Fairfield County’s Inner-City Foundation Announces Grant Recipients
Nearly $1 Million Awarded to Fairfield County Organizations
Fairfield County’s Inner-City Foundation for Charity & Education awarded $951,214 in grants to 52 local organizations throughout Fairfield County in the last year, they announced today. The local non-profit foundation supports educational and social programs that serve the neediest families and individuals of Fairfield county.
“We saw a significant increase in grant requests for education this year,” says Richard T. Stone, the executive director of The Inner-City Foundation. “Educational grant requests were up almost 30 percent.” About half of the funds awarded by The Inner-City Foundation went to inner-city education programs in Bridgeport, including scholarship and financial aid programs at Kolbe Cathedral High School and Catholic Academy of Bridgeport, and women’s literacy and life skills programs such as those available at Mercy Learning Center and Caroline House.
“The Inner-City Foundation for Charity & Education is critical to Kolbe Cathedral High School's scholarship/financial aid program,” says Jo-Anne Jakab, who recently retired from Kolbe after working there for more than 43 years, most recently as principal and president. “Without the Inner-City Foundation, hundreds of young men and women over the past 25 years would have been unable to attend this high-performing inner-city school. Graduating from Kolbe Cathedral almost guarantees a more promising future — we’ve had 100% of our students go on to college for the past 10 years! The majority of Inner-City Foundation scholars are the first generation in their family to attend college, forging new roads for not only themselves but also their families in the future.”
The other half of The Inner-City Foundation’s available funds this year went to area social programs providing food, shelter, medical help and counseling. Without the foundation’s support a lot of these programs simply could not exist, says Stone. “State budget cuts have had a devastating impact on the most vulnerable members of Connecticut, and Fairfield county,” says Stone. “We have just completed our 25th year, and the need right now in Fairfield county is probably greater than we’ve ever seen it. It’s not all Gold Coast. Unless increased resources materialize from other places now, such as foundations like ours, a lot of people are going to have nowhere to turn.”
The Inner-City Foundation will hold their 26th annual benefit dinner this fall, their largest fundraiser of the year. Stay tuned to their website, innercityfoundation.org, for date and ticket information. To contact The Inner-City Foundation for Charity & Education directly, email communications@innercityfoundation.org or call 203.416.1496.
About The Inner-City Foundation for Charity & Education The Inner-City Foundation For Charity & Education is a 501(c)(3) non-sectarian foundation that supports education and other programs addressing the most basic human needs of Fairfield County residents seeking help, and strives to support organizations that provide not only a safety net but also a springboard to a better future. Organizations providing food, clothing, shelter, education and counseling to at-risk and needy families, children and adults of Fairfield County may apply for grants, and will be considered. Founded in 1992, the Inner-City Foundation has provided more than $29 million to about 200 local organizations over the last quarter-century. For more information about The Inner-City Foundation or to donate visit The Inner-City Foundation for Charity & Education at www.innercityfoundation.org, email communications@innercityfoundation.org or call 203.416.1496.