Search Through Grants for International Development in Connecticut in the U.S.

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.

Consultant Support Program

Short-term consultancy for organizational building capacity and work in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.

From time to time, a nonprofit Executive Director, senior staff member or Board member needs a thought partner or coach to work through a challenge or explore an opportunity. The Consultant Support Program can provide funding for a consultant to work a limited number of hours plus ancillary expenses (not to exceed $2,000 total).

The Consultant Support Program can be used to engage a consultant to work with your staff, board and/or volunteers around creating equity within your organization. For example, you can use the support to have a series of meetings or workshops; explore internal and external hiring and personnel policies and processes; or to attend trainings as a team.

For DE&I work, the funded project may be part of a larger project with a total budget which may exceed $5,000. Please contact us to talk about ways the Foundations can help your organization on its DE&I journey. 

Mission

The DanPaul Foundation will use its resources to help train teachers and parents in early childhood development, protect children from abuse and neglect, stimulate children's personal social responsibilities, and offer them opportunities for enrichment and growth.

The Foundation will also encourage children to be concerned and informed about the environment and the underprivileged, particularly with regard to clean air and water, and adequate housing and nutrition for all.

Beliefs

The DanPaul Foundation believes that children should have ample opportunities for enrichment in their lives, and thus strives to provide many different ways to enrich and expand children's minds through direct programs and monetary support to organizations doing similar work.

We have provided or currently provide grants related to the following program areas:

• Workshops, Conferences, + Seminars: We strive to offer educational workshops, conferences, and seminars for parents and teachers on topics related to early childhood development.
• Student Scholarships: We aim to help students attending post-secondary education institutions by providing need-based and academic scholarships.
• Scientific Endeavors: We desire to advance scientific endeavors which seek to improve the quality of life for everyone in the world.
• Clean Air + Water: We hope to pass on knowledge and practical life skills to youth regarding their personal responsibility to the environment, teaching them about issues surrounding clean air and water.
• Child Advocacy: We believe in protecting children from abuse and neglect and particularly love to support programs that provide education and assistance to children as well as organizations advocating or caring for vulnerable children.
• Homelessness: We want to encourage young people to take a personal interest in seeing that adequate housing and proper nutrition, especially for the underprivileged and homeless, are available.
• Poverty + Neglect: We seek to help those in poverty as well as educate youth about their responsibility to consider the underprivileged and take care of those most in need of life's basic essentials like adequate housing and proper nutrition.
• Refugee Enrichment: We wish to help refugee youth by supporting programs that provide them enrichment and help them transition to life in a new country.

The DanPaul Foundation provides grants to 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organizations as defined by the IRS. The Foundation is interested in providing funding to programs that directly serve the health, education, development, and welfare of the world's youth.

Grants range from a few hundred dollars up to $15,000 per calendar year.

Global Impact Cash Grants

Identifying and incubating innovative early-stage solutions. We identify, incubate, and develop innovative early-stage solutions with the highest potential for impact. Global Impact Cash Grants go to nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that address a significant social problem. We're looking for programs that fit within our investment sectors, focus on the underserved, and use technology to improve the reach and efficiency of services.

We accept applications year-round from eligible organizations. A brief Letter of Inquiry (LOI) is used to determine whether your organization will be invited to complete a full application. Please expand and carefully review each of the three sections below to learn more

Our priority social impact sectors

We focus on investing in innovative, tech-enabled solutions to the challenges and opportunities that matter most to communities in need, prioritizing four social impact sectors:

Cisco Crisis Response

Mobilizing to provide essentials to communities in need and those in crisis, including food, housing, secure connectivity, and disaster relief

By leveraging Cisco’s people, technology, financial resources, and strategic partnerships, we help strengthen community resilience and drive long-term recovery from crises.

Education

Supporting students, teachers, and schools by increasing engagement, building skills, promoting subject mastery, and expanding their capacity to thrive

Cisco is committed to inclusive access to digital skills training and supporting those who use technology to educate. Through programs like Cisco Networking Academy and social investments in education, we create new opportunities for individuals to thrive.

Economic Empowerment

Transforming communities through skill development, long-term career opportunities, entrepreneurship, and access to financial products and services

Strategic grants that unlock economic prosperity and growth for individuals and communities.

Climate Regeneration

Building an inclusive, regenerative, and resilient climate future through education, regenerative agriculture, conservation, protection, and clean energy solutions

Our efforts began in 2021, when the Cisco Foundation committed US$100 million over 10 years to fund nonprofit grants and impact investing in climate solutions. 

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—culture, education, health and social service—and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Whether providing a scholarship to a deserving student, supporting a rural health clinic or bringing artists into schools so children can see firsthand the beauty of the arts, the Foundations’ focus is consistent: to help those in need, those underserved and those underrepresented in society. Since the Foundations were formed in the 1940s, the scale and capabilities of the grant making have changed, but the mission has not.

Culture Grant

The Hearst Foundations fund cultural institutions that offer meaningful programs in the arts and sciences, prioritizing those that enable engagement by young people and create a lasting and measurable impact. The Foundations also fund select programs nurturing and developing artistic talent. Supported organizations include arts schools, ballets, museums, operas, performing arts centers, symphonies and theaters.

Funding Priorities in Culture

In the recent past, 25% of total funding has been allocated to Culture. Organizations with budgets over $10 million have received 60% of the funding in Culture.

The Hearst Foundations are only able to fund approximately 25% of all grant requests, of which about 80% is directed to prior grantees and about 20% is targeted toward new grantees.

Types of Support

Program, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

We have strong partnerships with nonprofit organizations across the country that are working to advance economic mobility and social progress in low- and moderate-income communities. Our focus areas include basic needs like food and housing, workforce development and education, and community development. In addition to our philanthropic investments, we also encourage our employees to make a difference by offering robust employee giving and volunteering programs, including the opportunity to direct funds to organizations they support through volunteer efforts, and a matching gifts program that doubles their individual giving to causes they care about. Last year, we invested $350 million in the communities we serve, and employees contributed more than 1 million volunteer hours and directed $65 million through individual giving and matching gifts to support nonprofits.Through our regional U.S. sponsorships, we support the economic, social and cultural life of the places we live and work. We provide an extensive program of arts and sports sponsorships to help maintain vibrant, healthy communities.Sponsorships supporting communitiesBank of America welcomes your sponsorship proposal for opportunities that make our communities a better place to live and work. We are particularly interested in providing support to address needs vital to the health of our communities through a focus on:

• preserving neighborhoods;
• educating the workforce for 21st century jobs;
• addressing critical needs such as hunger and emergency shelter;
• arts and culture;
• the environment; and
• diversity and inclusion programs.

Grants are made at the Foundation’s discretion based on our current funding strategies focused on housing, jobs and hunger. 

Who We Are

Impact Fairfield County was founded in 2015 by Wendy Block and Vicki Craver and is based on the Impact 100 model of collective giving. The goal was to gather at least 100 women in the area to pool their contributions to make significant philanthropic investments in local non-profits.

Since our initial grant year in 2016, we have provided nearly $1.6 million in grant funding to local exceptional non-profits, including twelve $100,000 Impact FFC Grants and significant general operating support. Through these transformational grants, we are not only able to greatly improve the lives of those in our community, but we have developed a venue for women to learn about local needs, which non-profits are meeting those needs and educating ourselves on how to more effectively put our philanthropic investments to use.

In our 5th year of giving, we had 243 members, with over 140 members serving on our grant review committees to work together to evaluate the 52 grant proposals received from non-profits throughout the county. We provided $244,000 in grant funding to implement programs that will make a tremendous impact in our community.

 Impact Fairfield County Core Mission Grant

Impact Fairfield County’s goal is to provide high-impact grants that reach under-served populations, highlight unmet needs in our area and raise the profile of deserving but lesser known initiatives. To support this important work and allow organizations to “dream big,” Impact FFC annually awards $100,000 grants to local non-profits. Total funding is determined by the number of members who contribute $1,000 each towards the grants. Excess membership funds will be divided among the other finalists of the grant process for general operating support.

Grant finalists are determined through a detailed process of proposal review and evaluation by members, and the grant recipients are chosen by a vote of the membership at the Impact FFC Annual Meeting in May.

Eligibility Criteria

The Impact Fairfield County Core Mission Grant will provide restricted funds to develop new programs; enhance, expand or strengthen existing programs; and/or improve organizational capacity that advances the nonprofit organization's core mission. Our transformative grants are in the amount of $100,000 to be spent over 24 months, of which, up to 20% is allowed to be allocated toward general operating expenses, as needed.

Overview

The Connecticut Arts Endowment Fund (CAEF) was established by the Connecticut General Assembly to stimulate the development of private sector funding and to ensure the long-term stability of Connecticut’s arts industry by providing funding to organizations. The Fund is managed by the Office of the State Treasurer and the program is administered by the Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA).

Interest earned on the Fund's principal is distributed annually to arts organizations that qualify by raising more than $15,000 in donor contributions* for two (2) consecutive fiscal years. *Donor contributions are from a non-governmental source such as a private-sector organization, foundation, corporation, partnership, single proprietorship, association or an individual person making a contribution to an arts organization.

CAEF grants are “unrestricted,” that is, organizations may apply funds toward program­ming, administrative or operational costs, capital projects, equipment purchase, or to build their own endowments.

Funding Formula

Applicants do not specify a grant request amount. Grant awards are calculated solely on the following formula:

Year 1 "Prior Fiscal Year": For the portion of donor contributions which is equal to $15,000 or more but does not exceed the total donor contributions for the prior fiscal year, there shall be a match of 25% of such amount, capped at $250,000. 

Year 2 "Most Recent Fiscal Year": For the portion of the total donor contributions that exceeds the total donor contributions for the prior fiscal year, there shall be a match of 100%, capped at $1 million. 

If the total amount of grants to be paid exceeds the investment earnings of the Arts Endowment Fund, all grants shall be reduced on a pro rata basis.

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.

Building Equitable Opportunity

This new grant area combines several of the Foundation’s former grant opportunities including Cradle to Career (early care and youth development) and Economic Vitality grants. By combining these areas, we recognize that although systems are often siloed by issue area or population, individuals and families navigate across policies, systems and programs. Building Equitable Opportunity seeks to explore solutions across generations and systems.

Our focus on equitable opportunity emerged from research on the deep educational and economic disparity that exists in our region. We found disparity based on race, and also income, age, geography, and gender/sexuality.

Income: The median household income of Waterbury residents was $40,879 in 2017, compared to over $93,000 for the towns in the Litchfield Hills.

Age: Children and youth are most likely to be low-income in Waterbury with 64% of the population being under the age of 17.

Geography: Funding spent per pupil varies greatly by geography, students in the Litchfield Hills have nearly $20,000 spent per pupil vs. just over $15,000 in Waterbury. Only 62% of Waterbury children have a pre-k experience compared to 79% statewide.

Race: Only 26% of Black students and 23% of Latinx students were proficient in reading by 3rd grade compared to 45% of white students in Waterbury

Gender/Sexuality: LGBTQ youth are at more than double the risk of homelessness compared to non-LGBTQ peers.

Our approach focuses on:

• Supporting programs, advocacy, and system change efforts that build equitable pathways out of poverty and to economic mobility
• Promoting access to quality culturally responsive education, especially focused on Waterbury where there are significant disparities by race and income
• Supporting the development of jobs and career pathways with livable wages
• Promoting opportunities to build assets for BIPOC families that have been left behind in traditional banking systems
• Targeting education interventions that support BIPOC students and include youth and parent voice in decision-making

Efforts we support include:

• Increasing collaboration between school systems and preschools to align readiness, support kindergarten transition, and focus on parent voice
• Evidence-based initiatives that improve the quality of the pre-k and K-12 experience for Black and Latinx, low-income, and children with disabilities (examples include: RULER, Circle of Security, Restorative Justice Practices)
• Interventions that address disproportionate minority contact in in pre-K-12 education and expand access to pathways to college
• Programs that substantially build the long-term assets and economic resiliency/mobility of residents (such as financial education and planning, job and skills training, etc.)

We encourage requests that:

• Provide services or support to the communities located within our 21-town service area
• Support system change and advocacy efforts
• Include support for core nonprofit operations such as staff time, overhead and evaluation
• Support organizations led by Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC)

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

Women’s Fund History

The 20th anniversary of Connecticut Community Foundation’s Women’s Fund prompted not only celebration, but contemplation. Reflecting on our grantmaking and other activities on behalf of women over the years and looking toward the future, we undertook an intensive effort in 2014 to listen to women and girls from across our 21-town region, to understand the issues they consider most important and to think strategically about how the Women’s Fund might best impact the community. Local brainstorming sessions and national research raised the persistent problem of low self-esteem among pre-teen and teenage girls. Read the report.

Women’s Fund Purpose

To identify, convene and support programs that promote advocacy and skill development while fostering resilience, self-esteem and self-respect among girls and young women in our region.

Women’s Fund, Possible Grant Funding Projects

• Creation of inclusive, welcoming, and supportive conditions and positive role models
• Outreach that builds participation and inclusion of underrepresented populations
• Meaningful youth involvement in creating the program’s plans and or implementation
• Programs that contribute to positive youth development and utilize the Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets; programs that have established achievable and meaningful goals for participants, as well as tracking systems to follow progress; and programs that include teenage and pre-teen girls.
• Multiple organizations working collaboratively on establishing goals, developing curricula or schedules, and addressing training needs, implementation and evaluation efforts.
• Planning grants that allow organizations the opportunity to explore and plan for a potential project. Costs associated with analyzing feasibility, solidifying partnerships, developing work plans or proofs of concept are eligible.

Pathways for Older Adults

History

Grants that help older adults thrive are made possible by the East Hill Woods Fund at Connecticut Community Foundation, established in November 2009 with a contribution of $9.2 million through the sale of East Hill Woods.

As a field of interest fund, the East Hill Woods Fund provides grants to nonprofits and municipalities that offer services and opportunities for older adults living in the Foundation’s service area. A portion of the fund is also designated to train and educate future managers of senior living communities. Building community centers for our elderly is highly important in this age, they need to feel connected with their peers and others in the community, this is where construction companies like Enviro are here for neighborhoods who require modular buildings.

Purpose of Grants

To help people in our region age successfully and remain healthy, informed and engaged. Grant funding is also provided to local communities to help them prepare for the aging of the population.

Our grants to organizations working to improve quality of life for older adults typically fall into one of these general categories:

• Healthy aging
• Connecting with information, benefits and resources
• Aging successfully and safely in the community
• Education, arts and creative expression
• Waterbury BRASS (Bringing Resources to Action to Serve Seniors): A citywide collaboration
• Engaging older adults in addressing community needs
• Intergenerational projects

Possible Projects

• Develop core programs and adopt best practices that connect older adults with benefits, services and opportunities; assist with chores, home maintenance and home safety; enhance health and fitness; and build age-friendly communities that promote civic engagement and full participation for all ages.
• Hold a Town Conversation on Aging, open to the public, to discuss services, resources and opportunities for older adults in the town, identify needs and gaps, and prioritize action steps for the next several years. A $2,000 grant is available to each town in the Foundation’s service area for these conversations. This questionnaire provides a framework for the conversation.
• Connect more people over age 65+ to their libraries through Lifelong Libraries grants. Program possibilities include health, wellness, education, arts, creative expression, technology, financial security, intergenerational, and more.
• Collaborative programs that enhance services in a cost-effective manner are prioritized. Examples include a fitness program that rotates among towns and development of a coordinated transportation system.

Anne S. Richardson Fund

The Fund was created in the mid-1960s under the will of Anne S. Richardson to support charitable purposes.

Funding Interests

• Eight organizations recommended by Miss Richardson;
• In Ridgefield, Connecticut: programs that assist lower-income people or are of broad interest to the community; and
• In Connecticut (particularly Fairfield County): programs that promote the independence of women, support the lesbian and gay community, encourage youth development, or promote environmental conservation. See grant page for this opportunity here.

Type of Support

Project, capital and, in limited circumstances, operating.

About the Foundation

Bruce N. Griffing grew up in Fairfield County, Connecticut. When he passed away in the early 1930’s, this perpetual trust was created under the terms of his Last Will and Testament. Mr. Griffing’s desire to help children and youth in his community led him to create the trust to benefit organizations dedicated to serving youth in the cities of Derby and Shelton. Youth organizations in this area have appreciated his generosity since 1933, and will continue to benefit for many years to come.

Mission

To benefit organizations dedicated to serving youth in the cities of Derby and Shelton, Connecticut.

Program areas

• Arts, culture, and humanities
• Education
• Health
• Human services

Arts & Culture Grant

Arts and culture play important roles in education, economic development, and general quality of life. Research shows a correlation between arts-based learning and enhanced student achievement, noting how the arts stimulate learning and improve overall academic performance. The arts are also an important part of Connecticut’s economy and more importantly, can serve as a bridge between cultures. We recognize that there is inequity in access to and utilization of the arts. As a result, our arts and culture funding prioritize efforts that address disparity and increase access to culturally responsive art experiences, led by BIPOC artists.

Our approach focuses on:

• Increasing access to quality creative arts programs, with a focus on addressing existing disparities.
• Nourishing community arts efforts and refreshing expectations for larger legacy institutions, exploring how traditional entities can serve and partner with diverse communities in non-traditional ways.

Efforts we support include:

• Participatory arts programs in various media (visual, theater, music, dance, writing, etc.) that create inclusive and supportive conditions for individuals of diverse backgrounds, ages, genders and cultures, and provide ways of making deeper connections to community life.
• Opportunities to create/showcase work and collaborate with others. This may also include integration of arts and community-building activities, or outreach to and inclusion of traditionally underrepresented audiences.
• Work to support/develop artists and efforts to build a supportive and thriving arts sector, welcoming to both current and new/non-traditional artists.
• Support for artists and organizations in forging creative efforts to uplift residents and inspire community & economic development.

Saunders Fund for the Sick and Infirm of Naugatuck

Funded by the Saunders Fund for the Sick and Infirm of Naugatuck, these grants support the mental and physical health needs of Naugatuck residents.

Efforts we support include:

• Initiatives that improve population health, ensure access to quality care, and empower individuals to actively participate in managing their health.
• Efforts to expand and connect community resources to work toward a common vision of health that addresses the unique needs of the Foundation’s 21-town region. Promote collaboration from multiple sectors to improve conditions and outcomes related to health and well-being of the region.
• Support for community awareness and increased dissemination of evidence-based prevention and chronic disease management programs (may include diabetes, obesity, tobacco use, asthma, falls).
• Identification of barriers to implement effective prevention models and development of strategies to address these barriers.

Background

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 Community Foundation for Greater New Haven’s Community Fund for Women & Girls is providing grants (up to $15,000) to Greater New Haven serving nonprofits that provide women (including those who identify as cisgender, transgender and nonbinary) with greater economic security through programs that support:

• Women’s workforce training and employment participation
• Women entrepreneurs
• Women’s housing stability
• Innovative childcare which supports women in the workforce

Funding Priorities

Support for workforce training, job readiness and employment programs which improve women’s economic security. Priority consideration will be given to programming which includes wraparound supports (ex., cash assistance, transportation, childcare), that allow women to fully participate in training and work opportunities. Sample outcomes: Women’s increased ability to seek and maintain employment; increased ability to participate in and complete job-training programs.

Support for initiatives that help women entrepreneurs in the development and maintenance of sustainable businesses. Can include training and coaching, direct financial assistance for operational and administrative costs, business planning and marketing guidance, and/or other related services. Sample outcomes: Woman-owned business’ increased financial strength, increased operational capacity, creation of employment opportunities for women.

Support for initiatives that help women obtain or maintain housing stability. Can include rental and eviction assistance, rental down payments, furniture, utility assistance and foreclosure prevention. Sample outcomes: Women’s increased housing stability through rental assistance distributions.

Support for childcare programs which incorporate creative solutions to meet the needs of working families. Examples include alternative/extended-hour childcare; childcare-employer collaborations; childcare-training program collaborations and partnerships. Sample outcomes: Increased access to childcare for families, continued program operations for childcare/youth programming, increased collaboration amongst childcare providers and local businesses.

Boehringer Ingelheim

Boehringer Ingelheim is on a mission to improve lives around the world. We do this by developing innovative medicines and helping patients gain access to them - wherever they may be - and by supporting innovative programs that help ensure the health of individuals and communities in this and future generations.

Strengthening Communities

The Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation (BI Cares) is committed to improving the lives of patients and animals toward a larger goal of making healthier communities. We do this through financial contributions and donations of healthcare products and resources. The programs we support align with our goals to improve access to healthcare, enhance STEM education, and strengthen the human-animal bond with a focus on the underserved.

BI Cares works closely with our local partners to create and sustain programs that bring people together to strengthen our communities. Our employees engage in our programs and amplify our donations through skills-based volunteerism, applying their talents and experience to help nonprofits fill unmet community needs.

Since BI Cares was founded in 2001, we have donated over $37 million to support programs aligned with our goals.

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.

The EPOC Grant Program provides non-profit and not-for-profit environmental advocacy groups, community based groups and environmental education organizations funding for local projects that benefit the environment.

The applications will be judged against the environmental benefits of the project and compared to the other grant submittals. Environmental benefits can vary widely and successful applications may include projects within Connecticut that improve the environment, such as:

• property and watershed clean-ups,
• reforestation efforts,
• biodiversity projects,
• streamside buffer restoration projects,
• monitoring environmental conditions of watersheds or ecosystems and
• hazardous waste collection efforts.

Also, proposals that promote environmental education and development of youth for careers in the environmental field will be considered.

Calling to Serve

Since its inception in 2016, the Robinson Foundation has sought to demonstrate God’s love through sharing the gifts we have received. We understand the often unspoken hardships and struggles that people in and outside of our community face everyday. As such, our contributions are focused on relieving these hardships for the betterment of our world.

As a family-operated foundation, we pray that our small efforts will not only create immediate change in the lives of our neighbors, but will help set those lives on a course for success in the future. We are thankful for each and every day we have on this earth to use what God has granted us to make a difference.

Areas of Interest

• Animal Welfare
• Children & Families
• Disaster Relief
• Education
• Medical Assistance
• Nature & Wildlife Conservation
• Poverty Relief
• Religious & Spiritual Endeavors
• Veterans' Issues

Grant Considerations

We take many different aspects of applications into account when making grant issuing decisions, however these are some of the high-level questions we ask ourselves during the process:

• How does the organization serve their key audience goals?
• Is the organization fiscally responsible?
• Will a grant have a tangible, meaningful impact?
• Will we see direct results from this grant?
• Does the organization have other financial contributors?

Mission Statement

The SBM Charitable Foundation, Inc., perpetuating the vision of the former Savings Bank of Manchester, is committed to bettering the lives of those who live and work predominantly East of the River in Hartford, Tolland, and Windham Counties. Priorities established for the Foundation’s giving are Health, Human Services, Education, Housing, and the Arts.

Guidelines for Giving

The purpose of the Foundation is to fund programs that improve the quality of life for residents in the communities it serves. The Foundation contributes to a wide range of organizations that foster education enrichment, economic development, and social well-being.

The categories of grants funded by the Foundation are as follows:

Education

The Foundation is committed to helping people achieve their goals through education. Scholarships are a high priority awarded through grants to both universities and colleges located in Connecticut, as well as to direct service programs that enhance academic and personal achievement such as adult literacy and reading readiness programs.

 Scholarships

College scholarships of up to $5,000 each are awarded annually to students selected on the basis of school and community activities, academic achievement, and financial need. The applicant must reside permanently in one of the counties served by the Foundation. Scholarships are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate education. Recipients of Foundation undergraduate scholarships may qualify for scholarships for graduate studies. Students must attend an accredited institution of higher education in the state of Connecticut. They must be in the top 40 percent of their high school class or maintain a 2.5 grade point average or higher in college, and exhibit financial need.

Applications for scholarships are accepted from January through March for the following academic year (beginning September). Awards are made in June.

Health Programs

Priority is given to programs that provide direct services to the community, including hospitals, community health programs, prevention programs and intervention services.

Human Services

The Foundation funds broad-based projects that enhance and improve the quality of personal life for the residents of its communities — such as libraries, municipal programs, social services for families and children, and economic development initiatives.

Housing

Funding may be awarded to organizations that expand home ownership opportunities and provide access to affordable housing within communities served by the Foundation.

Arts

The Foundation supports a wide range of cultural events, including theater, music, and art programs. The aim is to broaden access to cultural activities and enrich the lives of people who live and work within the communities served by the Foundation.

What we do

Established in 1923, Connecticut Community Foundation was created by and for the people of Greater Waterbury and the Litchfield Hills. While serving this 21-town region, the Foundation works to address the community’s critical issues, funds programs benefiting local residents, supports efforts to improve systems to foster more equitable outcomes for residents, strengthens local organizations through learning and outreach, and works with individuals, families and corporations to steward charitable and scholarship funds.

Our Mission

To foster an equitable and inclusive community in Greater Waterbury and Litchfield Hills by inspiring generosity, supporting organizations, and cultivating effective leaders. 

Our Vision

An equitable, inclusive, just, and vibrant community in Greater Waterbury and Litchfield Hills in which all residents have what they need to thrive.

Pride in the Hills Fund (LBGTQ+)

The Pride in the Hills Fund at Connecticut Community Foundation has a mission to support, inspire and celebrate LGBTQ+ people in Greater Waterbury and the Litchfield Hills.

Purpose of Grants

Made possible through the Southbury Community Trust Fund, grants provide support for a variety of programs that benefit Southbury residents. Priority is given to proposals that demonstrate collaboration and strong partnerships.

Possible Projects

• Social and Community Services: Support Southbury residents by providing access to basic needs, transportation, and affordable housing.
• Wellness and Health Education: Promote a healthy, vibrant community by encouraging access to prevention programs, fitness, and access to care for all ages.
• Enhancement of Youth Development: Foster positive identity, strong values, social competencies, commitment to learning, community service, empowerment, leadership, and resilience for Southbury youth.
• Aging and Livable Communities: Develop and promote programs that enable older adults to age in place successfully. May include: connecting older adults with benefits and services; reaching people who are underserved; home maintenance, chore, and home safety programs; and building age-friendly communities.
• Arts and Culture: Promote access to performing arts and fine arts programs for community enrichment.
• Environmental Awareness: Encourage the preservation, protection, and conservation of land, water, and wildlife.
• Cultural Heritage: Support Southbury’s tangible cultural heritage and town history.

About Us

Main Street Community Foundation, Inc., is a public charity committed to partnering with individuals, families and businesses who wish to build permanent charitable connections, now and for generations to come, to support and better the communities of Bristol, Burlington, Plainville, Plymouth, Southington and Wolcott, Connecticut, USA. Founded in 1995, the foundation takes great pride in helping to make each town a better community in which to live and work.

The foundation addresses a broad range of community goals. We support meaningful dialogue on issues affecting the towns we serve. We convene community members, monitor and assess changing needs, locally and beyond and propose action on critical concerns. In this way, we are able to meet changing needs and provide support to what matters most to the people who live and work in the cities and towns of this region. As a community foundation we are committed to connecting donors with the community and to causes they care about through charitable giving. We talk with donors about their charitable interests and find ways to help them achieve their goals - often by setting up permanent endowments.

Women & Girls Fund 

The Women & Girls Fund was founded in 2001 by a group of caring and committed women. Through grantmaking, the Foundation assists women and girls with obtaining the skills and competencies to develop their potential and improve the quality of their lives. Grants will allow organizations to build internal capacity to ensure ongoing support of women and girls in the local communities. Applications will be accepted for program grants and capital requests that are related to a program that meets grant guidelines.

Grantmaking Priorities

Based on input from over 20 participating grantee and community partners, Main Street Community Foundation has identified three priority areas for the Women & Girls Fund. Preference will be given to grant requests that address these needs:

• Services for Senior Women: Programs that provide supports to senior women to increase self-sufficiency such as - basic needs, financial literacy resources, and opportunities to decrease social isolation.

• Confidence Building and Leadership: Programs that build self-esteem and self-reliance particularly in young girls and teens such as - programs that promote connections with a caring and stable adult, programs that promote financial literacy and life-skills, and programs that develop skills to be a successful leader in school, the community or in a career.

• Mental Health and Well-being: Programs that reduce anxiety and stress through non-clinical methods, teach mindfulness skills, and improve overall self-care and well-being for women of all ages.

Collaborations between organizations are encouraged and will be given special consideration.

Our Mission

The Hansen Family Foundation provides opportunities to domestic, international, secular, and non-secular organizations that support the American way of life, which is defined by the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

Causes

Children

The Hansen Family Foundation supports causes dedicated to helping children both home as well as abroad. Learn More

Education

The Hansen Family Foundation believes that a decent education should be made available to everyone, young or old, the world over. Learn More

Animals

The Hansen Family Foundation believes in helping those who cannot speak on their own behalf. Learn More

Environmental

The Hansen Family Foundation is dedicated to preserving the world we all share. Learn More

Humanitarian

The Hansen Family Foundation views the plight of our fellow man as an opportunity to actively engage and effect change. Learn More

Arts & Culture

The Hansen Family Foundation supports all forms of artistic and cultural endeavors. Learn More

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.