A Site Where Youth Can Dream Big

While … 95% of The Brotherhood/Sister Sol alumni are either working full time or enrolled in college, only 42% of West Harlem youth graduate from high school, with less than 34% of Black males graduating in four years. 

Youth who enter the doors of The Brotherhood/ Sister Sol (Bro/Sis) are changed. “Sister Sol is my much -needed haven,” explained then 17-year old Shanoa. “It is the one place where I feel free to express myself, where I gain in self-worth, and where I can constructively reflect on what actions I need to take in order to achieve my dreams and become the woman I was meant to be.”

Based in Harlem with a national reach, Bro/Sis unleashes this inner confidence by offering a suite of youth-centered programming. Through after-school programs, counseling services, community-organizing training, summer camps, employment training, college prep, and international study programs, young men and women gain skills that last a lifetime. But the organization’s space was too small for all it wants to accomplish—employee workstations spill out into the basement and classroom programs are overcrowded.

With a $1.35 million loan from NFF helping to refinance a mortgage, Bro/Sis is building a state-of-the-art site that will also allow for increased training on their model and expanded policy work. Youth can look forward to spacious meeting rooms, an art and sound studio, a library, and a greenhouse. “The refinancing support from NFF allowed for us to secure funding from NYC to create our new home,” said Khary Lazarre-White, Bro/Sis Executive Director. “Now the youth we serve can look forward to a large, beautiful space equal to their aspirations.”

Interested in applying for a loan? Click here to learn more about NFF's financing options.