Several Valley organizations received grants from the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
The region’s largest grantmaker and permanent endowment, announced Monday about $5 million in grants to 79 nonprofits serving the Greater New Haven region.
There was an increase in health and basic needs grant requests this year, as well as, arts and culture, the environment and community development. Funding was made possible through three generations of donors to The Community Foundation who created The Community Foundation’s endowed funds.
As in years past, grant recipients ranged in size, program diversity and geographic reach; 17 out of the 79 grantees had no prior funding history through the responsive new grants process.
“Nearly half of all grants were awarded for general operating support to help nonprofits in their leadership, management and sustainability efforts,” said Will Ginsberg, President & CEO of The Community Foundation. “These grants are critical to ensuring the organizational effectiveness of some of our local nonprofits who are trying to balance budgets against a backdrop of diminished resources and rising demands in services.”
“There were many more meritorious proposals than The Community Foundation was able to support,” said Dr. Penny Canny, Senior Vice President for Grantmaking & Strategy at The Community Foundation. “We continue to encourage general operating support and look for organizations that exhibit leadership at all levels, embrace self- learning through evaluation and knowledge building and are committed to instituting the highest level of effective practices to achieve their goals. The Foundation balanced grants for operating support with making making sure that some funding went to new and innovative projects, as well as to smaller organizations.”
Among the programs to receive operating support from The Community Foundation were programs to help prepare students for college, offer homebuyer education and financial assistance, provide housing for the elderly and daycare services for families in need, educate the public about environmental concerns, offer arts and cultural opportunities and provide food and shelter.
One new program to receive funding was the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, a first time grant recipient. The Center received a $60,000 multi-year grant to provide legal assistance to low-income veterans from the region, particularly for female service women who are experiencing homelessness or mental illness.
“It is gratifying when we are able to keep veterans in their home, or help them get benefits, but the hardest part of the work has been seeing how many more veterans go without legal help they need,” says Margaret Middleton, the Center’s Executive Director. “We are really grateful for the support from The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. Thanks to them we’ll be able to help even more of Connecticut’s veterans build the stable lives they want and deserve to have.”
A complete list of 2010 responsive new grants is below:
Ability Beyond Disability Inc. $75,000
1st Year $25,000; 2nd Year $25,000; 3rd Year $25,000
To support the Roses for Autism program, a business venture that provides training and employment for individuals with autism.
Achievement First
$75,000
To provide general operating support to continue grade level expansion of Amistad Academy and Elm City College Preparatory (ECCP) thus offering a complete K‑12 education by 2012.
AIDS Project New Haven
$120,000
1st Year $40,000; 2nd Year $40,000; 3rd Year $40,000
To expand the Caring Cuisine program, a home meal preparation and delivery service that provides nutritional intervention to improve health outcomes for chronically ill patients and their families.
APT Foundation Inc.
$20,000
To support the provision of childcare for female clients enrolled in recovery-based programming and treatment.
Artspace, Inc.
$60,000
1st Year $25,000; 2nd Year $20,000; 3rd Year $15,000
To provide general operating support to present art, provide exhibition opportunities for local artists and to strengthen the exchange of ideas between local artists, national artists and their audiences by producing exhibitions.
Beth El Center, Inc.
$15,000
To provide general operating support for transitional shelter programs, a soup kitchen, and advocacy initiatives.
Beulah Heights First Pentecostal Church
$45,000
1st Year $15,000; 2nd Year $15,000; 3rd Year $15,000
To provide general operating support for the Social Integration Program which provides food, clothing, transportation, job assistance, personal hygiene items, incentives and laundry services for ex-offenders and others in need.
Birmingham Group Health Services Inc.
$88,000
1st Year $43,000; 2nd Year $45,000
To support the Valley Substance Abuse Action Council’s expansion of services into the New Haven region to coordinate and plan substance abuse prevention and training efforts.
Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
$281,500
1st Year $120,000; 2nd Year $81,000; 3rd Year $80,500
To support the completion of the construction/renovation of the Joel E. Smilow Clubhouse in Ansonia to provide out-of-school programming for youth.
Bridges…A Community Support System Inc.
$25,000
To support the Wellness Assistance Program, which provides funds for uninsured clients with serious mental illness to pay for expenses such as diagnostic tests, medications and transportation to medical appointments.
Children in Placement of CT, Inc.
$4,970
To support computer infrastructure upgrades and expanded marketing efforts to better serve abused and neglected children in New Haven.
City Seed, Inc.
$15,000
To support strategic planning and board development to continue its sustainable urban model of providing access to locally grown food.
Clifford Beers Guidance Clinic
$25,000
To support the development of the Mental Health Consultation Services for the Community Project to support strategic alliances with other youth serving organizations in the New Haven community to improve the mental health of children.
Clifford Beers Guidance Clinic
$50,000
To provide general operating support for mental health services to children and youth with psychiatric and behavioral disorders and their families.
Columbus House, Inc.
$45,000
To provide general operating support to serve people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless by providing shelter/housing, and fostering personal growth and independence.
Connecticut Association for the Performing Arts
$15,000
To support a feasibility study to evaluate and outline a plan to reconfigure the Shubert’s physical spaces so that it can better serve the changing needs of the community.
Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance
$18,000
To provide general operating support to reduce the number of children and youth entering the juvenile justice system through legislative education and advocacy, strategic communications, community organizing and national, state and local partnerships.
Connecticut Veterans Legal Center
$60,000
1st Year $35,000; 2nd Year $25,000
To provide free legal services to low-income veterans primarily from Greater New Haven with a focus on those who are homeless, mentally ill, and female.
Connecticut Women’s Education & Legal Fund
$70,000
1st Year $40,000; 2nd Year $30,000
To recruit attorneys, law students, and volunteers to provide services for women and low-income families from New Haven navigating the legal system.
Consultation Center
$43,000
1st Year $15,000; 2nd Year $15,000; 3rd Year $13,000
To support the continuation and expansion of the Youth Development Training and Resource Center’s professional development for mid-level supervisors and managers in youth-serving organizations.
Corporation for Supportive Housing
$45,000
To plan and develop a pilot “medical home” model through a new partnership with Hill Health Center and Columbus House to improve access to health care and improve the health and wellness of New Haven’s vulnerable population.
Creative Arts Workshop
$40,000
1st Year $20,000; 2nd Year $20,000
To provide general operating support for educational programming in fine arts and crafts for children and adults and free art exhibitions of a variety of visual arts media.
Data Haven
$80,000
1st Year $40,000; 2nd Year $40,000
To provide general operating support to build a comprehensive community knowledge and data resource to support community initiatives and priorities.
Easter Seals Goodwill Industries Rehabilitation Center, Inc.
$165,000
1st Year $55,000; 2nd Year $55,000; 3rd Year $55,000
To support, in partnership with collaborating agencies, the New Haven Boys and Girls Club, the Consultation Center and the Courtland Wilson Library, the Hill Family First Initiative which provides workforce development and other supports to residents from the Hill neighborhood of New Haven in efforts to help them grow their incomes and stabilize their family’s economic well-being through employment, increased savings and other asset-building measures.
Fair Haven Community Health Clinic, Inc.
$40,000
1st Year $15,000; 2nd Year $15,000; 3rd Year $10,000
To support the implementation of a Pain and Anxiety Reduction Program during pediatric visits.
Farnam Neighborhood House
$60,000
1st Year $20,000; 2nd Year $20,000; 3rd Year $20,000
To provide general operating support for pre-school, after school, evening and weekend programs throughout the school year and summer for New Haven children age 3 – 18.
Fellowship Place
$50,000
To support the relocation of the LifeSkills Clubhouse Program during a complete building renovation to maintain a consistency in programming and care for people living with mental illness.
FISH of Greater New Haven, Inc.
$25,000
1st Year $12,500; 2nd Year $12,500
To provide general operating support to provide emergency food assistance by delivering bags of groceries directly to homes.
Friends of the Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center
$40,000
To support the startup and first year of operation expenses of the Redwing Pond House Nature PreSchool Program.
Gesell Institute of Human Development
$10,000
To support the LEAD (Learn, Educate, Activate, Do!) Conference scheduled for October 15, 2010 at the Omni Conference Center New Haven which will highlight the important role of child development in education, learning, and long-term school success and the formation of the Gesell Think Tank Policy Work Group that will impact positively the education reform work in New Haven.
Griffin Hospital
$30,000
To support education and awareness about the importance of screening mammography and free breast diagnostic services with a special focus on uninsured, underinsured, low income, and ethnic minority women in the Greater Naugatuck Valley area.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater New Haven
$50,000
To support the Skills for Life program which provides construction skills training and job readiness programming for young adults aged 16 – 20 from New Haven who are under the guardianship of Connecticut’s Foster Care system.
Hamden Public Schools
$157,200
1st Year $78,600; 2nd Year $78,600
To support the Educational Care Collaborative (ECC), which will provide integrated educational and mental health services for students at Church Street Elementary School.
Higher Heights Youth Empowerment Programs, Inc.
$10,200
To provide general operating support to build organizational capacity to continue its college preparation services for high school students.
Housatonic Valley Association, Inc.
$35,000
1st Year $20,000; 2nd Year $15,000
To promote a healthy environment and the adoption and implementation of Low Impact Development (LID) laws, policies and building methods.
Hygeia Foundation, Inc.
$35,000
To provide support services to individuals who grieve the loss of a pregnancy or a newborn child.
International Festival of Arts & Ideas
$210,000
1st Year $70,000; 2nd Year $70,000; 3rd Year $70,000
To provide general operating support to sustain free community engagement programming.
IRIS – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services
$65,000
1st Year $35,000; 2nd Year $30,000
To provide general operating support to assist refugees and displaced persons start new lives and contribute to the vitality of Connecticut’s communities.
Junta for Progressive Action
$15,000
To support the creation and implementation of a 5‑year strategic plan to clearly identify the vision, organizational and programmatic goals, and help transition the organization to a direct service and advocacy model. This model is expected to move residents out of poverty and address human rights issues among Latinos and immigrants.
Kennedy Center, Inc.
$35,000
To support programming for individuals with diverse abilities, disabilities and special needs living in the Milford and Woodbridge communities.
Leeway, Inc.
$15,000
To support a strategic planning process to act on new opportunities to better serve the health and housing needs of people living with HIV/AIDS in Greater New Haven.
Leila Day Nurseries, Inc.
$10,000
To provide general operating support to devise a financial development plan for quality early education programming.
Long Wharf Theatre
$225,000
1st Year $75,000; 2nd Year $75,000; 3rd Year $75,000
To help meet its $1.1 million contributed income goal, and provide leverage to motivate and galvanize its community of supporters.
Marrakech, Inc.
$65,000
To support the Acquired Brain Injury Program.
Mary Wade Home
$25,000
To support a strategic plan to inform the future direction of the senior care facility and programs for the elderly.
Massaro Community Farm, Inc.
$51,000
1st Year $17,000; 2nd Year $17,000, 3rd Year $17,000
To identify and structure partnerships with organizations that can help in the distribution of locally grown, fresh produce to people in need and to school systems in the region.
Music Haven, Inc.
$30,000
1st Year $10,000; 2nd Year $10,000; 3rd Year $10,000
For general operating support to strengthen the delivery of current music education programs, increase musical performance experiences and grow financial resources.
Mutual Housing Assoc. So. Central CT dba Neighborworks New Horizons
$40,000
To develop and operate permanently affordable quality housing and provide financial education and life coaching to its residents.
Neighborhood Music School, Inc.
$120,000
1st Year $40,000; 2nd Year $40,000; 3rd Year $40,000
To provide general operating support for quality education in music, dance and drama; and to make instruction and performance accessible to people of all ages, backgrounds, economic means, and levels of ability.
New Haven Early Childhood Council
$12,500 (one year)
$50,000 (1st Year $25,000, 2nd Year $25,000)
To support match requirements to implement the Child FIRST Replication Initiative in New Haven, a proven model that identifies and provides service to young children to prevent serious emotional and learning problems.
New Haven Ecology Project
$80,000
1st Year $40,000; 2nd Year $40,000
To provide general operating support to strengthen and grow its environmental education work.
New Haven Home Ownership Center
$55,000
1st Year $25,000; 2nd Year $15,000; 3rd Year $15,000
To provide general operating support for homebuyer education and financial assistance to individuals and families who are purchasing homes to stabilize and revitalize Greater New Haven neighborhoods through increased homeownership.
New Haven YMCA Youth Center
$120,000
1st Year $50,000; 2nd Year $40,000; 3rd Year $30,000
To support the Walk-In program for youth ages 12 – 20 that provides a safe haven and a sense of belonging through social and recreational opportunities to support their growth and development.
New Life Corporation
$89,000
1st Year $49,000; 2nd Year $40,000
To support the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program which provides free income tax preparation to low-income individuals/families and other programs that assist families in achieving self-sufficiency.
Online Journalism Project Inc.
$190,500
1st Year $65,500; 2nd Year $62,500; 3rd Year $62,500
To provide general operating support for hyperlocal news outlets in New Haven, Branford and the Valley (Derby, Ansonia, Shelton, Oxford, and Seymour) that offers coverage on issues, such as school reform.
Peabody Museum of Natural History
$20,000
1st Year $10,000; 2nd Year $10,000
To support the EVOLUTIONS after-school program for New Haven and West Haven high school students.
Pequenas Ligas Hispanas de New Haven
$30,000
1st Year $15,000; 2nd Year $15,000
To support Jóvenes Polifacéticos/Multi-Faceted Youths which provides athletic, artistic, academic and leadership programs and activities for pre‑k to 12th grade Latino youth from New Haven.
Project Access of New Haven
$150,000
1st Year $50,000; 2nd Year $50,000; 3rd Year $50,000
To support the implementation of a coordinated system of donated specialty healthcare.
Public Allies CT
$75,000
1st Year $25,000; 2nd Year $25,000; 3rd Year $25,000
To provide general operating support for leadership development programs that advance the skills, networks and work experiences of individuals aged 18 – 30 while increasing the capacity of nonprofit organizations.
Salvation Army Ansonia Corps
$75,000
1st Year $25,000; 2nd Year $25,000; 3rd Year $25,000
To provide general operating support for comprehensive emergency assistance in the forms of food, clothing, utilities and furniture vouchers.
Shoreline Greenway Trail, Inc.
$60,000
1st Year $20,000; 2nd Year $20,000; 3rd Year $20,000
To provide a challenge grant to complete an approximate one-mile section of the trail in Hammonasset State Park.
South Central Behavioral Health Network, Inc.
$75,000
1st Year $25,000; 2nd Year $25,000; 3rd Year $25,000
To support the Treatment Access Program which provides sober housing opportunities for residents of New Haven emergency shelters.
St. Martin dePorres Academy
$40,000
To support a Teacher Intern Incentive Program in collaboration with Fairfield University and the University of New Haven.
TEAM, Inc. http://www.cfgnh.org/Portals/0/Uploads/Images/givegreater/gg%20smallest.JPG
$60,000
To provide general operating support for resource mobilization, education, advocacy and service delivery for economically disadvantaged individuals and families residing in the Lower Naugatuck Valley.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
$42,455
To be directed to Connecticut’s TANF ARRA Emergency Contingency Fund program to leverage the match for qualifying programs for the quarter between July 1, 2010 and September 30, 2010. Specific programs to be supported are the Connecticut Children’s Museum’s Driving Literacy Home program, the Community Action Agency of New Haven’s Youth Employment for Educational Achievement progam and Workforce Alliance’s summer youth employment program.
The Diaper Bank
$60,000
1st Year $20,000; 2nd Year $20,000; 3rd Year $20,000
To support the growth of the organization to increase its reach and visibility of the need to provide diapers as a basic need for families.
United Way of Greater New Haven
$50,000 (2010)
$40,000 (2011)
To support Neighbor to Neighbor LifeLine 2010 and Neighbor to Neighbor 2011, a community effort to raise funds to meet immediate needs in the area of housing, food and emergency relief in Greater New Haven. This is a partnership of the United Way of Greater New Haven and The Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven.
Visiting Nurse Association of South Central CT
$276,000
1st Year $110,000; 2nd Year $97,000; 3rd Year $69,000
To support a transition program to help Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH) patients annually who are being discharged to their home, but who don’t currently meet the standard criteria for reimbursable home care services.
VNA Community Healthcare
$135,000
1st Year $45,000; 2nd Year $45,000; 3rd Year $45,000
To support the Hamden Phelps Community Project, which provides financial assistance, connection to community resources and health services not covered by insurance to needy Hamden residents 60 years of age and older.
Watershed Partnership, Inc.
$30,000
1st Year $10,000; 2nd Year $10,000; 3rd Year $10,000
To provide general operating support to promote environmentally responsible practices that preserve our region’s watershed and a healthy community.
Women and Family Life Center
$45,000
1st Year $15,000; 2nd Year $15,000; 3rd Year $15,000
To provide general operating support for education, enrichment, support and referral services that help women and families meet challenges.
Women’s Business Development Center
$10,000
To help women and others achieve economic self-reliance by starting and growing their own business.
Workplace, Inc.
$55,000
1st Year $40,000; 2nd Year $15,000
To support Solid Foundations: Forging the Skills for Career Success, a new, self-paced online program that will train public high school students from the Lower Naugatuck Valley in the soft and academic skills needed in today’s workplace.
Yale University, Yale Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic
$40,000
To provide general operating support for clinical services of children who are referred for aggression, anti-social, and violent behavior as well as children who present normal parenting challenges.
Young Audiences of Connecticut Inc.
$15,000
To support the development of a strategic plan to institute an arts curriculum.
Youth Continuum, Inc.
$55,000
To provide general operating support for programming for at-risk youth to successfully transition into adulthood and to avoid chronic homelessness.
Youth Rights Media, Inc.
$82,500
1st Year $27,500; 2nd Year $27,500; 3rd Year $27,500
To provide general operating support for programming that empowers youth to know, protect and advance their rights.
Since 1928, donors to The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven have built the community’s endowment currently valued at more than $280 million. In 2009, The Foundation’s Board of Directors distributed more than $14 million in grants from over 700 different named charitable funds supporting a wide range of programs and projects. For more information about The Community Foundation visit www.cfgnh.org.
