Search Through Grants for 501(c)(3) in Connecticut in the U.S.

Our Mission

Our Mission is to promote the arts, education, and initiatives that seek to better our world by utilizing nature and the sciences.

General Grants

Our Letter of Inquiry form is the first step in the general grant process. The letter of inquiry should be used for projects that fall outside our three programs' scope. Some additional areas of focus for our Foundation include:

Environmental Ingenuity

We are working with organizations to reduce human environmental impact and increase fresh and saltwater quality.

Medical Research

Focusing on funding initiatives involving high-mortality, under-funded diseases, specifically, but not exclusively, pancreatic and colon cancer.

Visual and Performing Arts

We fund projects that provide students and children in the regions we serve with opportunities to experience quality arts programming, both visual and performing.

Veterans Initiatives

We work with several veterans organizations to provide respite locations, therapeutic programming, and service animals for our wounded, recovering, and returning servicemen, women, and members.

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

Charitable Investments

CSX is proud to support people and organizations that in turn honor those who serve our communities. We offer monetary and in-kind resources to nonprofit organizations advocating for the betterment of our nation’s military members or community first responders, and have additional resources available to support other community efforts.

In Kind Donations

Intermodal Transportation Services

Intermodal transportation services provide applicable organizations with intermodal equipment and rail service throughout the CSX rail network, and afford these organizations an opportunity to reduce or eliminate their transportation spending.

Ideally, intermodal moves work best when freight is moving 500 miles or more. However, the in-kind moves program requires only that freight have an origin and destination within a combined 250 miles’ distance to a CSX intermodal facility.

CSX’s door-to-door product is an ideal solution for the in-kind moves program, as our trained team will pick up your freight at its origin and transport it to a terminal to be placed on an intermodal train. Then, we will pick up your freight at the destination terminal and deliver it directly to its endpoint. The door-to-door network provides service across the Eastern United States with its large nationwide network and trucking capability.

CSX will also work with you to determine the type of equipment that is an ideal fit to transport your freight. CSX has a large fleet of rail-owned containers, as well as an expansive network of channel partners that can provide equipment to fit your needs.

Railroad Equipment and Materials

CSX occasionally donates materials, supplies and used railroad equipment based on availability. The online in-kind application can be used to request the donation of railroad-related items, including retired rail cars when available. Please note that rail, rail ties and spikes are not available for donation or purchase. Applicants will be contacted if the requested item becomes available within 90 days of their online submittal. At that time, arrangements will be made to transfer possession of the requested item. All applicants will be asked to re-submit their application at a later date if the requested item does not become available within the 90-day period.

Eager to Learn Program

Our Eager to Learn program was created to provide college test prep assistance to all learners and, in 2022, was expanded to promote education about and access to trade schools. This program will ensure that students from every socioeconomic background can access the highest quality SAT and ACT prep materials, tutors, and opportunities and explore careers in the skilled trades. We want to partner with organizations poised to provide these services or those already working with students to raise ACT and SAT scores or mentor students interested in a trade. We want all students to have a fair and equal opportunity to get into the best colleges, universities, or trade schools. We also strive to position students to be offered scholarships and tuition packages by raising their scores. Grants are capped at $25,000.

Program Goal

The Eager to Learn program was designed to give students access to the absolute best SAT and ACT prep. In 2022, we expanded the program to include funding for organizations working with individuals interested in alternative career pathways and job skills development. Organizations should be innovative and flexible in helping students and individuals to understand their options for a bright future.

This program will ensure that students from every socioeconomic background have access to the highest quality SAT and ACT prep materials. We want students and young adults to be at the forefront of information available to them from knowledgeable career counselors. We formed this program to partner with organizations poised to provide these services or who are already working to raise ACT and SAT scores or counsel kids on a bright future without the need to attend college. We want to empower students by providing them with a fair and equal opportunity to get into the best colleges and universities and position them to be offered scholarships and tuition packages by raising their scores. If a student’s path does not include college, then we want them to have access to knowledge about trade school careers.

For SAT/ACT programs

we will support organizations and schools implementing small-group test preparation sessions that enable students to achieve optimum outcomes and get the attention and answers they deserve. SAT and ACT programs should consist of groups of no more than fifteen at a time but as close to one-on-one as possible. We believe intensive programs are necessary to raise college entrance exam scores. We want to support and encourage the counseling and mentoring process required to navigate college entrance exams and beyond. Funds can also be used for intensive college counseling, application sessions, and FASFA assistance.

Eversource Energy Foundation Grants

To support our communities and make a positive difference in the lives of our customers, the Eversource Energy Foundation provides sponsorships and grants for events and programs to organizations within our service territory.

In 2024, the Foundation contributed a total of $7 million to charitable organizations in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. 

Award Amounts

Typical grants are between $1,000 and $10,000, and do not automatically renew. Organizations must reapply each year. There is a limit of one donation per organization in a calendar year.

The Hartford Foundation For Public Giving - Together for Good

As Greater Hartford’s community foundation, we are a public, grantmaking organization bringing together dedicated individuals, businesses and nonprofits to understand local challenges, share information and put resources behind solutions that can improve the quality of life for those both in our region and across the state of Connecticut.

We are fortunate to share a vision of Greater Hartford with many who are working to build a more equitable and resilient place to live, work and play. The barriers to success are longstanding, systemic and persistent. We are naming them and have an approach to address them by combining our financial resources, the talents of our team, and our wide-ranging community partnerships. Together, we will grow and share opportunity in a way that benefits everyone in the Hartford region.

Investing In Our Community

We partner with nonprofits to build a stronger and more equitable Greater Hartford. Our grantmaking addresses systemic issues and responds to evolving needs in our community.

The Hartford Foundation works with nonprofit organizations to bring about lasting change in our community. Our grantmaking both addresses major issues affecting our community and responds to evolving community needs.

Regular Grants

An organization may be eligible to apply for one regular grant every three years, selecting its highest priority from one of the following grant types: 

Program/Project

Grants that support new programs, demonstration projects, studies, or surveys that do not commit the Foundation to recurring costs. These grants provide funding for one to three years and may also be used to enhance, expand or strengthen existing programs, services and organizational capacity.

Continuation

Additional funding provided at the end of a grant to help an organization reach project outcomes that were not met within the original schedule. Continuation grants can last up to two years and are only for projects that meet certain criteria, such as those that address high-priority community issues.

Capital Grants

Grants supporting capital improvements, such as building purchase, construction or renovation, or capital equipment purchase. The Foundation generally supports a capital or building campaign once.

General Operating Support

Grants that support an organization’s ongoing activities and stability, as outlined in its strategic plan. Funding can be used at the organization’s discretion. These grants are an option for organizations with budgets over $200,000. Eligibility is highly competitive, and organizations must be in sound financial condition.

• General Operating Support Grants: FAQs
• General Operating Support Grant Application Process

Transitional Operating Support Grants

In special circumstances, these grants help well-run nonprofits that have experienced unexpected income gaps to continue important programs or close down operations.

Priority is given to programs that provide: 

• Critical basic human needs, such as food and shelter, to indigent and working poor. 
• Services other than basic human needs, such as health, education, literacy and legal services, to vulnerable and disadvantaged populations.
• Services that make a major impact on quality of life and/or the region’s economy, such as arts and culture, workforce development and economic development.

Our Mission

The Foundation’s mission is to utilize its assets to assist any not-for-profit organization seeking to promote the arts or create programs that inspire, engage, and teach.

We hope that someday the arts will no longer be considered a school elective or an interest for the few but a necessity for living a full life and for the health of our hearts and minds. 

Through our partnerships in the community, we are utilizing the arts to harness its extraordinary power to inspire, raise educational outcomes for students, and enrich the overall quality of life in marginalized communities.

We believe that there is a great synergy in combining the talents of musicians, museum educators, nonprofit arts advocates, actors, teachers, and writers. We believe that the arts, in all forms, have significant intrinsic societal value and can take on multiple roles in youth education for healthy brain and social development. 

In keeping with our mission, the Foundation values and will support organizations protecting and utilizing nature to enrich peoples’ lives through conservation and beautification. We believe that a healthy environment means a healthier population overall. 

Studies have shown that children benefit both mentally and physically from outdoor activity and clean air. We seek to continue to work with organizations that understand the value of our human connection with and reliance on a thriving and accessible green infrastructure.

Our Foundation is also interested in supporting health science and medical research. We understand that supporting cutting-edge technology and research is paramount in gaining important ground on treating and hopefully curing all forms of cancers and diseases. We are specifically interested in supporting research in treating and curing pancreatic and other forms of high-mortality illnesses that have lagged in funding and medical advancement. 

P/Arts Program

P/Arts Program Information

P/Arts stands for Philanthropic Arts and is our Foundation’s own initiative launched in 2019 to help catalyze non-profit, tax-exempt public charities, accredited schools and universities, and government or public agencies. We want to help implement or enhance educational programs utilizing the arts in daily curricula for early childhood education programs as well as K-12 students.

The P/Arts Program Was Created To Encourage Partnerships Within The Philanthropic Arts And Education Communities.

Organizations applying for P/Arts funding must be accredited 501(c)(3) organizations that are using performing and/or visual arts education to help:

• Enhance and Transform Existing Outdated Public School Curricula
• Motivate & Engage Children and Students
• Deepen Professional Development for Teachers, Professors, and Childcare Workers
• Link School and Home
• Use Evidence-Based, Arts-Based Instruction
• Help to Lessen the Education Achievement Gap

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

Mission

The Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation was established in 1973. The Foundation's 3 primary focus areas reflect Mr. Balfour's strong affinity for the employees of the Balfour Company, his commitment to the city of Attleboro, Massachusetts, and his lifelong interest in education. Specifically, the Balfour Foundation supports:

• Educational scholarships to employees of the Balfour Company, as well as to their children and grandchildren
• Organizations serving the people of Attleboro, with special consideration given to those organizations that provide educational, human services and health care programming for underserved populations
• Educational organizations that serve New England

Focus Area

Educational Organizations

The Foundation's educational funding is generally focused on organizations or programs that provide support for underserved or under-represented populations to prepare for, access and succeed in higher education, including 2-year and 4-year institutions.

It is clear that Mr. Balfour was interested in supporting students for successful completion of college. As such, the Foundation focuses its grantmaking in the New England area on programs that support college readiness, access, and success. The Foundation is most interested in programs that support students all the way into and through post-secondary credential attainment (2- or 4-year credentials). Programs within institutions of higher education aimed at attracting, supporting, and retaining (through successful completion) under-served and under-represented populations are also of interest. In this area, we will consider applications that request scholarship funds, if those scholarships are part of a broader set of services and supports.

Our Mission

The mission of the Vermont Mutual Charitable Giving Fund is to enhance the quality of life in communities where the Group conducts business, by providing financial support to worthy community organizations.

Where We Give

The Charitable Giving Fund is designed to benefit organizations within the marketing territories of Vermont Mutual Insurance Group that aim to improve the quality of life for individuals, families and communities.

Giving Focus

The Fund provides financial support to organizations that help to build, maintain and enrich healthy lives and strong, vibrant communities. The Fund's primary focus is to contribute to non-profit organizations that serve communities through any of the following four initiatives:

• Promote Education: Examples may include traditional and non-traditional opportunities focused on inspiring academic excellence, leadership and community service
• Foster Youth: Examples may include teaching and modeling positive life skills
• Community-based: Programs that build better communities in which to live and work
• Satisfy Basic Needs: Examples may include affordable housing, homelessness and hunger

Goals & Priorities

The Stocker Foundation adopted a broader 21st century definition of literacy to help students keep pace in today’s rapidly changing world.

The Stocker Foundation remains committed to closing the education equity gap and making good educational practices great by supporting kindergarten readiness and ensuring students can read at or above grade-level by third grade. However, we can achieve more by combining these priorities to include STEAM-focused grantmaking. Remember, literacy is a part of every content area, always!

What is STEAM? STEAM is an educational approach that creates access points for guided student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking through the infusion of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.  

The Stocker Foundation will partner with new and existing 501(c)(3) charitable organizations that can effectively and realistically address the following areas of interest:

• Development of foundational reading and writing skills.
• Implementation of cross-disciplinary and project-based learning through STEAM.
• Safety-net services that ensure students are healthy, engaged, supported, and challenged, removing barriers to learning and academic achievement. A small percentage of available funding per community will be considered.

About PCLB

The Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation (PCLB) was formed in 1999, by Dr. Peter Buck and his wife Carmen Lucia as a private family foundation to manage their family’s philanthropy in a thoughtful and strategic manner.

PCLB’s work is anchored by its mission statement, “giving motivated people the tools they need to help themselves.” These tools are about more than grants and include guidance, connections, convening, information, and other forms of assistance that the foundation and its grantees can provide. PCLB looks to support the highest‐quality organizations that show initiative, leadership, and innovation in solving issues that are meaningful to the family and the communities where family members live.

Program Areas

PCLB makes grants in five program areas:

• Education
• Outdoors
• Science
• Medicine
• Family Projects

Our choice of work in these program areas is guided by a desire for strategic and systemic change, by our founders’ intent, by our Board members’ interests, and by our staff’s expertise.

Within these program areas, we seek to support the highest-quality, most effective organizations that align with our broad mission of giving motivated people the tools they need to help themselves and that align with our more specific program area goals. Broadly, we provide the following types of financial support:

• General Operating: PCLB prefers to make general operating grants, to give our grantees the greatest ability to do the work they know is most important to meet our shared goals. Generally, we have general operating relationships with organizations that last for an extended period, recognizing that many of the issues on which we work take time to address.
• Restricted Support: PCLB also makes restricted grants, often to focus on areas of particular geographic interest or to support a specific department or area of work within an organization that has a broad scope.
• Big Bets: Philanthropy is uniquely positioned to take risks and try big things. In this spirit, PCLB makes a limited number of grants to fund especially large, time-limited projects that have the potential to change narratives around and trajectories of grantees’ work.
• Program-Related Investments: PCLB makes Program-Related Investments (PRIs) in the form of low-interest loans. PRIs are offered to current PCLB grantees to complete land conservation projects and to meet the facility needs of charter schools. Loans are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, within guidelines established by the Foundation.

Lifting up lives, building resilience, changing perceptions.

The Lilah Hilliard Fisher Foundation is committed to making strategic investments into our agricultural, cultural, health, and educational systems. 

Priorities

The Foundation's grantmaking is currently focused on regenerative agriculture and nutrition education efforts nationwide. The Foundation also supports organizations and projects in New York City and Litchfield County, Connecticut that help survivors of human trafficking, champion youth development, advance social justice, and strengthen safety nets for vulnerable populations.

Areas of Interest

The Lilah Hilliard Fisher Foundation has a geographic focus on organizations working in the northeastern United States in the following areas:

• Regenerative agriculture
• Soil health
• Biodiversity
• Nutrient-dense foods and nutrition education efforts

We ask that your project or idea fit within at least one of these areas of interest. Project proposals outside of these areas are by invitation only.

Culturally Enriched Communities

Travelers supports organizations that build communities and enrich lives through arts and culture, and that use the arts to contribute directly to enhanced academic learning.

Arts Education

Travelers funds organizations that incorporate the use of the arts in learning and stimulate creativity, while supporting improved academic achievement in local public schools.

Arts & Diversity

Travelers funds a wide range of organizations in order to build multi-cultural understanding in our communities. Travelers also aims to strengthen organizations that develop and present cultural and artistic traditions and/or provide access to various forms of art to diverse audiences.

Enhancing Communities Through the Arts

Travelers provides a small number of operating grants and/or sponsorships for key arts organizations in our downtown neighborhoods of Hartford, Conn., and St. Paul, Minn., in order to contribute to the vitality of the region.

UNICO Foundation

The UNICO Foundation Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) Corporation. This classification by the IRS allows various contributions to the Foundation to be tax-deductible. The Foundation was incorporated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1962. The purpose of the Foundation shall be to receive, accept and make gifts, donations, grants, awards, scholarships, fellowships, and the like, for charitable, scientific, educational, literary and religious purposes.  Every member of UNICO National is also a member of the Foundation. The Foundation also offers specific grants for cancer research & prevention and food bank/shelter. 

The UNICO Foundation makes substantial grants to:

• Cooley's Anemia
• Mental Health Organizations
• Italian Studies

Ralph J. Torraco Food Bank/Shelter Fund Grant

Mission: To feed the hungry and provide shelter for those homeless or the indigent.

Funding Criteria: To provide funds through community established food/shelter programs that provide food and shelter to those in need.

The program should not be located in a private home, and must meet all local and State health department regulations. The food/shelter program should have an established track record of providing food and or shelter to low-income clientele. Food Pantries, Soup Kitchens or Shelters should use 100% of the grant to purchase food or provide shelter. The program must be located in the United States and serve people in the United States.

Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation

Grants from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation are distributed in four focus areas (human needs, environmental stewardship, education, community vitality) and are limited to organizations defined as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code.

Grant applications will be accepted online during two annual grant cycles, one in the spring and one in the fall.

Funding

Most grant awards range from $1,000 to $15,000, while higher amounts may be awarded when a program is an exceptional fit. We often receive funding requests far in excess of our Foundation budget. Regrettably we must often decline support for otherwise worthy proposals. Such a response does not reflect on Dominion Energy's view of the value of the organization or its services.

Leaving Our Positive Footprint on the World

The Neag Foundation serves as a philanthropic force for positive change in education, healthcare, and the arts and humanities, and our initiatives are dedicated to improving the human condition and making a positive difference in the world. We support requests to improve and enhance education, and human services and make a medical impact, primarily in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. We encourage creative educational ideas, as well as exciting initiatives for health and wellness. Our mission is to make a positive impact and help people live healthier, happier, and more productive lives.

Our Founders

Raymond Neag served as a founder of Arrow International Inc., an innovative medical device company. He and his wife Carole have a strong history of philanthropic support for Berks County, Pennsylvania, communities in Connecticut, the University of Connecticut, and the UConn Health Center. Their motivation is simple: to improve the lives and education of Connecticut and Pennsylvania families today and in years to come.

Focus Areas

Higher Education Institutions

• Colleges and universities need our support, as states continue to decrease their allocations to higher education. The Neag Foundation is committed to supporting research and creative, new programs at colleges and universities. We believe that support for higher education can have a lasting impact on future generations of college students.

Healthcare

• The Neag Foundation supports healthcare and our donations in this area will advance research, healthcare intervention programs, and educational outreach. We also support innovative solutions to meet varied and increasing demands in medical professions.

Humanities & the Arts

• The Neag Foundation supports the arts and humanities because we believe in the power of the human experience and the ways in which the humanities and the arts enhance our understanding about our world. The arts bring us joy, help us understand our world, and enable us to improve our well-being and happiness.

If your organization is interested in submitting a proposal for consideration by the Neag Foundation, we encourage you to carefully review our criteria for funding to become acquainted with our grant-making goals and strategies. Unfortunately, we must decline many excellent proposals every year because they do not fit the parameters of our work. This is not a reflection of the ideas or importance of the applications but of our need to make thoughtful choices as we seek to continue the legacy of Ray and Carole Neag.

About the Foundation

It was fitting — and only natural — that, upon her death in 1974, Marian Woodward Ottley would establish by Will, the David, Helen, and Marian Woodward Fund in loving memory of her parents, and in her words, “In order to carry out their wishes and mine in attempting to make this a better world for those who come after us.”Her Will created a distribution committee to direct the trustee to distribute income and principal exclusively to or for the benefit of non-profit institutions, corporations, and associations that are located in New York and in the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont that are organized and operated exclusively for religious, educational, charitable, or scientific purposes. The Fund also awards grants to governmental agencies.

The distribution committee has attempted to carry out Mrs. Ottley’s wishes. It will continue to do so in an effort to make this a better world for those who come after her generous family.

David, Helen and Marian Woodward Fund (Watertown) Grant

The David, Helen and Marian Woodward Fund (Watertown) makes grants to qualified 501(c)(3) organizations in New York and in the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Mission

As stated in the Will of Marian Woodward Ottley, the fund’s mission is “to make this a better world for those who come after us.”

Program Areas

• Arts, culture, and humanities
• Education
• Environment, animals
• Health
• Human services
• Public/society benefit
• Religion

Consumer Financial Education Fund

The Consumer Financial Education Fund supports projects that relate to consumer financial education, with an emphasis on issues related to just and equitable banking, basic banking, financial literacy, access to financial services, retail banking accounts, and underbanked and/or vulnerable populations. 

Funding

It is expected that most proposals will be for 12-month grant periods; however, multi-year proposals are encouraged where appropriate. The maximum grant amount is $100,000, even for multi-year proposals.

Travelers believes that strong communities are sustained by educational and economic opportunities — and we are dedicated to assisting our communities in generating those opportunities. With a focus on equity and inclusion, we target our giving and volunteerism to help improve academic and career success, develop thriving neighborhoods and create culturally enriched communities.

Travelers is ensuring opportunity by contributing to efforts that create strong, vibrant communities and offer pathways to success. Through corporate funding and the Travelers Foundation, Travelers targets its giving to achieve three outcomes: Academic & Career Success, Thriving Neighborhoods and Culturally Enriched Communities. Our primary focus is educating underrepresented students to lead tomorrow’s workforce. In addition, Travelers contributes to organizations that aid in developing communities through small business support and neighborhood revitalization, and that enhance lives and learning through arts & culture. 

Travelers accepts grant applications exclusively for Hartford, Connecticut and St. Paul, Minnesota, primarily for project, program and operating support and for limited capital opportunities.

Academic & Career Success

Because today’s student will be tomorrow’s co-worker, education is the primary focus of our giving. We support college and career readiness programs for underrepresented students from middle school through college and into career. 

A successful future starts in the classroom. But many people struggle to get the education they need to compete for quality jobs and to lead a fulfilling life. Our giving focuses on helping to provide a foundation for individual success and on building a skilled workforce for our industry and our communities.

Where We Give

Nearly half of our annual giving goes toward initiatives that help underrepresented students attain academic and career success. We seek to improve academic achievement gaps by focusing on low-income and minority students in grades five through 12, students in college and those seeking careers in the insurance industry.

Funding Priorities

Academic & Career Success: Travelers supports initiatives that improve academic achievement and career success for underrepresented youth, specifically targeted at public school students in grades five through 12, students in transition to post-secondary education, and students in post-secondary learning environments.

• Middle & High School Academic Achievement– Travelers funds initiatives that foster improved academic achievement for middle and/or high school students.
• Post-Secondary Preparation & Degree Attainment– Travelers supports organizations that are building awareness of and personal readiness for post-secondary education and educational initiatives that improve degree completion for underrepresented students.
• Career Awareness & Readiness– Travelers supports educational initiatives that are building awareness of and preparation for careers in insurance and financial services.

Is your nonprofit working to create positive change in your local community? 

Presented by the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation in partnership with NBC and Telemundo stations in 11 markets, NBCUniversal Local Impact Grants Program is strengthening our communities by providing funding to local nonprofit organizations that are solving everyday problems. This year, our station will award $225,000 to exceptional nonprofit programs focused on local impact.

Grant Categories

Youth Education and Empowerment - In-school and out-of-school programs that equip youth with the tools they need to succeed, including STEM/ STEAM education and youth entrepreneurship.

Next Generation Storytellers - Programs that promote access and develop pathways for emerging talent, diverse voices, and underrepresented youth to explore careers in arts, news, sports and entertainment.

Community Engagement - Programs that enable individuals to engage and volunteer in their communities.

Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation, NBCUniversal Local and Telemundo stations are committed to supporting a culture of inclusion whereby organizations encourage equitable access, opportunities, and resources for traditionally underrepresented communities.

Legends & Lore Marker Grant Program

This program commemorates folktales, legends and folklife as an important part of every community’s cultural heritage.

Does your community have a great piece of folklore that should be shared? Legends & Lore is designed to promote cultural tourism and commemorate legends and folklore as part of our heritage.

Generally speaking, folklore is the stories, customs, traditions, and expressive arts and crafts that are passed on from one person to another, often from generation to generation. Folklore is the knowledge that people share as members of a group or community. Our shared identities and sense of belonging are the result of shared traditions, stories, customs, and activities.

Legends & Folklore Guidelines

Successful Legends & Lore marker applications typically fall within three main categories:

Folktale- Fictional stories passed down about people or events not proven to have existed. (e.g. Thirteen Curves, Champy, Headless Horseman, Tramping Ground)

Legends- Stories passed down that are popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable. (e.g. John Henry, Grancer’s Ghost, Betsy’s Ride, Natty Bumppo, “Natty Bumppo”)

Folklife- Traditions such as music, skills, crafts, and events passed along within a community. Often involving real people that can be verified with primary sources. (e.g. “Goose Day,” The Arborglyphs, Dennis McGee, Herbs & Healing, Folk Singer)

Subjects which are not successful include:

• Historical events lacking a folkloric aspect
• Purely literary creations
• Personal/family folklore which does not extend to the greater community

Community Giving through the Chelsea Groton Foundation

Chelsea Groton Foundation, Inc. was established in 1998 as a Section 501(c)(3) organization. Initially endowed with a $2 million dollar donation from Chelsea Groton Bank, the Foundation has awarded over $6.79 million in grants to non-profit organizations in the Bank’s Connecticut and Rhode Island market areas.

The Foundation’s mission is to support the ongoing commitment in partnership to the long-term growth of our community. Along with Chelsea Groton Bank, the Foundation is committed to belonging, equity, diversity, and inclusion, ensuring an ongoing sense of belonging for all, today and in the future.

Since its inception in 1998, the Chelsea Groton Foundation has awarded over $6.79 million in grants to non-profit organizations in the Connecticut and Rhode Island market areas. Throughout that time, there have always been two grant cycles per year. Due to the rising increase in requests, and after careful consideration, the Chelsea Groton Foundation Board has decided to make a few changes to the Grant Procedures EFFECTIVE JANUARY 2025 in order to best support our community partners.

Ledyard Rotary Foundation

The Ledyard Rotary Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit, tax exempt 501(C)(3) organization and an affiliate of the Rotary Club of Ledyard, Connecticut. It is dedicated to supporting programs and initiatives that serve the community and to advancing the ideals of the Ledyard Rotary Club and Rotary International. It supports causes that enhance educational opportunities, improve quality of life, improve access to health care, address social problems, advance charitable giving or provide emergency relief. The foundation exists primarily for the benefit of the residents of Ledyard and Gales Ferry, but may also support regional, state, and international programs.

About Cigna

Our Mission

To improve the health and vitality of those we serve.

Our Vision

A better future built on the vitality of every individual and every community.

Youth Mental Health Grant

The Cigna Group Foundation is committing $9 million over three years to improve the mental health of youth (ages five to 18) as it relates to post-pandemic stress and distress. This commitment includes support for their parents, caregivers, and youth service professionals like educators and therapists.

We seek to collaborate with and support nonprofits that leverage evidence-informed programs and services to serve local youth experiencing the most need.

During the first year of our three-year commitment, we will focus on investing in solutions that address mental health concerns early, and strategically offer programming, intervention, and access to care in schools and related settings in underserved communities. We look forward to partnering with nonprofit organizations that align to at least one of these grant program goals:

• Increase reach of programming that fosters social-emotional skills and well-being.
• Increase the number of parents, caregivers, and youth service professionals who feel equipped to support.
• Increase pathways to mental health intervention and access to care.

Grant Range and Term

• $100,000 – $150,000
• One-year term

Our Mission

To promote wellness and access to opportunities so that individuals and communities can thrive.

Grounded in our work in Connecticut and New York, we support visionary leaders and nonprofit organizations that serve historically marginalized populations, help individuals contribute to their communities, and champion advancements and experiences that make it possible for all people to live healthy and joyous lives.

Innovation Fund

The Tow Foundation is pleased to announce a new grant opportunity for nonprofit organizations innovatively expanding access to the care and support that youth need to thrive.

The Innovation Fund intends to make grants, ranging from $300,000 to $1 million over three years, to up to 10 organizations that are improving youth mental health and well-being and serving young people between the ages of 0-25.

Through the Innovation Fund, the Foundation hopes to inspire and invest in bold approaches, and to learn from exploring questions like: What are the most challenging barriers youth and their families face in accessing support for mental health and well-being? What emerging innovations exist to address these barriers? What is the resulting impact of these innovations on youth and their families?

The Innovation Fund takes a broad and inclusive approach when imagining the kinds of care and support that may have a positive impact on youth mental health and well-being. This includes interventions across the prevention to treatment continuum. We welcome submissions from a diverse array of organizations working in a variety of community, school, and clinical settings. For the purpose of this initiative, the word “innovation” could mean scaling proven efforts, attempting to apply existing efforts to new populations or geographies, or experimenting with a novel approach altogether. By not defining “innovation,” we hope to encourage creative thinking.

The Gladys Brooks Foundation was created under the will of Gladys Brooks Thayer of New York. 

Its purpose is to provide for the intellectual, moral and physical welfare of the people of this country by establishing and  supporting non-profit libraries, educational institutions, hospitals and clinics.

Scope of Grants Considered

The Foundation will consider major grant applications for innovative projects in the fields of libraries, education, hospitals and clinics.

Grants for Libraries 

Grant applications will be considered generally for resource Endowments (print, film, electronic database, speakers/workshops) capital construction and innovative equipment. Projects fostering broader public access to global information sources utilizing collaborative efforts, pioneering technologies and equipment are encouraged.

Grants for Educational Institutions

Grant applications from universities, colleges and secondary schools will be considered generally for:

• educational endowments to fund scholarships based solely on educational achievements, leadership and academic ability of the student; 
• endowments to support fellowships and teaching chairs for educators who confine their activities primarily to classroom instruction in the liberal arts, mathematics and the sciences during the academic year;
• erection or endowment of buildings, wings or additions thereto of buildings, and equipment for educational purposes;
• capital equipment for educational purposes.

Grants for Hospitals & Clinics

Grant proposals from hospitals and clinics where the proposal addresses a new health need, an improvement in the quality of health care or reduced health costs with better patient outcomes will be considered generally for:

• endowments for programs;
• erection or endowment of buildings, wings of or additions to buildings;
• capital equipment.

About Cigna

Our Mission

To improve the health and vitality of those we serve.

Our Vision

A better future built on the vitality of every individual and every community.

Improving Veteran Mental Health

Across the United States, veterans face an elevated risk of homelessness relative to the general population. On any given night, an estimated 40,000 veterans go without shelter, and another 1.5 million veterans are considered at-risk of homelessness.1 Research shows that veterans experiencing housing instability are at an increased risk of mental distress disorders.

We seek to collaborate with and support nonprofit organizations that leverage evidence-informed programs and services to help local veterans feel stable where they live and ultimately create positive impact on their mental health. Nonprofit partners must align to at least one of these grant program goals:

• Increase permanent housing available for veterans.
• Improve affordability for housing for veterans through rental or mortgage assistance.
• Enhance the offering of wraparound services for veterans transitioning from shelters.

Community Progress Makers Fund

Community Progress Makers is a Citi Foundation initiative aimed at supporting local community organizations connecting low-income communities to greater social and economic opportunity. The Foundation first launched the Community Progress Makers initiative in 2015 with a vision of empowering local community organizations to grow their transformative impact through unrestricted, trust-based funding. The Foundation is committing an additional $50 million to support a fourth cohort of Community Progress Makers. Through an open request for proposals (RFP) process, the Foundation will select 50 community organizations to receive the following over three years: 

• $1 million in unrestricted grant support
• Access to technical assistance from national experts and leading researchers
• Opportunities to connect and share learnings through webinars and local and national gatherings

Selection Priorities

For this funding opportunity, the Citi Foundation will prioritize organizations that demonstrate:

• Deep connections to the communities served
• Track record of partnering with other community organizations and stakeholders to achieve positive change
• Utilization of data to inform planning and the capacity to collect, analyze, and share data, results, and learnings
• Track record and innovative vision in one of the following areas of work: 
  • Affordable Housing and Access, such as efforts to promote housing affordability; home ownership; and resident support services to help people more easily access employment, education, health, and childcare.
  • Economic Development, including the provision of technical assistance to small businesses; commercial corridor revitalization efforts; and green economy strategies that promote job creation.
  • Financial Health, such as efforts in delivering financial coaching; integrated financial capability services; and savings and asset building strategies.
  • Workforce Readiness, including organizations preparing young people and/or adults for careers and entrepreneurship.