Brooklyn Educational and Cultural Alliance (BECA), 1975-1985

"The Brooklyn Eductional and Cultural Alliance (BECA) was "an urban educational and cultural consortium chartered in June 1975 by the New York State Board of Regents." Members of BECA included the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Public Library, Long Island University - Brooklyn Center, Polytechnic Institute of New York, Pratt Institute, St. Francis College, St. Joseph's College, and the Long Island Historical Society (now the Center for Brooklyn History). BECA awarded vouchers to smaller community/cultural organizations that could be "spent" at the larger institutions above for a variety of services. In 1984, for example, the Brooklyn Museum offered 3 specific programs for communities/schools called Discover the Brooklyn Museum; Your Heritage; and Media Workshops that meant to introduce the Museum, its collections, and art-making to a more diverse audience.

Information from this paragraph came from the BECA Cultural Voucher program brochure from 1984, located in box 61, folder 56.