Grants

As Chair of the Foundation’s Grants Committee and member of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to welcome you to our Grants Home Page.  Here, you will find everything you need to understand the Foundation’s grantmaking philosophy, process and recent grant history. 

The mission of the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain is to improve the quality of life in Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington. One way we accomplish our mission is by investing in organizations and programs that achieve clear human gains for those in our region.  We view ourselves as investors focused on ensuring the greatest possible improvement in quality of life with the funds we have available.

Given the current economy, it is an understatement to say that these are extraordinary times.  We know that non profit organizations are on the front lines of this situation, facing a higher demand for services with a shrinking pool of resources. 

In an effort to make better decisions about where we put our own reduced resources in these unprecedented times, the Foundation’s Board has made the following temporary adjustments to its Community Investment Guidelines.  Please be aware of these changes as you approach us to address your funding needs. 

1. Less emphasis will be placed on funding new programs.   Given the environment, our emphasis must be placed on preserving core services which are fundamental to an organization’s mission and the community’s highest priority needs. Opportunities to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery, especially those which involve meaningful collaborations, partnerships and/or organizational mergers are of special interest to the Foundation, and we invite you to discuss those with us early in your thinking.

2. We will consider operating support to protect the core mission of organizations that are important to the community and that have a proven track record, strong leadership, clear mission and longevity.  Beyond that, we will consider operating support for the delivery of basic human needs and other key services where increased need is directly related to the current difficult economy.  However, in all cases, organizations must show clear evidence that they have gone through a thorough internal process of cost-reduction and/or realistic revenue-enhancement analysis focused on core service preservation.

3. As of March 1, 2010, with the exception of those capital campaign grant Requests currently in front of us, our Foundation Board has placed a Moratorium through the balance of 2010 on the consideration of new capital campaign grant requests.  This decision will allow the Foundation time to thoroughly examine its current capital campaign grant policies and procedures, so as to assure that whatever role the Foundation chooses to play in supporting future capital projects is appropriate to our current sense of mission and keen desire for maximum impact.  The results of this review will be publically announced before the end of the year.

I invite you to review our information carefully, and to feel free to contact Joeline Wruck, Director of Program, at 860.229.6018, x307, or by e-mail should you have any questions.  In the meantime, please Click here to learn more about applying for a grant.

Sincerely,

Phyllis A. Kindelan