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Farmington Bank Community Foundation awarded $129,500 in grants through its third quarterly grant cycle. This round of grants was focused on entrepreneurship, financial literacy and availability of permanent affordable housing.

Grants were awarded to the following organizations:

Bedrock Credit America, Inc. – For credit seminars and credit counseling services for Financial Opportunity Center staff and clients.

Catholic Charities Inc. – Archdiocese of Hartford – For the Economic Development and Entrepreneurship Initiative which offers extremely low-income, previously unemployed, and underemployed individuals an integrated approach to employment, financial coaching and entrepreneurial services.

Chrysalis Center Inc. – For Community Supportive Housing which provides housing and case management services to individuals and families coming from homelessness. 

First Church of Christ Simsbury – As fiscal agent for the Simsbury DEI Council’s Housing Subcommittee. For work to educate community members on housing issues.

Greater Bristol Homes – For construction costs at two houses on Gridley Street in Bristol which will be built to support homeownership for low-to-moderate income families.

Hands On Hartford – For the shared kitchen which helps clients develop the capacity to create, manage, and grow their start-up culinary businesses. The licensed commercial kitchen provides participants with the space and equipment to prepare, test, and produce their products.

HEDCO, Inc. – For interns from local colleges who will provide small business support in the organization’s Business Resource Center and work alongside other HEDCO departments.

International Hartford – For assistance to immigrant owned businesses to help them become bankable and grow their business.

Jewish Family Services of Greater Hartford – For its comprehensive community supports that uses a three-pronged approach to help low-to-moderate income clients by providing case management, volunteer support, and safety net resources.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation – For financial and technical assistance to community development corporations to revitalize neighborhoods, build wealth for low- and moderate-income families, and produce quality affordable housing.

Minority Construction Council –  To enhance its services to businesses in New Britain, Bloomfield and Bristol including the MBE Capacity Building Bootcamp, and technical assistance to businesses seeking to obtain their MBE certification, loans and small business grants.

Social Enterprise Trust, Inc. – For the Hartford Culinary Collaborative which grows the skills and capacity of moderate-income individuals who have the idea and recipe(s) for a food business, but not the entrepreneurial know-how.

The Village for Families & Children – For the Financial Opportunity Center which provides financial literacy education, benefits assessment, and job readiness support, through workshops and one-on-one coaching.

URISE Ventures, Inc. – For the “Up Your Hustle” youth business accelerator which gives youth and young adults the opportunity to start or scale their own micro-enterprises and learn critical academic, business and life skills in the process

YWCA New Britain – For the Childcare Business Incubator, which trains individuals in the operation of their own family childcare business; supports the establishment of that business for a period of years; and helps them move to an independent location once their tenure in this project is completed.

Access to Healthcare and Abuse Prevention

Application closes October 31st, 2023 at 6PM.

In its last grant cycle of the year, The Farmington Bank Community Foundation is accepting applications for programs promote access to quality preventative and routine healthcare; reduce inequities in the healthcare system; or that support the prevention and reduction of child, elder or partner abuse. All efforts should be focused on low to moderate income individuals, families and communities.

Applicants are encouraged to read through the Foundation’s Areas of Giving and Eligibility prior to applying.  The narrative questions are available on the Grantseeker Tips page. If you are not sure if your request would qualify, please contact us at FBCF@FBCFCT.org.

Farmington Bank Community Foundation awarded $145,200 in grants through its second quarterly grant cycle. This round of grants was focused on access to food, shelter and other basic human needs.

Grants were awarded to the following organizations:

Bread for Life- For the soup kitchen, meal delivery program (including homebound citizens, seniors living in subsidized housing, and homeless individuals and families placed at Southington hotels and motels by the State of CT), and the Children’s Summer Lunch Program.

Bloomfield Congregational Church– For the Bloomfield Backpack Program, an interfaith community partnership that provides weekend meal supplies to food insecure Bloomfield children and their families.

Connecticut Foodshare – For the Mobile Food Pantry, distributing food to those in need who lack direct proximity to a supermarket or food pantry or may not have the means to access resources outside of their neighborhood.

Covenant to Care for Children, Inc – For beds, cribs, and other essential items to address the urgent needs of families who are at-risk of losing their children, or those being reunified with their children.

Diaper Bank of Connecticut – For diapers distributed regionally through the Diaper Distribution Network Support.

Friendship Service Center, Inc.- For the Tomasso Community Kitchen which fees the FSC Shelter and Transitional Living participants, as well as hundreds of New Britain community members.

General Federation of Women’s Clubs Newington/Wethersfield – For the supplemental weekend food program for the families of school age children in Newington.

Healing Meals Foundation Corporation – For the Healthy Meals Program which offers 12 weeks of meals to people and their families impacted by serious health crisis.  

Journey Home- For the Greater Hartford and Central CT Coordinated Access Networks (CAN). This includes overseeing, contracting, coordinating, and monitoring new homeless outreach programs, rapid rehousing programs, shelter diversion programs, and homelessness prevention programs in the region.

Mercy Housing and Shelter Corp – For St. Elizabeth House which supports people who are economically disadvantaged, homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness by offering transitional housing, a day shelter and meals program.

Operation Fuel Inc. – For Emergency Energy Assistance that helps offset oil, gas and electric bills for income qualified families.

Plainville Community Food Pantry, Inc. – For the pantry which distributes food to clients bi-weekly.

Services for the Elderly of Farmington – For the medical loan closet, medical transportation for seniors and friendly shopper programs. These programs help seniors and disabled individuals to keep their independence and dignity while providing them with safety while living in their homes.

South Park Inn, Inc. – For the emergency shelter in Hartford, which includes providing three meals a day to residents, and this past winter took on the City’s warming center. The organization works with clients to overcome barriers and secure permanent and stable housing.

St. Vincent de Paul Mission of Bristol – For Client Basic Needs Kits for the homeless adults and families with children who are exiting its Residential Emergency Shelter and entering housing.

Tabernacle Christian Church Inc. – For the Giving Back Food Pantry which provides weekly food to households with food insecurity in the greater Southington area.

Urban Alliance – For the monthly Free Food Distribution program. In partnership with Midwest Food Bank, UA organizes each event, selecting partner locations at the most vulnerable areas in the region. Depending on need and opportunities, additional services such as free health screenings, clothing, community resource guides and other items are made available.

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church– For the soup kitchen that operates 4 nights per week with the help of volunteers, serving primarily Bristol residents.

Affordable Housing, Entrepreneurship, and Financial Literacy

Application closes July 31st, 2023 at 6PM.

The Farmington Bank Community Foundation is accepting applications for programs that provide services supporting economic empowerment for individuals and families. This grant round is focused on programs that support the process of designing, launching and running a new small business; efforts to improve the financial skills and knowledge of individuals and families; and programs that support the development of a range of affordable housing options throughout the community. All efforts should be focused on low to moderate income individuals, families and communities.

Applicants are encouraged to read through the Foundation’s Areas of Giving and Eligibility prior to applying.  The narrative questions are available on the Grantseeker Tips page. If you are not sure if your request would qualify, please contact us at FBCF@FBCFCT.org.

Farmington Bank Community Foundation awarded $170,500 in grants through its first quarterly grant cycle to support Economic Empowerment and Sustainability. This round of grants was focused on access to job training and educational opportunities that support enhanced career prospects and lifetime earnings (such as GED, degree, or credential attainment).

Grants awarded are listed below:

Aurora Foundation for Women & Girls – Matching grant to support the Hartford Public Library’s Barriers Can’t Stop Us Program which supports college retention for immigrant women.

Bristol Boy & Girls Club Association – For Careers for Cambridge Park, a career exploration program for youth at the Cambridge Park club.

Career Resources, Inc. – For STRIVE Hartford, career competency training co-located at the Greater Hartford Reentry Center.
Compass Youth Collaborative – For COMPASS Peacebuilders, which connects (or reconnect) Hartford youth to education and training opportunities and other supports.
Forge City Works, Inc. – For culinary job training including hands-on kitchen training and customer service for residents with barriers to employment.
Fresh Start Pallet Products, Inc. – For the Fresh Start Academy, a partnership with Capital Workforce Partners that supports job training in carpentry.
Greater New Britain Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Inc.- For Pathways to Success in Higher Education which builds off of the Pathways Senderos youth programming to support young people through their transition to college.
Hartford Promise, Inc. – For the Integrated College Success Model which combines scholarship funds with outreach and support services for Hartford students pursing secondary education.
Hartford Youth Scholars – For the Collegiate Academy, High School & College Scholar Success which supports the academic attainment, personal achievement, and professional development of Hartford students, ages 7th grade through college senior.
Hartford’s Camp Courant – For 2022 Camp Courant Camperships.Human Resources Agency of New Britain– For summer youth employment internships for New Britain youth.
Junior Achievement of Southwest New England, Inc. – For Jr. Apprentice;  a year-long program for students at Weaver High School with financial literacy, work readiness classes,  and paid internships.
KNOX, Inc. – For Green Jobs Apprenticeships which provides work experience, technical skills, and certifications in the green industry to Hartford residents.
Literacy Volunteers of Central Connecticut – For Literacy for Economic Self-Sufficiency, expanding economic opportunities for adult students by helping them learn to speak, read, and write English to gain employment, improve wages, and gain financial literacy skills.
Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford – For adult literacy and job training; improving the language, digital and math literacy competencies of  low literate adults living or working in Greater Hartford.
Opportunities Industrialization Center – For the StemLinx Enhancement, a STEM skills development program. FBCF funding will support the development of an accompanying computer lab.
Our Piece of the Pie – To support Hartford youth in education and employment through a combination of youth-focused, relationship-centered programming and academic and workforce training.
The Open Hearth Association – For the Working Man’s Center (WMC); a job-centered training initiative focused on helping clients end the cycle of homelessness.
Trinity College – For free camperships at Trinity Dream Camp.
United Way of West Central Connecticut, Inc. – For the Walsh Summer Work Experience Program; a seven-week summer workforce development program for Bristol youth.
Women’s League Child Development Center – For the STEAM Lab which provides toddlers and preschoolers play based experiences exploring Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. 
YWCA Hartford Region Inc. – For YW Career Women Hartford, an individualized career pathways program designed to provide support low-income BIPOC women pursuing an Associate’s Degree.

Basic Needs

Application closes April 30^th, 2023 at 6PM

The Farmington Bank Community Foundation is accepting applications for programs that provide services supporting economic stability for individuals and families. Priority will be given to organizations that provide short-term emergency assistance for households including shelters and homelessness diversion programs, food pantries and programs that improve access to healthy food, as well as programs that provide access to other essential goods (diapers, formula, etc.).

Applicants are encouraged to read through the Foundation’s Areas of Giving and Eligibility prior to applying.  The narrative questions are available on the Grantseeker Tips page. If you are not sure if your request would qualify, please contact us at FBCF@FBCFCT.org.

Farmington Bank Community Foundation first grant cycle for 2023 is now open.

Its first grant cycle is targeted to connecting workers to new skills and enhanced job readiness; programs that support workforce development, enhance, or improve opportunities for quality employment and career prospects. Included in this grant round is consideration of programs that provide educational building blocks that impact an individual’s average hourly wage and lifetime earnings, i.e., adult education, completion of secondary education or core school readiness.

Applications will be accepted online until 6 PM January 31, 2023.  For more information on the foundation’s areas of interest, eligibility and application guidelines please go to the Grant Process section of the website.

Farmington Bank Community Foundation awarded $119,000 in grants under its Economic Empowerment and Sustainability – Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy and Housing Grant Cycle. These programs provide ta and resources to start up business, improve financial management of household budgets and generate more affordable housing options

Catholic Charities Inc. – Archdiocese of Hartford – Financial Stability Initiative offers extremely low-income, previously unemployed, and underemployed individuals a bundled, integrated approach to employment, financial coaching and entrepreneurial services grounded in a participant-centered, two-generation approach.
Chrysalis Center Inc. – Community Supportive Housing provides housing and case management services which support 530 individuals and families coming from homelessness.  Staff ensures clients’ basic needs and mental health are supported, so they remain economically stable and housed.
Farmington Community Chest – Community Chest Cares matches Farmington citizens in need of critical household repairs and upgrades with area contractors and handypersons to conduct the projects.  Farmington Community Chest provides funding for materials and labor for the projects.
Girls With Impact – Support of NextGen Connecticut programming that educates up to 20 young women with our modern, digital business and leadership curriculum over one year.
Hands On Hartford – Shared Kitchen Program helps clients develop the capacity to create, manage, and grow their start-up culinary businesses. Our licensed commercial kitchen provides our participants with the proper space and equipment to prepare, test, and produce their products and to store their supplies.
HEDCO, Inc. – Internship program will support two interns majoring in graphic/website design, communications, or marketing, from local colleges who will provide small business support in the organization’s Business Resource Center and work alongside other HEDCO departments.
International Hartford – generating minority business ownership, creating opportunities for entrepreneurs and jobs for residents. The goal is to recirculate consumer dollars and business profits in the city’s neighborhoods.
Jewish Family Services of Greater Hartford      Comprehensive Community Supports, a program that provides a full scope of services for low-to-moderate income clients including case management, skilled volunteer one-on-one supports and a community safety net, connecting clients with the rich resources we have in our community.
Local Initiatives Support Corporation – Providing financial and technical assistance to community development corporations, and other community organizations to revitalize neighborhoods, build wealth for low- and moderate-income (LMI) families, and produce quality housing affordable to LMI residents in communities throughout Connecticut.
Social Enterprise Trust, Inc. – Hartford Culinary Collaborative, a 7-member entity that supports food-based startups, ReSET provides backbone support for the Collaborative through the Food Catalyst. They offer a Food Incubator to grow the skills and capacity of moderate-income individuals who have the idea and recipe(s) for a food business, but not the entrepreneurial know-how; and a Digital Marketing Mastermind for food businesses to develop fully functional websites with ordering capacity.
The Village for Families & Children – Financial Opportunity Center provides financial literacy education, benefits assessment, and job readiness support, through workshops and one-on-one coaching. Families learn to protect and maximize income, reduce debt, create budgets, manage credit, build assets, and pursue careers. If needed, we assist clients to secure stable housing.
United Way of Central & Northeastern CT – “United For ALICE” is an umbrella term that describes UW’s goal of improving the financial stability and economic conditions of low-income households through direct services and partnerships with public and non-profit organizations. Economic mobility services provide low to moderate income (LMI) individuals with access to services that focus on increasing household income and improving financial capability to achieve financial goals.
YWCA New Britain – Childcare Business Incubator, the project will support individuals who will be trained in the operation of their own family childcare business; supported in the establishment of that business for a period of years; and trained in preparation to successfully and independently move to an independent location once their tenure in this project is completed.
CT Community Nonprofit Alliance, Inc. – Support of ConnectiCorps an AmeriCorps program that facilitates nonprofits engaged in food insecurity or antipoverty services in building their organizational capacity through increased volunteerism. The purpose is to identify meaningful opportunities for volunteers so that paid staff can focus on mission-critical work.

Farmington Bank Community Foundation awarded $140.500 in grants under its Health & Human Services – Basic Needs Grant Cycle.  These programs provide emergency safety net services to household experiencing housing, food, or other essential insecurities.

Bread for Life    Funding will be used for operational expenses for the  soup kitchen, meal delivery program (including homebound citizens, seniors living in subsidized housing, and homeless individuals and families placed at Southington hotels and motels by the State of CT), and the Children’s Summer Lunch Program.
Community Health Network of Connecticut Foundation, Inc        Cooking Matters- Participants learn to shop smarter, use nutrition information to make healthier choices, and cook delicious, affordable meals. Cooking Matters also equips families to stretch their food dollars and link up with public nutrition programs like SNAP (food stamps) and WIC.
Connecticut Foodshare – Mobile Food Distribution in Hartford County, CT -This “pantry on wheels” program dispatches trucks into underserved neighborhoods, distributing food to assist those in need who lack direct proximity to a supermarket or food pantry or may not have a vehicle or the physical means to access resources outside of their neighborhood.
Covenant to Care for Children, Inc – Basic essential goods responds to the urgent needs of families who are at-risk of losing their children, or those being reunified with their children and mandated by the state to have tangible goods such as beds, cribs, clothing, and other essential household items to create a safe and healthy home environment.
Diaper Bank of Connecticut – Diaper Distribution Network Support – Providing diapers to families with infants and toddlers who do not qualify for government assistance.
End Hunger Connecticut!, Inc     SNAP Outreach supports efforts to fight food insecurity by increasing awareness of critical food assistance programming and drive potentially eligible residents to EHC!’s SNAP Call Center to receive free assistance with SNAP applications, redeterminations, technical support, and more.
Friendship Service Center, Inc.- The Tomasso Community Kitchen feeds the FSC Shelter and Transitional Living participants, as well as hundreds of New Britain community members who have been relying upon the program for a warm lunch since 1968.
General Federation of Women’s Clubs Newington/Wethersfield – Monthly supplemental weekend food for the families of school age children in Newington who are food insecure.
Healing Meals Foundation Corporation – Healthy Meals Program offer 12 weeks of meals to people and their families impacted by serious health crisis.  The organic meals are designed to promote healing and good health.
Mercy Housing and Shelter Corp – St. Elizabeth House supports people who are economically disadvantaged, homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness by offering transitional housing and the Friendship Center Day Shelter and meals program.
New Britain ROOTS – The ROOTS Market Express operates as a delivery service for individuals 60 years old or older with an emphasis on low to moderate income households. Market Express  provides healthy, locally grown produce delivered directly from the farmers market each week.
Operation Fuel Inc. – Emergency Energy Assistance that helps offset oil, gas and electric bills for income qualified families.
Plainville Community Food Pantry, Inc. – The pantry distributes food to clients bi-weekly, school supplies in the fall and holiday baskets for Plainville residents
Services for the Elderly of Farmington – Support for Meals on Wheels, Medical Equipment, Congregate Meals, Friendly Shopping, Medical Transportation, “Forget-Me-Not”, and our free A.A.R.P. Tax Assistance Program.
South Park Inn, Inc. – South Park provides emergency shelter and 3 meals per day for their clients.  The provision of healthy food reduces the incidence of obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes among the population they serve.
Tabernacle Christian Church Inc. – Giving Back Food Pantry provides weekly food to household with food insecurity.  Last year CT Foodshare calculated that the pantry distributed more than 140 tons of food.
Urban Alliance – Is working withnetwork partners and other organizations, such as Midwest Foodbank to utilize our network of over 200 community partners and allies (including churches and local schools) to create centers for food and resource distribution throughout the year. 
Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness – Continuation of CCEH’s work engaging towns in the Greater Hartford region to take action to end homelessness. The end goal of this project is that every town will take these actions to create greater capacity for homeless services, address regional service gaps, and ultimately reduce and end homelessness.
Malta House –  Support for Malta House’s first permanent clinic to be opened in Asylum Hill neighborhood.  The addition of this clinic allows the mobile medical van to serve another neighborhood.