News

Economic Empowerment- Entrepreneurship, Affordable Housing, Financial Literacy June 15^th – July 31st^th 2022 online system closes at 6PM

The foundation is accepting applications for programs and services that support the process of designing, launching and running a new business; efforts to improve the financial skills and knowledge of households to make informed and effective financial decisions and supporting development of a range of affordable housing options are eligible under this grant cycle.

Applicants are encouraged to read through our 2022 Foundation Focus 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.

Farmington Bank Community Foundation awarded $165,000 in grants under its Economic Empowerment and Sustainability – Workforce Development and Self Sufficiency Grant Cycle

Grantees included:

Career Resources, Inc. – STRIVE; provides intensive attitudinal workplace preparation, utilizing a 5-Pillar Model:  Job Readiness Training; Occupational Skills Training; Case Management; Job Placement; and Job Retention, Advancement and Follow-up.
Compass Youth Collaborative – COMPASS Peacebuilders; connecting  with young people and start building trusting relationships in order to connect (or reconnect) them to education and training opportunities and other supports.
Forge City Works, Inc. – Culinary Job Training; hands-on kitchen training with culinary customer service component for residents with barriers to employment (incarceration, homelessness, poverty, Opportunity Youth status).
Fresh Start Pallet Products, Inc. – Job Training; support the development of new business line, training in construction, which doubles the size of our training program.
Greater New Britain Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Inc.- Career Readiness; prepares participants for jobs and successful careers with financial literacy education on saving, finding loans and scholarships, and avoiding fraud and financial scams.
Hartford Promise, Inc. -Hartford Promise Integrated College Success Model; an Integrated College Success Model  combines scholarship funds with needed outreach and support services for Hartford students pursing secondary education.
Hartford Youth Scholars – The Collegiate Academy, Scholar Success High School & College; support the academic attainment, personal achievement, and professional development of 265 Hartford students, ages 7th grade through college senior.
Hartford’s Camp Courant – 2022 Camp Courant Camperships; funding for Camp Courant free summer day camp program for up to 900 Hartford youth.
Jumpstart for Young children – Early Education Workforce Development; to build a diverse pipeline of future early childhood educators and, simultaneously, advance equitable learning outcomes for preschool children in underserved Hartford County communities.
Junior Achievement of Southwest New England, Inc. – Jr. Apprentice;  an innovative year-long program for 20 students at Weaver High School in Hartford with financial literacy and work readiness classes and paid internships in industries projected to have future job growth and financial stability.
KNOX, Inc. – Green Jobs Apprenticeships; providing green jobs and professional skills training to 39 underserved Hartford young adults. Participants gain work experience, technical skills, and certifications in the green industry.
Literacy Volunteers of Central Connecticut – Literacy for Economic Self-Sufficiency Program; expanding economic opportunities for adult students helping them learn to speak, read, and write English to gain employment, improve wages, and gain financial literacy skills.
Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford – Adult Literacy and Job Training; improving the language, digital and math literacy competencies of 500-525 low literate adults living or working in Greater Hartford.
Opportunities Industrialization Center – FO’REAL (Fostering Opportunities to reach Educational and Employment Aspiration for Life); an economic empowerment program designed to prepare youth and young adults for the world of work and self-sufficiency utilizing the Career Competency System.
Our Piece of the Pie – Supporting Hartford Youth for success in education and employment; combination of youth-focused, relationship-centered programming with academic and workforce training.
The Arc of the Farmington Valley Inc, FAVARH –Project Search; a yearlong work readiness program supporting young adults with IDD through classroom and multiple hands on internships.
The Open Hearth Association – The Working Man’s Center (WMC); a job-centered training initiative focused on helping The Open Hearth’s clients end the cycle of homelessness.
Trinity College – Dream Camp; a five-week summer camp, serving up to 170 children, and an after-school program, serving up to 70 children; both are tuition free.
United Way of West Central Connecticut, Inc. – Walsh Summer Work Experience Program; a seven-week summer workforce development program for twenty-five (25) Bristol youth age sixteen and up.
Women’s League Child Development Center – Early Childhood Education STEAM Lab; creation of a STEAM lab for toddlers and preschoolers that will allow them rich play based  experiences exploring Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. 
YWCA Hartford Region Inc. – YW Career Women (YWCW);  an individualized, career pathways program, designed to provide support and motivation for low-income BIPOC women pursuing an Associate Degree.
Aurora Foundation for Women & Girls – FBCF is  providing a matching grant to Aurora Foundation to support college retention and programs that assist college students to complete their degree.
Bristol Preschool Childcare Center Inc – Child care preschool program that targets LMI families in Bristol
Hartford Food System – Hartford Harvest Farm Share; a member of HFPG Social Enterprise Accelerator Program launching a Community Supported Agriculture farm share program for Hartford residents. The CSA program enables several small farmers to sell produce built on a 18 week contract.  Participants can purchase a full half or weekly share.  LMI residents may qualify for a subsidy.

2021 launched Farmington Bank Community Foundation’s (FBCF) new strategic focus “get back to basics.”  Our goal with this narrower focus is to ensure residents will have access to employment training and education, health services, healthy nutrition, stable housing, and safety net services. 

The attached analysis looks back at our 2021 grant making with the new lenses.  With a tighter focus and smaller footprint our hope was to increase the resources to our grantees. We look forward to continuing our efforts with our nonprofit partners as we all work towards economic opportunity and a network of support for our community.

Basic Needs- Health & Human Services

March 15^th – April 30^th 2022 online system closes at 6PM

The foundation is accepting applications for programs and services that provide a safety net for individuals and families who are traveling the path to self-sufficiency or are experiencing financial setbacks. Priority will be given to organizations that provide short-term emergency assistance for households including shelters, food pantries or household goods; improve access to healthy food and health-related income supports (such as SNAP or WIC) or efforts to decrease homelessness.

Applicants are encouraged to read through our Foundation Focus 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.

Farmington Bank Community Foundation awarded $115,000 in grants under its Economic Empowerment & Sustainability – Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy and Housing Grant Cycle.  These programs support the process of designing, launching and running a new business; efforts to improve the financial skills and knowledge of households to make informed and effective decisions and supporting development of a range of affordable housing options.

Catholic Charities Inc. – Archdiocese of Hartford –  Financial Stability Initiative offers unemployed and underemployed individuals a bundled, integrated approach to employment, financial coaching and entrepreneurial services grounded in a participant-centered, two-generation approach.
Children in Placement – Youth Sponsor program uses a holistic approach to assist youth aging out of the system by matching individuals with a volunteer sponsor. Individuals are guided on finding employment, or furthering their education, housing and budgeting skills.
Chrysalis Center Inc.– Community Supportive Housing provides housing and case management services for individuals and families coming from homelessness. CSH helps clients secure housing, income, and other benefits, so they remain economically stable and meet their basic needs rather than return to homelessness.
Farmington Community Chest – Farmington Cares Day focuses on safety and maintenance items for the elderly and disabled homeowners who qualify for help through Farmington Social Services Departments.
Hands On Hartford – The Shared Kitchen helps clients develop the capacity and mindset to create, manage, and grow culinary businesses. The licensed commercial kitchen provides clients with the proper space and equipment to prepare, test, and produce products and to store food supplies.
HEDCO, Inc. – Consulting services to assist the CEO in developing an internal strategic plan that includes capacity building and professional development for staff.
International Hartford – Provision of 1:1 financial literacy coaching, business education, business planning, market research/strategy, regulatory compliance, legal formation and site identification for immigrant entrepreneurs.
Local Initiatives Support Corporation – Provision of  financial and technical assistance to community development corporations (CDCs), nonprofit housing developers, 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.
Neighborhood Housing Services of New Britain, Inc. – Support of a resident-driven homeowners’ group called Neighborhood Change Builders. The group intends to perform small housing repairs using a neighbors-helping-neighbors model.
Rebuilding Together Hartford, Inc. – The Homeowner Retention Program helps  keep low-income Hartford homeowners living safely in their homes.   The program fosters neighborhood revitalization and stabilization work by clustering homes to be assisted in a specific radius of a selected neighborhood.
Rebuilding Together New Britain – RTNB offers no cost home repair, maintenance, and accessibility services to low-income homeowners. Services are provided year-round and are delivered by engaging volunteer teams where possible or hiring licensed contractors to attend to critical repairs.
Social Enterprise Trust, Inc. – The Food Incubator grows the skills and capacity of individuals who have the idea and recipe(s) for a food business, but not the entrepreneurial know-how. Participants think through key business issues and gain the knowledge and tools to make informed decisions and understand the stringent regulatory environment for food businesses.
The Village for Families & Children – VITA offers free tax preparation services for individuals and families earning up to $57,000 per year. VITA also provides information, access and referrals to asset-building opportunities, financial education, career development, and other similar resources through the Village’s Financial Opportunity Center (FOC).
United Way of Central & Northeastern CT – United Way supports a robust portfolio of economic mobility work so low  to moderate income (LMI) individuals can access services that focus on increasing household income and improve financial capability. The economic mobility includes helping adults obtain and retain jobs paying family sustaining wages; providing access to supports that help stabilize family income; and providing financial education and coaching.
University of Hartford -The Women’s Business Roundtable brings together groups of women entrepreneurs from greater Hartford. The program is divided into 5-month sessions, focused on aspects of marketing, sales, business development and related finances, as determined by group members with WBC staff and guest experts, who lead and coordinate the focus and content of the meetings.
OIC OF NEW BRITAIN -Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) programming helps those with barriers to self-sufficiency through Young Adult Workforce Development initiatives and providing youth career awareness and readiness programming to middle and high school students.

September 15 ^th – October 31st 2021 online system closes at 6PM

Health & Human Services – Access to Healthcare and Abuse Prevention

The foundation is accepting applications for programs and services that support community healthcare, ensure individuals get primary healthcare.   Requests that support the prevention or reduction of child, elder, or partner abuse are eligible under this round of Health & Human Services grant cycle.

Applicants are encouraged to read through our 2021 Foundation Focus 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.

Economic Empowerment- Entrepreneurship, Affordable Housing, Financial Literacy June 15^th – July 31st^th 2021 online system closes at 6PM

The foundation is accepting applications for programs and services that support the process of designing, launching and running a new business; efforts to improve the financial skills and knowledge of households to make informed and effective decisions and supporting development of a range of affordable housing options are eligible under this grant cycle.

Applicants are encouraged to read through our 2021 Foundation Focus 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.

Farmington Bank Community Foundation awarded $113,000 in grants under its Economic Empowerment and Sustainability – Workforce Development and Self Sufficiency Grant Cycle

Grantees included:
YWCA New Britain– Economic Empowerment through School Readiness Support; Provision of quality, sliding scale, School Readiness childcare services that includes a COVID compliant a hybrid-learning model.
United Way of West Central Connecticut, Inc. – Walsh Summer Work Experience Program; A seven-week summer workforce development program for Bristol youth age sixteen and up. The program combines work experience with a curriculum of job skills, financial literacy and social learning.
Tunxis Community College Foundation Inc. – Launch Your Leadership Journey; A program is designed to build and enhance leadership skills for female students enrolled in community college, who may otherwise not have the opportunity or the means to develop these skills.
Trinity College – Dream Camp at Trinity College; A tuition free afterschool program and  five-week summer camp for Hartford children that includes educational and recreational programming.
The Open Hearth Association – The Working Man’s Center (WMC); A job-centered training initiative focused on helping The Open Hearth’s clients end the cycle of homelessness. The WMC provides direct job placement for clients through partnerships with local businesses and our own social enterprise venture: Open Hearth Works.
Our Piece of the Pie – OPP in Communities: Empowering Youth for a Lifetime of Success; OPP in Communities addresses critical issues of access and opportunity available to Hartford youth ages 14-24. through social-emotional, youth development, academic, and workforce readiness supports.
Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford – Adult Literacy and Job Training; Program designed to improve the language, digital and math literacy competencies of low literate adults living or working in Greater Hartford.
Literacy Volunteers of Central Connecticut – Workforce Development and Education; Provision of literacy education to increase self-sufficiency, helping students secure employment, advance in career opportunities, and obtain financial literacy.
KNOX, Inc. – Green Jobs Apprenticeships; Hands-on green jobs, landscaping, and professional skills training to underserved Hartford young adults.    
Human Resources Agency of New Britain, Inc. – Early Childhood Career Path for Parents of Young Children; Integration of career education and employment services with intensive simultaneous case management services to engage parents of young children in career pathways that focus on Early Childhood Education (ECE).
Hartford Youth Scholars – The Collegiate Academy, Scholar Success High School & College; A comprehensive middle school through college graduation academic training and personal and professional counseling for Hartford students.
Hartford Promise, Inc. – Hartford Promise Integrated College Success Model; A model that combines Reaching Back and Reaching Forward programming, that connects Promise Scholars to key resources, supports, services, and relationships both in high school and at the colleges they attend.
Greater New Britain Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Inc. – Career Readiness; A middle school through high school afterschool and summer program that provides academic training with career exploration, part time employment and financial literacy.
Goodwin University, Inc. – Goodwin Bookkeeping Clerk Program; Series of workshops to teach the fundamentals of accounting and bookkeeping. Participants work with ledgers, journals, financial statements, and fine-tune their skills in inventory accounting and can sit for the Certified Bookkeeping Credential.   
Fresh Start Pallet Products, Inc. – FSPP; Expansion into a second production line for the Fresh Start Academy training program.
Forge City Works, Inc. – Culinary Job Training; Hands-on kitchen training and culinary customer service training that includes a paid experience in a real business setting.
Charter Oak State College Foundation, Inc. – Intent on Improving Tomorrow for Parents; Expansion of the Our Women in Transition Program to include parents, single or married, moms or dads, with an emphasis on our minority population.  Program includes tuition assistance, technology and coaching.
Career Resources, Inc. – STRIVE Hartford; STRIVE provides an intensive, attitudinal workplace preparation training to residents of Hartford and the greater Hartford area resulting in job seekers securing employment and job retention that improves their lives through the dignity of work.
American School for the Deaf – Transition Services Vocational Education Programming; Services for students graduating high schools but not going on to secondary education. Includes visiting job sites and career fairs, and meeting speakers from a variety of fields.

Basic Needs – Health & Human Services
March 15^th – April 30^th 2020 online system closes at 6PM

The foundation is accepting applications for programs and services that provide a safety net for individuals and families who are traveling the path to self-sufficiency or are experiencing financial setbacks. Priority will be given to organizations that provide short-term emergency assistance for households including shelters, food pantries or household goods; improve access to healthy food including income supports such as SNAP or WIC or efforts to decrease homelessness.

Applicants are encouraged to read through our 2021 Foundation Focus 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.