The Valley Community Foundation awarded $754,325 in multi-year grants ($363,125 for this year) to nonprofits providing services to Valley residents last month.
The grants will support the creation of a diaper bank, fund the cleanup of environmentally contaminated properties, and create a coalition to improve prenatal care for women in the area, among other initiatives.
Grants were awarded through the VCF’s responsive grantmaking cycle in partnership with its affiliate, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
“One of the important roles a community foundation can play is providing resources to create solutions to significant issues in a community,” said Sharon Closius, President and CEO of the Valley Community Foundation. “In that vein, we are pleased to support three brand new initiatives, while continuing to support essential nonprofits that provide core services to our Valley residents.”
Among the new initiatives receiving funding is a program based on a national model started in New Haven. A grant for $45,000 was awarded to TEAM over the course of three years to help it establish a Valley Diaper Bank that will provide diapers as well as other referral services to help recipients become more self sufficient.
“Without the Foundation’s support I don’t see how we could meet the need,” said TEAM Inc. President & CEO Richard Knoll. “Low-income families are struggling to make their next rent payment and they’re forced to cut corners. Since diapers are incredibly expensive sometimes that means using a diaper longer than you should, and it becomes a health issue for the child. We’ve already served more than 100 families and they are so relieved to get this extra help.”
Another new program is the Maternal Health Coalition created by the Naugatuck Valley Health District to address health services for women of childbearing age.
“We know women are waiting longer and longer to obtain prenatal care, and as a result they’re not getting the care they really need,” said Karen Spargo, Director of Health for the Naugatuck Valley Health District. “We want to understand what the barriers are and why this is happening. This funding will allow us to bring together a coalition, do an assessment and see where the gaps are. We look forward to bringing to the table those groups that previously provided prenatal clinics and other women’s health services such as Griffin Hospital, Cornell Scott Hill Health Center in Ansonia and Planned Parenthood.”
Both the Valley Diaper Bank and Maternal Health Coalition will work to improve families’ economic and physical health which, studies show, has an enormous impact on early childhood and a child’s later success in life.
A third grant to the CT Brownfield Land Bank, Inc. will fund the first land bank in the state solely dedicated to remediating and redeveloping brownfields in the Valley.
“We are grateful for the generosity of the donors who made this grant possible. We expect to produce important and lasting social and economic returns and look forward to fulfilling the promise of cleaned up brownfield sites for the people in our region,” said Arthur Bogen, President of Connecticut Brownfield Land Bank, Inc.
Another way that the Valley Community Foundation is supporting core services to Valley nonprofits and residents is through the use of multi-year grants, which provides the ability to strategically plan their programs.
This year, 10 nonprofits received multi-year grants:
- BHCare will receive $52,000 for behavioral health, prevention and domestic violence services to lower Naugatuck Valley, Greater New Haven and Shoreline residents.
- Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Hartford, will be awarded $60,000 for the Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic for Children, a program of the Family Service Center in Ansonia.
- CT Brownfields Land Bank will get $46,500 to support the establishment and development of CT Brownfields Land Bank.
- Griffin Hospital will receive $200,000 to support enhancements to the current Interventional Radiology Suite.
- Healthy Eyes Alliance will receive $20,400 to support the Healthy Eyes for Connecticut Kids Project which provides free vision screening, referral and follow up services for preschool children from low-income communities in New Haven, Ansonia, Derby, Seymour, Milford and Shelton.
- Lower Naugatuck Parent Child Resource Center will be awarded $45,000 to support the hiring of a Business Integration Consultant to develop a plan to integrate business and service data to improve business performance, increase capacity, improve outcomes and strengthen overall sustainability.
- TEAM Inc. will receive $45,000 for a Valley Diaper Bank Initiative that will provide diapers, wipes, and information & referral services to Valley families in need.
- Valley Emergency Medical Services will receive $40,000 to support the purchase of cardiac monitoring replacement equipment.
- Valley YMCA will be awarded $75,000 to provide general operating support for programming that builds healthy spirit, mind, and body for Valley residents.
- Women’s Business Development Council will receive $10,000 to provide general operating support for educational and counseling programming to help women start and grow businesses and achieve economic self reliance.
“The role of philanthropy is even more important now, when our local nonprofits cannot rely on consistent funding from our state and federal government,” Closius says.
Click here for a full list of grant awards from the VCF website.
Thanks to the generosity of Valley donors, hundreds of thousands of grant dollars each year are distributed from the Foundation. In addition to grantmaking, VCF works in strong partnership with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven toward building a stronger community by: working closely with donors to grow and deepen the impact of their philanthropy; identifying and supporting grassroots leadership; and strengthening nonprofits and promoting philanthropy through technical assistance programs.
To learn more about how you can help to support the quality of life in the Valley, please contact Sharon Closius at sclosius@valleyfoundation.org or 203 – 751-9162 or visit VCF’s website at www.valleyfoundation.org or follow VCF on Twitter at www.twitter.com/vcf_ct.
