and Restore yoga sessions led by Six of Sensate Wellness and hosts community installations such as Osisi Obodo—a modular shade and gathering structure—developed in collaboration with Creative Urban Alchemy and the Beam Center.
  • Historic Building Restoration and Preservation 1 activity
    • Manages preservation and conservation of historic structures and collections
      Oversees the preservation, conservation, storage, and documentation of the Hunterfly Houses, artifacts, documents, photographs, and textiles; develops collections management policies and a master plan for the historic site.
  • Guided Historic Site Tours 1 activity
    • Offers guided and self-guided tours of Historic Hunterfly Road Houses
      Provides guided public and school group tours of the Historic Hunterfly Road Houses with capacity limits (14 for public, 30 for schools), along with pre-visit educational materials for elementary groups and downloadable self-guided tour brochures.
  • Local History Preservation and Education 1 activity
    • Operates Weeksville Heritage Center as a historic site and cultural center
      Manages the Weeksville Heritage Center, including the Historic Hunterfly Road Houses and Education Building, as a venue for public events, educational programming, and cultural exhibitions that preserve and interpret the history of Weeksville—one of the largest free Black communities in pre-Civil War America—through an arts and social justice lens.
  • Local Food Market Operation 1 activity
    • Operates weekly Farmers & Community Market with SNAP/EBT access
      Runs the Weeksville Green: Farmers & Community Market monthly during summer and fall, launching the 2026 season on July 11, and facilitates EBT/SNAP acceptance and HealthBucks incentives at vendor booths to increase community access to fresh produce.
  • Curated Art Exhibitions and Public Displays 1 activity
    • Presents art exhibitions and cultural programs at the Heritage Center
      Hosts public art exhibitions such as "Peace in Destruction: Art from Rikers Island" and co-presents special screenings like HBO’s The Gilded Age with executive producers, offering opening receptions and curated cultural programming that connect historical themes with contemporary issues.
  • Public Space Beautification and Maintenance 1 activity
    • Provides facility maintenance and custodial services
      Delivers custodial and maintenance services to ensure safe, clean, and healthy facilities and grounds that support daily operations and educational programming at the Heritage Center.
  • Fundraising for Community and Charitable Initiatives 1 activity
    • Supports fundraising and donor engagement operations
      Conducts fundraising activities including donor communications, individual giving campaigns, grant coordination, Board engagement, and event-based fundraising support.
  • Volunteer-Supported Arts & Cultural Operations 1 activity
    • Supports volunteer engagement for events and operations
      Establishes a volunteer corps to assist with events, rentals, and programs through setup and breakdown, wayfinding, light housekeeping, grounds maintenance, and visitor greeting.
financials · form 990 · fy2023
revenue
Total revenue$1.96M
Contributions & grants$1.79M91%
Program service revenue$146K7%
Investment income$2K0%
Other revenue$19K
expenses
Total expenses$2.58M
Program expenses37%
Admin / overhead53%
Fundraising10%
Salaries & benefits$1.22M
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$3.39M
Cash$1.24M
Investments$0
Liabilities$182K
Net assets$3.21M
Liquid reserves5.8 mo
5 years on record · 2019–2023 · YoY revenue -45.8%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2023

Who runs it

paid leadership · 1
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
RAYMOND CODRINGTON PRESIDENT AN 40 $160K
board members · 14
  • AINKA SHACKLEFORD TURNER — BOARD MEMBER
  • DEBORAH JUANTORENA — TREASURER
  • DR BRIAN MCNEIL — BOARD MEMBER
  • DR PRITHI KANAKAMEDALA — BOARD MEMBER
  • JANNAH HANDY — SECRETARY
  • JESSICA B LEE — CHAIRMAN
  • KIYANNA HANDY — SECRETARY
  • LAUREN GLANT — VICE CHAIRMA
  • PAULA FENDALL — BOARD MEMBER
  • ROBERT E CORNEGY JR — BOARD MEMBER
  • SHARON LYU-VOLCKHAUSEN — BOARD MEMBER
  • SHARON MYRIE — BOARD MEMBER
  • SUHALY BAUTISTA-CAROLINA — BOARD MEMBER
  • TWAUN SAMUEL — BOARD MEMBER
relationships · 36

Who they work with

  • Association for a Better New York Funder — Provided funding support for the Juneteenth Food Festival.
  • Beam Center Partner — Collaborates on the unveiling of Osisi Obodo, a modular shade and gathering structure.
  • Black-Owned Brooklyn Partner — Co-presents the Juneteenth Food Festival with Weeksville Heritage Center.
  • Black-Owned Brooklyn Partner — Co-presents the Juneteenth Food Festival.
  • Black-Owned Brooklyn Partner — Collaborated to organize and present the Juneteenth Food Festival.
  • Black-Owned Brooklyn Partner — Partnered on the fourth annual Juneteenth Food Festival.
  • Bloomberg Philanthropies Funder — Provides additional support for Weeksville's programs and initiatives.
  • Con Edison Funder — Provided funding support for the Juneteenth Food Festival.
  • Council Member Chi Ossé Partner — Co-hosted a community discussion on deed theft and Black belonging in Brooklyn.
  • Creative Urban Alchemy Partner — Collaborates on the unveiling of Osisi Obodo, a modular shade and gathering structure.
  • Dewey Harley Partner — Co-led the grassroots preservation effort to save the Hunterfly Road Houses in 1968.
  • Dolores McCullough Partner — Co-led the grassroots preservation effort to save the Hunterfly Road Houses in 1968.
  • Ford Foundation Funder — Provides additional support for Weeksville's programs and initiatives.
  • Groundswell Partner — Collaborated with Groundswell to present the exhibition "Peace in Destruction: Art from Rikers Island" at Weeksville Heritage Center.
  • Groundswell Partner — Presented the exhibition "Peace in Destruction: Art from Rikers Island" in collaboration with Weeksville Heritage Center.
  • Groundswell Partner — Presents the art exhibition "Peace in Destruction: Art from Rikers Island" at Weeksville Heritage Center.
  • HBO Partner — Copresents a special screening of The Gilded Age with Weeksville Heritage Center.
  • Institute of Museum and Library Services Funder — Provides support for Weeksville's programs and initiatives.
  • JETS Foundation Funder — Provided funding support for the Juneteenth Food Festival.
  • James Hurley Partner — Co-led the grassroots preservation effort to save the Hunterfly Road Houses in 1968.
  • Joan Maynard Partner — Artist and activist who joined the grassroots preservation effort to save the Hunterfly Road Houses and helped preserve the memory of historic Weeksville.
  • Mellon Foundation Funder — Provides additional support for Weeksville's programs and initiatives.
  • NYC Department of Transportation Funder — Provided funding support for the Juneteenth Food Festival.
  • NYC Office of City Planning Partner — Co-hosted a community discussion on deed theft and Black belonging in Brooklyn.
  • National Endowment for the Arts Funder — Provides support for Weeksville's programs and initiatives.
  • New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Government — Partnered with the City Council to fund the Juneteenth Food Festival.
  • New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Government — Provides support in partnership with the New York City Council for Weeksville's programs and initiatives.
  • New York State Council on the Arts Funder — Provides support for Weeksville's programs and initiatives.
  • Office of Senator Roxanne J. Persaud Funder — Provided funding support for the Juneteenth Food Festival.
  • Patricia Johnson Partner — Co-led the grassroots preservation effort to save the Hunterfly Road Houses in 1968.
+ 6 more
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Art-Centered Engagement for Marginalized Voices
    methodology: art-centered community engagement
    By centering public art exhibitions on the lived experiences of youth impacted by incarceration, the organization preserves visual and social histories because artistic expression enables marginalized voices to reclaim narratives and fosters empathy and activism within the community.
  • Community as Stewards of History
    methodology: community_historic_stewardship
    By connecting education about historic sites to broader themes of African-American and Brooklyn heritage, the organization engages visitors as stewards of community history because this contextualization fosters ownership, responsibility, and ongoing cultural continuity.
  • Cultural Preservation Through Food and Celebration
    methodology: cultural_preservation_through_food
    By using food-centered cultural programming, the organization celebrates and sustains Juneteenth traditions and Black foodways because shared culinary practices serve as living memory, strengthening diasporic cultural identity and intergenerational community bonds.
  • Education, Arts, and Social Justice Integration
    methodology: education-arts-social-justice
    By integrating education, arts, and a social justice lens, the organization preserves Weeksville’s history and inspires community engagement because this interdisciplinary approach fosters deeper understanding, relevance, and empowerment around African American heritage and contemporary equity issues.
  • Transformative Learning Through Research-Based Programming
    methodology: transformative_learning
    By using research-based programming, the organization creates transformative learning experiences that foster lifelong learning and positive social interactions because structured, evidence-informed content deepens personal and communal connections to history and identity.