“Community Foundations are ideally situated for a partnership: they know local needs, they have local credibility, they are efficient and they get the money where it needs to go with a minimum of leakage.” –Curt Welling, AmeriCares

Funds and Grantmaking

Local First Ib.l.a.s.t. Fund

About The Fund
Ib.l.a.s.t. (“I Buy Local and Shop in Town”), a buy local program connecting the businesses of New Canaan with the buying power of our community was launched in December 2008 with 32 participating New Canaan businesses. Now, over 100 New Canaan businesses are participating and an estimated 25% of New Canaan residents participate in the program as Ib.l.a.s.t. members.

Charitable support of the community is an important component of the Ib.l.a.s.t. effort.   20% of every card sale goes back into the community. In the past, 16 local non-profits have been the recipients of funds generated by the Ib.l.a.s.t. card. In an effort to consolidate the charitable funds from Ib.l.a.s.t. card sales, and be more efficient and effective philanthropists, the founders of Ib.l.a.s.t., Barbara Davis and Carolyn Williams, now direct 20% of all  Ib.l.a.s.t. card sales sold directly through Ib.l.a.s.t. to the Local First Ibl.a.s.t. Fund.  The purpose of the Fund is to make grants to non-profit organizations that initiate programs to attract visitors and retail prospects, as well as make New Canaan an enjoyable place to live.

Non-profit interested in applying for funding from this Fund should contact the Foundation office to inquire about the process.   To learn more about Ib.l.a.s.t., please visit their web site at http://www.iblastcard.com/home.html.