Community Foundation of Greater New Britain Awards $196,910 in First-Round Grants - Largest Grant to Help Fund YWCA’s Capital Campaign

(May 4, 2010) - The Community Foundation of Greater New Britain has awarded $196,910 in first-round grants serving its four-town service area of Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington from discretionary, donor advised, and scholarship funds. The largest grant went to the YWCA of New Britain, which received $125,000 for its Capital Campaign.

The grant to the YWCA will be used to help fund their upcoming capital/endowment campaign to renovate the existing facility. The campaign will fund four major components:  Renovation and expansion of the childcare area; expansion of economic empowerment programs for women; development of a new front entrance on Franklin Square, and to increase the YWCA’s endowment fund. The renovation plan was designed so it can be phased in or adjusted as funding and time allow. 

The YWCA of New Britain serves 43 towns in the state that include the Greater New Britain area, Hartford County all the way to Tolland, CT.  Robin Sharp, Executive Director of the YWCA of New Britain knows a capital campaign might be a stretch in this economy yet believes that it’s necessary because the need is greater than ever.  “It has been more that 20 years since the YWCA launched a capital campaign,” says Sharp. “We put a lot of thought and study into this plan. The need for the community is growing. There was no reason to wait.” 

The YWCA is the largest comprehensive childcare provider in New Britain. When the Pamela E. Hill Childcare Building opened in 1989, it was designed to accommodate 100 children. Today the Childcare Center serves more than 280 children daily in their infant & toddler care, school readiness, and school age programs.

“We’ve had to use other parts of the existing building to accommodate the growth in early care and education services,” acknowledged Sharp.

Research conducted for New Britain Discovery, now the New Britain Early Childhood Collaborative, revealed a shortage of both early childhood education and after-school care in New Britain. Infant/toddler care is available to only seven of every 100 children under age three in the city and most YWCA childcare programs operate with a waiting list for a significant portion of the year due to the shortage for both early childhood education and after school care in the city.

The YWCA Childcare Center is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and has been recognized by local leaders for excellence in childcare services. It is also the only New Britain agency serving such a broad range of youth in programs – infant (eight weeks) to school age. “The planned renovation is safe and secure and it will give our curriculum and programs the room to grow,” said Robin.     

The creation of a “destination space” for women’s economic empowerment is another growing need that the grant will help fund. Statistics show that the majority of people in poverty are single mothers and children. Issues such as violence against women, teen pregnancy, financial illiteracy, and lack of access to quality childcare are all factors that have multiplied in this recession. The YWCA is already a member of the Mayor’s Task Force to End Homelessness and has provided budget coaching and mentoring services to families. “There are lots of programs,” says Sharp. “But there are still some gaps.”

Art Schaller, Jr., President of Schaller Auto World and co-chair of the YWCA Capital Campaign supports Robin Sharp’s view that it is the right time to launch this campaign. 

“A study was completed that surveyed residents of New Britain and included those who use the YWCA services,” said Schaller. “It was clear that people knew this project needed to happen. It was almost as though they had been waiting for this to happen.”

One of the most striking changes will be the relocation of the front entrance of the YWCA, presently on Glen Street, to Franklin Square. Schaller thinks this will not only be good for the YWCA but good for the city. “There are traffic and safety concerns with the existing entrance. This renovation is well planned, will meet the growing needs of the community, and will be a beautiful complement to the existing buildings surrounding the Y,” he said.

Sharp embraces the five-year plan the capital campaign committee, board of directors and trustees have put together. “The campaign is going tremendously well and the community is behind us. The Community Foundation of Greater New Britain has responded with a substantial grant. Having The Foundation at a leadership level in this campaign sends a message that they are making an investment in this community. That speaks volumes,” she concluded.

Jim Williamson, President of the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain concurs.  “This is an historic campaign for the YWCA of New Britain,” he said. “We are making a significant investment in New Britain and we hope that will send a message to the rest of the community that this is a project worth supporting.”

In addition to the capital campaign grant to the YWCA of New Britain, The Community Foundation awarded grants to the following organizations.

Discretionary Funds:

• YWCA of New Britain, $125,000
  From the Alix W. Stanley and Weld Fund for Capital Needs Funds to help renovate and expand the current facility and services
• Capital Workforce Partners, $20,000
  From the Alix W. Stanley Discretionary Fund final grant for year three support of the Future Workforce Investment System (FWIS) in New Britain
• New Britain Museum of American Art, $45,000
  From the Alix W. Stanley Discretionary, Talcott Stanley and Jeanette Elizabeth Westlake Memorial Funds to support the Museum’s education and outreach program

Donor Advised Funds:

• First Years First Initiative of CFGNB, $2,550
  From the Joan and Charles Leach Fund
• New Britain Public Library, $200
  Leonard W. and Jeannette C. Varkal Fund for acquisition of books on contemporary history

Field of Interest Funds:

• Lion’s Low Vision Center, $1,910
  From the Ev and Ethel Herre and Margaret (Rau) and Rudolph Kloiber Funds to print and bind a comprehensive booklet aimed at helping the visually impaired cope with their everyday needs

Scholarship Funds:

• Kim Miller Synchronized Swimming Scholarship Fund, $1,000 to Deanna M. DeSimone, attending Canisius College, Buffalo, NY
• Frank E. Rogers Scholarship for Agricultural Studies, $3,000 to Kelsey Schrey, attending Unity College, Unity, ME

The Foundation awards grants three times per year and each year distributes upwards of $1 million to nonprofit agencies and organizations in its service area. Funding traditionally supports a wide variety of Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and/or Southington-based programs and initiatives in arts and humanities, community and economic development, early childhood development, education and health and human services.

The Foundation has various fund categories to meet a donor’s needs: donor advised, designated, discretionary, field of interest, and scholarship. Donor advised funds are established by an individual, family, company or organization with that party playing an active role in the grant-awarding process; designated funds are established by an individual party and benefit one or more specific charities; discretionary funds are awarded by the Foundation’s board of directors; field of interest funds are established to support particular interest areas, specific program initiatives, causes or geographic areas; scholarship funds are established by an individual party and tailored to that party’s personal wishes; designated funds, too, are established by an individual party and benefit one or more specific charities.