Fairfield County’s Community Foundation has announced the details for its current grantmaking cycle. Competitive grants totaling $1,330,037were awarded to 106 nonprofit organizations who align with the Community Foundation’s result areas and its vision to close the opportunity gap in Fairfield County by eliminating disparities in income, education, employment, housing and health.
The Community Foundation’s new strategic plan focuses on fostering a vital and inclusive community where every individual has the opportunity to thrive while promoting philanthropy as a means to create lasting change in Fairfield County. “It gives us great satisfaction to award 106 grants this season. It is Fairfield County’s Community Foundation’s privilege and our honor to provide grants that help advance the work of these critical nonprofit organizations throughout the region. These grantees are creating lasting change and are working collectively to close the opportunity gap in Fairfield County,” stated Juanita James, CEO & President, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation.
The Community Foundation’s result areas drive where the organization focuses its grantmaking, community leadership work, and fundraising efforts. The types of grants include program support, capacity building support, general operating support and the Fund for Women & Girls small grants. The following is a breakdown of recent grants by result area:
Result Area: All Fairfield County residents have safe, stable, healthy and affordable housing in communities of opportunity
Total Grants Awarded: $304,207
In this result area, the Community Foundation awarded grants to organizations that represent the Community Foundation’s ongoing commitment to supporting and sustaining thriving communities and ensuring equitable access to safe, healthy and affordable housing for all Fairfield County residents. Grantees include Bridgeport Neighborhood Trust, Inc ($30,000); Child Guidance Center of Mid-Fairfield County ($14,000); Connecticut Association for Human Services ($20,000); Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants ($20,000); Connecticut Legal Services ($40,000); Connecticut Radio Information Systems ($6,657);
Connecticut Veterans Legal Center ($10,000); DataHaven ($35,000); Food Rescue US ($15,000); Norwalk Housing Foundation ($20,000); Partnership for Strong Communities ($25,000); Positive Directions - The Center for Prevention & Counseling ($7,250); Renewal House ($30,000); RYASAP ($6,000); and Southwestern CT Area Agency on Aging, Inc. ($25,000). Connecticut Legal Services, for example, will be utilizing its grant to support two efforts over the next year, including organizational strategic planning and legal advocacy on behalf of low-income housing residents in Bridgeport. Partnership for Strong Communities will be concentrating on its Reaching Home Campaign: Ending Homelessness in CT and utilizing the grant in this regard.
Result Area: All Fairfield County older youth and young adults have training and credentials that lead to meaningful career opportunities
Total Grants Awarded: $223,728
Young people in Fairfield County often graduate without the skills or preparation needed to secure a living-wage entry job. By aligning youth with educational tools and job opportunities, Thrive by 25 aims to empower every young adult to achieve self-sufficiency by age 25 – strengthening the future of our whole community. Within its comprehensive approach to empower every young adult to achieve self-sufficiency by age 25, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation’s Thrive by 25 initiative stresses the importance of providing paid internships for youth and young adults in the region. Several organizations advancing that goal by providing critical paid internships were selected for grants, including: Inroads ($17,500); Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program in Stamford ($25,000); and Mill River Park Collaborative ($14,500). Additionally, a wide range of exemplary learning programs offered by local nonprofits were funded through this area of opportunity received grants. They include Beardsley Zoo ($25,000); Boys & Girls Village ($20,000); Housatonic Valley Association, Inc ($15,000); Justice Education Center ($10,000); Norwalk Community College Foundation ($44,178); SoundWaters ($5,000); Sterling House ($15,000); United We Dream, Inc ($17,500) and Urban League of Southern Connecticut ($15,000).
Result Area: All Fairfield County students graduate with a high school degree and are prepared for post-secondary education and employment.
In this result area, the Community Foundation awarded grants to organizations that represent an ongoing commitment to education support to close the opportunity gap. The grants were awarded to Boys & Girls Club of Stamford ($5,000);City Lights and Company ($15,000);Educators for Excellence ($25,000);Connecticut Voices for Children ($20,000);Horizons at New Canaan Country School ($25,000);Horizons at Greens Farms Academy ($20,000);LifeBridge Community Services ($20,000);Project Morry ($25,000);SoundWaters ($20,000);Stamford Public Education Foundation, Inc. ($15,000);Green Village Initiative ($25,000);Norwalk Community College Foundation ($20,000);Center for Popular Democracy ($25,000);Center for Children's Advocacy, Inc ($30,000);Building One Community ($15,000); Carver Foundation ($25,000);Greenwich Alliance for Education ($20,000);Danbury Family Learning Center ($24,000); Danbury Youth Services ($15,000);Horizons at NCC ($10,000);Bridgeport Caribe Youth League ($25,000);Best Buddies Connecticut ($15,000);McGivney Community Center ($15,000);ACCESS Education Service, Inc. ($15,000);Stamford Family YMCA ($15,000);Horizons at Sacred Heart University ($20,000);South End Community Center, Inc. ($15,000);Horizons at Brunswick School ($10,000); and Horizons National ($20,000).
Result Area: All Fairfield County women and girls are economically secure, healthy and safe
Total Grants Awarded: $$166,002.01
Through the Fund for Women & Girls, philanthropists come together to invest in sustainable solutions that support the safety, health and economic security of women and girls across Fairfield County. Fairfield County’s Community Foundation’s Fund for Women & Girls (FWG) awarded five grants through its Renewable Grants Program to the following organizations: Center for Family Justice, Inc ($20,000); Center for Sexual Assault Crisis and Education ($20,000); Triangle Community Center ($20,000); Women's Center of Greater Danbury ($20,000); and YWCA of Greenwich ($20,000) for its Sexual Violence Prevention Program. An additional $30,002 was granted through FWG’s Small Grants Program to organizations that actively promote leadership development and improve the education and employment prospects for women and girls. They include: Women's Campaign School at Yale University ($3,500); Connecticut Women's Education & Legal Fund (2,797); Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame ($2,500); Franklin Street Works($1,500); Girls Lead ($4,000); LiveGirl ($355); Mount Aery Baptist Church ($2,250); Ms President US ($3,500); Norwalk Community College Foundation ($2,100); Norwalk Housing Foundation ($2,500); and Saturday Academy ($5,000). A grant was also provided to DataHaven for a research report.
Result Area: Community Advocacy
Total Grants Awarded: $62,100
Nonprofit organizations received a total of $62,100 as part of the Community Foundation’s Community Advocacy initiatives, including its GET OUT THE VOTE 2018 campaign which had 18 grantees. Those organizations receiving grants include: All Our Kin, Inc; Bridgeport Generation Now; Burroughs Community Center; Center for Children's Advocacy, Inc; Center for Popular Democracy; CF Leads; Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness; Connecticut Community Nonprofit Alliance; Council on Foundations; DataHaven; Domus Kids, Inc; FaithActs for Education; Greater Bridgeport Latino Network, Inc.; Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County; Housatonic Community College Foundation; League of Women Voters – Stamford; League of Women Voters of Bridgeport; League of Women Voters of Northern Fairfield County; League of Women Voters of Norwalk; LifeBridge Community Services; NACCP- Norwalk Chapter; National Coalition of 100 Black Women - New Haven Metropolitan Chapter; New Hampshire Charitable Foundation; Norwalk Community College Foundation; The Chicago Community Trust; University of Connecticut Foundation; YWCA of Darien – Norwalk; and YWCA of Greenwich.
As a valuable best practice, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence educates and informs nonprofits on Results Based Accountability as a framework for articulating and measuring the changes they are working toward. A complete list of grantees and information about applying for a grant from Fairfield County’s Community Foundation is available at fccfoundation.org.