NOTE: Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis but are only reviewed in odd-numbered months.

Grassroots Grants

Purpose

• To support equitable efforts to revitalize communities, influence local systems and foster youth leadership.
• To support a robust and collaborative network of multi-generational residents working together to achieve shared goals.

Priority Funding Areas

• Community events that create and strengthen bonds between people
• Organizing and advocacy to effect change at the neighborhood level
• Voter engagement
• Educational campaigns on how to engage local systems
• Youth-led projects

Possible Projects

• You and your local neighborhood association decide to host a block party for neighbors and residents to get to know each other and have a good time, for the purpose of community building. Funds can be used to create marketing materials, rent tents or hire a photographer to capture the event.
• You and other parents work together to support more equitable access to educational services and programs for students in Waterbury. Grassroots grant funds can be used to rent meeting space, buy refreshments or create mailings to invite or educate others about the work.
• You and your friends want to create a bipartisan website to share information about candidates in an upcoming local election, so the information is clear, accessible and provides ways to contact the candidates. Funds can be used to create the website, advertise or host candidate forums.
• You and your classmates want to create a web series (e.g. a vlog) in which you discuss current events, share your viewpoints and invite local residents to engage in conversation. Funds can be used for a webcam, to create flyers or website content or to design branded items to distribute for free.

NOTE: Pre-Application Meeting - Organizations interested in applying for participation in the Edwards Community Endowment Project should contact Foundation staff for more information about establishing an organizational endowment, investment and spending policies, administrative fees, and eligible gifts.

Edwards Community Endowment Program (ECEP)

The Edwards Community Endowment Program (ECEP) is a matching-grants program designed to assist northwest Connecticut nonprofits with the establishment of endowment funds or to increase established endowments. The project is made possible through a grant from the Marion Wm. and Alice Edwards Fund.

The purpose of Project is to assist nonprofits in establishing an endowment or adding to an existing Foundation fund. Selected non profits receive a $1 match for every $4 raised with a maximum $20,000 match per organization. All funds generated through the project are placed in a permanent named fund.

Guidelines and Application

ECEP applications for the program are accepted on a rolling basis. Organizations are selected for participation through a competitive application process. Each participating organization must raise a minimum of $16,000 in endowment gifts to be eligible for an initial match of $4,000. Organizations unable to reach the $16,000 minimum goal during the allotted time do not receive matching funds; however, monies raised will be placed into a temporary fund at the Foundation until the organization reaches a decision as to how and by whom the fund will be managed.

Cash and marketable securities can be counted toward the endowment project match. Funds from existing reserves, operational pledges, or any funds re-directed by a participating organization’s Board of Directors that are specifically earmarked for current operational uses do not qualify. Money that has been earmarked by the donor for an endowment or established as an organizational endowment may be considered.

Deferred gifts, such as charitable remainder trusts and bequests, are excellent ways to grow endowment funds, but they may not be counted as pledges for the purpose of the Edwards Community Endowment Project.

Funding Criteria

The primary criterion used in evaluating applications is how the organization plans to supplement the endowment fund once it has been established. Special consideration is given to organizations that:

• Incorporate endowment-building strategies in overall development efforts 
• Demonstrate involvement and leadership of Board members in endowment fundraising
• Provide marketing plans that incorporate endowment-building and planned giving
• Demonstrate organizational stability and track record in raising various types of funds.

Overview

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is a philanthropic institution that was established in 1928 as the community's permanent charitable endowment. For more than three generations, thousands of donors have built our community endowment by establishing permanent funds or making gifts to existing funds that distribute grants to a broad variety of issues and organizations. These donors, past and present, make their gifts to ensure that programs and causes that matter most to them will be supported today and forever.

The Community Foundation is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the United States and remains the largest grantmaker in a twenty-town region located in the heart of central Connecticut. The Community Foundation is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)3 organization, and as such is exempt from federal income tax; donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Mission: To inspire, support, inform, listen to and collaborate with the people and organizations of Greater New Haven to build an ever more connected, inclusive, equitable and philanthropic community.

Vision: A community of expanding opportunity in which all people share a sense of common destiny and have the support and connections needed to build successful lives.

We pursue our mission by:

• Inspiring people to get involved in local issues;
• Providing leadership by mobilizing the community to address key local issues and by supporting others in their leadership roles;
• Responding to community priorities through grantmaking and in other ways;
• Raising new charitable resources to address current community priorities and for permanent endowment;
• Honoring the wishes of past donors and collaborating with current donors; and
• Growing the community’s charitable endowments by managing the financial assets entrusted to us.

Community Fund for Women & Girls

The Fund was established in 1995 by an anonymous donor and gifts from the community to promote the social and economic advancement of women and girls through strategic philanthropy, grants, advocacy and collaboration.

Over the past 20 years the Community Fund for Women & Girls has demonstrated a long-term commitment to improving and advancing the status of women and girls in Greater New Haven. The Fund’s grantmaking has been an integral part of this work, supporting programs that reach women and girls as individuals as well as through efforts that address systemic causes of inequity. 

Grant Overview

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven’s Community Fund for Women & Girls is providing grants ($1,500 - $20,000) to nonprofits that provide women in Greater New Haven with greater economic security through programs that support:

• Women’s workforce training and employment participation and the necessary wraparound services
• Women’s basic needs
  • Material basic needs includes shelter (rental and eviction assistance, rental down payment furniture, mattresses), food, clothing, hygiene items, non-prescription drugs and other essential health care not covered by insurance, home utilities, physical safety, transportation, communication tools and cash assistance through gift cards.
• Women entrepreneurs
• Childcare and after-school supports which support women in the workforce

Grants are to provide a pool of flexible funding that organizations can use to purchase material items, cover administrative and staff costs, or provide cash assistance or grants to individuals.

About CT Humanities

Connecticut Humanities (CTH) is an independent, non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. CTH connects people to the humanities through grants, partnerships, and collaborative programs. CTH projects, administration, and program development are supported by state and federal matching funds, community foundations, and gifts from private sources.

CTH has earned public trust through its responsible stewardship of federal, state, and private funds, its peer-review grant-making process, its online educational resources, and its work to support, stabilize, and strengthen the organizations and communities it serves.

CTH values and promotes inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in our workplace, on our board, with our partners, and through our funding.

CT Humanities is committed to workplace diversity and in our hiring practices seeks candidates who represent the diversity of the state, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, indigeneity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, cultural background, and socioeconomic stratum.

Capacity Building Grants

Connecticut Humanities Fund (CTHF) Capacity Building Grants support Connecticut organizations that bring the humanities to the public. Grants are awarded to help organizations better understand their audiences, assets, and operations. Funded projects may include:

• Board assessments and training
• Strategic planning
• Marketing assessments and planning
• Audience assessments
• Financial assessments and planning
• Development (fundraising) assessments and planning
• Collections assessments and planning
• Interpretive assessments and planning
• Technology assessments and planning

About CT Humanities

Founded in 1974, Connecticut Humanities (CTH) is an independent, non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. CTH connects people to the humanities through grants, partnerships, and collaborative programs. CTH projects, administration, and program development are supported by state and federal matching funds, community foundations, and gifts from private sources.

CTH has earned public trust through its responsible stewardship of federal, state, and private funds, its peer-review grant-making process, its online educational resources, and its work to support, stabilize, and strengthen the organizations and communities it serves.

CTH values and promotes inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in our workplace, on our board, with our partners, and through our funding.

Sponsorships

Sponsorships support public humanities events, programs, and opportunities that help institutions serving the people of Connecticut explore and promote the enduring value of public humanities in our lives and civil society. CT Humanities (CTH) sponsorships are intended to fund activities that align with CTH’s mission and strategic goals and objectives, with the intent of providing visibility and access to strategic audiences that are not currently being served by CTH through its normal grantmaking and other initiatives.

Funding

CTH will provide funding up to $2,000 for an organization’s event in return for marketing visibility and exposure. Requests for higher sponsorship support may be considered on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by CTH Staff prior to applying.

NOTE: Select organizations that submit ideas by the deadline above will be invited to apply for funding, which will be awarded on a rolling basis. 

Citi Foundation has been a longtime supporter of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in the United States and recognizes the critical role they play in bringing financial services to low- and moderate-income and underserved communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDFI industry reported a dramatic 52.3% increase in lending and investment activity over previous levels, totaling more than $38.7 billion in financing. While this is a milestone moment for the CDFI sector, we have heard from our network of stakeholders that there is a need for further sector level investments in training and technical assistance to promote the adoption of best practices in financial management, portfolio management, underwriting practices, impact measurement and tracking. In addition, operational efficiencies could be boosted through the introduction of technology, outsourcing certain functions, leveraging shared services, industry consolidation and/or newly emerging risk-sharing models. And finally, there is a significant need for developing human talent in the industry through skill building as well as efforts to identify and nurture the next generation of future, and diverse, CDFI leaders.

In response, Citi Foundation is pleased to invite ideas to support this next level of growth for the CDFI industry through the creation of the new $50MM Community Finance Innovation Fund that will support intermediary-like nonprofit organizations with the ability to provide technical assistance and capacity building innovations to multiple CDFIs working on a national or regional basis. From the ideas submitted, the Citi Foundation will invite the most promising concepts to submit grant applications for funding.

SELECTION PRIORITIES:

Citi Foundation seeks to support a wide range of innovative approaches for advancing the field of community development finance for the benefit of CDFIs in the following categories:

• Human Capital and Talent Development
• Financial and Risk Sharing Models
• Technology and Operational Efficiencies
• Thought Leadership and Research

Housing Policy and Advocacy

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is pleased to announce a competitive grant opportunity focused on supporting policy and advocacy activities (such as administrative advocacy, state legislative advocacy and municipal advocacy) aimed at creating pathways to more accessible, affordable, stable and higher quality housing for residents of color, low-income residents, and/or residents experiencing unique housing barriers (such as returning citizens). Proposals may be focused on advocacy at the state level and/or the Greater Hartford region. 

Grants will fund activities to take place for up to one year, with a potential focus on the Winter/Spring 2023 legislative session. Grants may support advocacy around a variety of housing issues facing residents of color and low-income residents including, but not limited to, housing segregation, housing choice, housing quality, housing stability, reentry housing and pathways to more inclusive housing development. These efforts may include administrative lobbying, state- or municipal-level legislative and/or grassroots lobbying, as defined by Connecticut law. These efforts may also include resident and/or policymaker education through the creation of materials, forums, videos, etc. The Foundation does not support or oppose candidates for public office or make expenditures related to election ballots.

All proposals will be asked to describe to what extent activities are led/informed by resident voice, as well as the research basis for the proposed policy recommendations. Priority will be given to proposals that promote the leadership and voice of Hartford residents and residents who are persons of color. 

Award

The Hartford Foundation is open to requests for support of up to $25,000 that may include, but are not limited to: temporary staffing or stipends for volunteers, contracting for professional services, materials, marketing, or costs for virtual or in-person convenings (as long as they are in compliance with all federal and state public health regulations).

CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants

CT Humanities will provide up to $16M in general operating support grants to help the state’s museums, cultural, humanities, and arts organizations maintain and grow their ability to serve their community and the public, connect K-12 teachers and students to strong humanities and arts content, and improve their information technology and digital infrastructure. 

CT Humanities is honored to partner with the CT Office of the Arts to administer the CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants program. These grants are administered by CT Humanities (CTH), with funding provided by the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) from the Connecticut State Legislature.

CT Cultural Fund Operating Support grants are GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT grants for museums and 501(c)(3) non-profit, municipal, Connecticut state, or Connecticut-based tribal nation organizations that provide cultural-, humanities-, and arts-based projects and activities for the public (i.e., museums, historic houses, historical societies, arts organizations, cultural centers, and other organizations that offer activities such as exhibitions, performances, art classes, public programs, or walking tours to the public).

Funding

The minimum grant award amount will be $5,000 and the maximum award amount will be $500,000. All eligible applying organizations will receive funding support. Award amounts will be determined based upon an organization’s operating expenses, revenues, and deficits for the current fiscal year and the preceding three fiscal years.

About

The Good to Great 2.0 grant program, funded through Public Act 14-98, is for nonprofit arts, cultural, and historic organizations that connect art, history, and tourism to enhance visitors’ experience of an arts/cultural venue and/or historic site (i.e., museums, historic houses, historical societies, arts organizations, cultural centers, and other types of organizations that offer activities such as exhibitions, performances, arts classes, public programs, or walking tours to the general public).

Competitive applications will not only look beyond basic facilities repair, rehabilitation, or expansion but also towards new means of sharing and telling the stories of our state’s rich history and culture in engaging, meaningful, and relevant ways.

Program Goals

The goals of the Good to Great program are to fund capital projects that:

• Link art, culture, history and preservation in ways that will enhance and transform the visitor experiences of cultural and historical sites.
• Look beyond basic facilities repair or expansion and consider engaging, meaningful, and relevant ways to share Connecticut stories, which can include innovative means of delivery.
• Demonstrate an awareness of state tourism goals and include a clear marketing plan on how connect the two.
• Expand opportunities for small to medium-sized 501(c) 3 cultural organizations.
• Support organizations that seek to expand, and enhance the promotion arts, culture, and/or history of Connecticut.
• Increase public awareness of and/or visitation to arts, culture and history organizations in Connecticut.

Funding

Grant requests must range between $25,000 to $500,000.

Good to Great 2.0 is a reimbursement program. Grantees are responsible for all upfront expenses. All expenditures will be reviewed and approved prior to reimbursement. Funded projects must be completed within two years of grant being executed. In accordance with Section 38 of Public Act 15-1, all grant recipients will be required to have a 10-year temporary lien placed on the site by the State of Connecticut.