New Canaan Community Foundation Invests Over $80,000 in Sixth Round of Emergency Response Grants
This week, New Canaan Community Foundation announced the sixth round of grants awarded through their COVID-19 Response Fund and related efforts. These grants invest an additional $83,400 to address critical local needs. The largest areas of support this round include food assistance ($25,000), emergency financial assistance ($28,400), housing ($15,000), mental health ($10,000), and workforce support ($5,000).
New Canaan Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund was launched on March 18, 2020 and mobilized private resources to: support the emergency financial needs of New Canaan families and workers; help nonprofit organizations adapt to changing client needs, as well as shifts in operations; and support critical services in lower Fairfield County. Since its launch, the fund rapidly invested over $753,000 in community partners. You can learn more about the Foundation’s work – including the COVID-19 Response Fund – by virtually attending their 2022 Annual Meeting on Monday, January 7th, 5:30 – 6:30 pm. Guest speakers will include two nonprofit partners – Open Doors and the Mid Fairfield Child Guidance Center – in conversation regarding the impacts of the pandemic. To RSVP, visit www.newcanaancf.org.
With this round of grants, the Foundation has dispersed the entirety of the COVID-19 Response Fund. While there is not active fundraising planned for this fund, it will remain open so that NCCF has the option to use it in the future as a mechanism to address the impact of the pandemic on our community. Lauren Patterson, President & CEO commented, “In the meantime, the Foundation remains committed to being responsive to community needs, and continues to see the impact of the pandemic in the work of our nonprofit partners. Our annual grants and our on-going work will still be committed to best serving our residents and neighbors and, as we all know, the effects of the pandemic are still on-going.”
The sixth round of grants awarded are as follows:
Building One Community: $15,000 to support a full-time case worker to expand access to the Rental Assistance Program for low-income immigrants.
Catholic Charities of Fairfield County: $5,000 to support the Senior Nutrition’s Meals on Wheels Program, serving meals to low-income seniors, predominantly in Stamford and Norwalk.
Family Centers: $10,000 to support emergency financial assistance for low-income families in Stamford.
Mid-Fairfield Child Guidance Center: $5,000 to support a full-time, licensed, bilingual intake clinician to reduce wait times for mental health services and increase overall bandwidth by expediting the intake process, conducting triage, and ensuring new clients quickly receive
treatment.
New Covenant Center: $10,000 to continue providing their food programs at an increased level to the local community.
Norwalk Community Health Center: $4,500 to support medication, wellness, and food support for clients, regardless of their ability to pay.
Open Doors: $10,000 to support the Community Meals Program, which provides take-out pantry meals and clothing to low-income individuals and shelter guests.
Person-to-Person: $13,900 to continue supporting emergency financial assistance for local families in need.
Star, Inc., Lighting the Way…: $5,000 to underwrite virtual programming instructors and materials to create reimagined content for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Women’s Mentoring Network: $5,000 to support technology education, devices, and connectivity for women and families served by the organization.
With this round, dollars invested in nonprofit partners now total over $753,000 to-date. Investments include resources from the COVID-19 Response Fund, as well as dollars from the Touch A Life Fund (a longstanding emergency support fund for New Canaan residents) and funding from donor-advised funds housed at the New Canaan Community Foundation.
The New Canaan Community Foundation, founded in 1977, serves as New Canaan's local partner for advice, leadership, and facilitation of charitable giving. Their vision strives for a New Canaan that comes together to address both individual and local challenges, enriching the lives of all community members. To-date, the New Canaan Community Foundation has invested more than $20 million in nonprofit organizations, working with individuals and businesses to achieve their philanthropic goals through donor-advised funds and other partnerships. Learn more at www.newcanaancf.org
CONTACT:
Lauren Patterson
President & CEO
201-965-5603
lpatterson@newcanaancf.org