About Édé

Rooted here. Built from work already done.

Édé is a Brooklyn-rooted nonprofit focused on free community programs, paid local services delivered at no cost, and fiscal sponsorship for community-led charitable work.

Mission

Relieve poverty. Advance education. Strengthen neighborhoods.

Édé (pronounced eh-DAY) is Haitian Creole for help.

Édé, Haitian Creole for help, relieves poverty, advances education, and strengthens underserved New York City neighborhoods, concentrated in central Brooklyn. We run free community programs, pay providers to deliver services free to people who need them, and act as fiscal sponsor for community-led work that has the vision but not the infrastructure to last.

Where we work: Brownsville, Canarsie-Flatlands, Flatbush and Bedford-Stuyvesant today, and any New York City neighborhood where the work is already happening and the infrastructure is not.

STATUS

501(c)(3) nonprofit

Empowering Diverse Enterprises, Inc. · EIN 33-1740188.

ROOTS

Brooklyn, New York

Free programs and community-led work concentrated in central Brooklyn, with a citywide charitable footprint.

How we decide what to take on

Before Édé commits a dollar, our board determines in writing who is served, that any private benefit is incidental, and that we can document it. Where a business helps carry out our work, the business is the instrument, never the beneficiary.

Founders' track record

Experience that predates Édé.

Before Édé, our founders organized 10,500+ New York City drivers to build The Drivers Cooperative, the first worker-owned rideshare in the United States, which generated $6.1M in revenue for its driver-owners in its first year. That experience, and the years of community health and housing organizing behind it, is why Édé focuses on infrastructure.

Founders

People who know the administrative work because they've done it.

Édé is led by people with direct experience in cooperative development, organizing, nonprofit finance, transportation, public health, and community partnerships.

David T. Alexis

Co-Founder & Executive Director

David is a Brooklyn-based community organizer, program manager, former community health worker, and public health advocate with over a decade of experience co-founding mission-driven organizations, managing multi-stakeholder coalitions, and delivering community-driven solutions across labor, cooperative development, health equity, and housing justice. He co-founded The Drivers Cooperative — the first worker-owned ride-hailing cooperative in the United States — organizing over 10,500 NYC drivers and helping The Drivers Cooperative generate $6.1 million in revenue in its first year. He also co-developed the Green Accessible Transition Act proposal (S5552A/A6635A) concerning the transition of New York's for-hire vehicle sector.

Cynette Wilson

Co-Founder & Director of Finance & Operations

Cynette is a versatile financial and operations leader with expertise spanning transportation, nonprofit finance, IT systems, investor relations, and regulatory compliance. As Finance Manager at The Drivers Cooperative, she recovered over $1 million in accounts receivable, rebuilt QuickBooks infrastructure from scratch, managed NYS compliance requirements, and participated in advocacy related to driver equity legislation.

Jeremy Justiniano

Co-Founder & Director of Infrastructure and Technology

Jeremy is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, entrepreneur, and community service professional whose career spans military service, transportation, real estate, healthcare management, and technical engineering. He has nine years of experience as a TLC-licensed driver, including specialized work with NYC’s Access-A-Ride program serving passengers with disabilities, and brings deep community relationships to Édé’s work.

Partners

Organizations working alongside Édé.

Community institutions and service partners contribute expertise, relationships, and operational support to the work.

New York Communities for ChangeHousing and climate organizing partner

United for BrownsvilleCommunity health and early childhood equity partner

Wealthwise Community Partners

Back-office services · disclosed related party

Wealthwise Community Partners, a consulting firm owned by Édé's Executive Director, provides paid back-office services to Édé under a board-approved agreement with the Executive Director recused.

Empowering Diverse Enterprises, Inc. is a New York not-for-profit corporation recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3). EIN 33-1740188. Our bylaws and most recent financial statements are available on request at info@edenow.org.