December 16, 2020

Contact: Jennifer O’Brien, Program Director
JennOB@cfect.org; 860.442.3572

NEW LONDON – The Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut announces $225,500 in 2020 grants to 41 nonprofits aimed at providing greater equity for women and girls throughout Eastern Connecticut from its four Women & Girls Funds.

  • Northeast Area Women & Girls Fund awarded $15,000 to six nonprofits, including Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters for site-based/virtual mentoring for seven girls from Putnam Elementary School;
  • Norwich Area Women & Girls Fund awarded $13,000 to three nonprofits, including Madonna Place to support Great Beginnings Home Visiting Program, which helps mothers parenting young children;
  • Southeast Area Women & Girls Fund awarded $136,600 to 18 nonprofits, including United Community and Family Services program to address health disparities for women of color through implicit bias training; and
  • Windham Area Women & Girls Fund awarded $60,900 to 14 nonprofits, including GROW Windham to transform their Community Table/Mesa Comunitaria project into a member-led communal pantry and food processing collective for Latinx women and teens.
  • The combined Women & Girls Funds supported a grant to Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF). The $12,000 award will further a partnership with the Foundation’s Women & Girls Public Policy Task Force in their advocacy work.
Complete List of Grantees

“This has been a difficult year for everyone on many fronts. Women, especially those of historically marginalized populations, have faced the greatest challenges. The Community Foundation is focused on shoring up economic security, ensuring education and healthcare access, and keeping women and children safe amid spikes in domestic violence,” stated Program Director Jennifer O’Brien.

In 1999, the Community Foundation established its first Women & Girls Fund to support nonprofits that empower women and girls to pursue positive, productive lives – for themselves and their families. Since that time, three other Women & Girls Funds were established in Windham, Norwich and Northeast Connecticut to advance the equity and well-being of women and girls through grantmaking, advocacy and action.

Collectively, the four Women & Girls Funds have an endowment of over $5.2 million and have awarded more than $2.4 million in grants to over 531 programs.

To learn more about the Women & Girls Funds at the Community Foundation, or how to set up your own named fund to benefit women and girls in Eastern Connecticut, contact Alison Woods, alison@cfect.org or Lauren C. Parda at lauren@cfect.org or call 860.442.3572.

Please visit our website for a complete list of grantees

About the Community Foundation
Serving 42 towns and comprised of nearly 560 charitable funds, the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut puts philanthropy into action to address the needs, rights and interests of the region, focusing on four priority areas: empowering youth, promoting basic needs and rights, preserving the environment, and advancing animal welfare. The Foundation stewards net assets of over $103 million and has awarded more than $69 million in grants and scholarships to nonprofits and students since its founding in 1983. To learn more, visit cfect.org.

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