Begin forwarded message:
From: The David Prize <thedavidprize@substack.com>
Subject: Get in New Yorkers, we’re going biking!
Date: May 12, 2026 at 11:40:05 AM PDT
To: ali@theflatlay.com
Reply-To: The David Prize <reply+38p6hb&18aiu&&34fc7626f22f145d4e1ef15545b5aab52a9466237a16c3580e7b1bd6586fadeb@mg1.substack.com>
A peek into a day in the life of The David Prize
MAY 12
Have you ever wondered what a day in the life at The David Prize looks like? Besides the many New Yorkers we hear from in our Open Call, we meet with hundreds more throughout the year as a part of our process to get to know candidates and learn about their ideas. These range from storytellers to nonprofit leaders, local business owners to policymakers, researchers to investors, and everyone in between.
In an effort to share what we learn along the way, our Executive Director Erika Augustine is sharing her (semi-weekly) New Yorker dispatches on her LinkedIn. Think of it as an inside look into our notes as we travel (almost exclusively via Citi Bike) across the city, keeping you up-to-date on New Yorkers who have incredible insights and should be on your radar!
🍕New York Happenings
David Prize Winner Colby Xzavier King is building the Kiki Arts Collaborative , connecting NYC’s Kiki Ballroom scene – whose creativity has shaped fashion, dance, and pop culture for decades – with the mentorship and career tools to finally benefit from it.
Stanley Richards spent two years in Rikers as a young man, now he runs the place as NYC’s new Department of Correction commissioner , the first formerly incarcerated person to ever hold the role.
It turns out competitive chess is what New York City Kids are built for. Spend a day in the life with the New York City kids winning national chess championships .
Head to The Met to hear David Prize Winner Rana Abdelhamid discuss her debut novel Get Home Safe . Rana, a lifelong organizer and karate black belt, founded Malikah to teach self-defense and collective safety to women across NYC, and her book brings those same teachings to the page.
Before there were galleries, there were whole subway cars . Lee Quiñones - perhaps better known by his tag ‘LEE - reflects on what it was like coming up in the 80s New York City art scene.
💸 Meet Our April Giveaway Winner
Our April winner is Rusty Zimmerman, a Brooklyn-based artist that founded The Free Portrait Project, a collection of painted portraits and recorded oral histories of Brooklyn residents. He’s currently working on painting a collection of 50 portraits, and will paint up to 200 portraits for Red Hook residents with additional funding. This will live as a free exhibition this summer (more info to come!), and then be returned to the residents who were painted. You can learn more & support the project here!
Four-hour Oil Sketch Portraits of Community members, painted from life by artist Rusty Zimmerman, while recording oral histories in conversation.
“I just let the people who live there tell their story,” says Rusty. “I’m able to paint people, I’m able to record their stories, and let that become an aggregate picture of the place in that moment.”
To enter this month’s $250 giveaway, head to our Instagram where you can nominate yourself or another New Yorker . Simply tag your nominee in a comment and share what you (or they) are doing to impact the city for good.
🚕 Opportunities
The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize is accepting applications from Brooklyn nonprofits to receive their annual $100,000 Spark Prize . The Prize is named after their mission to spark change for a fair and just Brooklyn. Apply by May 15, 2026.
The Empire State Fellows Program is accepting applications for its 2027-2029 class , a paid, two-year leadership training program for professionals who want to work directly with senior New York State policymakers, with a $90,000 annual salary and benefits. Apply by June 1, 2026.
CitizensNYC has opened up applications for their Community Leaders Grant , a $5,000 microgrant to community-building projects carried out by resident-led groups to improve neighborhood life, strengthen local leadership, and scale community partnerships. Apply by July 2026.
Apply for a $1,000 Awesome Foundation Grant. The Awesome Foundation is a global community advancing the interest of awesome in the universe, $1000 at a time. Each fully autonomous chapter supports awesome projects through micro-grants, usually given out monthly. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis .
Crowdfunder is looking for 50 nonprofits to become the founding partners in New York . 8 selected nonprofits will have every donation matched up to $2,500 as part of the Spark Fund. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis .
✏️ New York Cartoon Corner
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