Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation
/OVERVIEW: This community funder supports 20 towns in Northwest Connecticut in the areas of hunger, homelessness, access to the arts, women and girls, youth, and human services.
FUNDING AREAS: Hunger, homelessness, access to the arts, women and girls, youth, human services
IP TAKE: This Connecticut funder specifically helps to provide basic needs services to local communities. Grants are modest, but facilitate the work of grassroots organizations.
PROFILE: The Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation (NCCF) is was founded in 1969 and is based in Torrington, Connecticut. The foundation began when a small group of citizens made an initial $15,000 donation to establish what was then called the Torrington Area Foundation for Public Giving. Today, this community funder serves 20 towns in Northwest Connecticut and has over 300 funds under management. NCCF provides local support through cycle grants, the Women and Girls Fund, year-end critical needs grants, the Edwards Community Endowment project, Youth Fund grants, and donor-advised funds.
NCCF’s Women and Girls Fund supports programs that give women and girls the opportunity to build life skills, self-sufficiency, personal growth, and self-esteem.
Year-end critical needs grants are awarded for a total of up to $60,000 in NCCF’s region of focus thanks to donations made by the Draper Foundation Fund, the Marion Wm. and Alice Edwards Fund, and an anonymous local donor.
The foundation awards Youth Fund grants based on the recommendations of local high school students that participate in a youth philanthropy program. For the Women and Girls Fund, the foundation invites nonprofits to apply and does not accept grant applications. The Youth Fund accepts grant applications starting in the spring
The Edwards Community Endowment program is a matching grants program made possible with funding from the Marion Wm. and Alice Edwards Fund that provides a maximum $20,000 match per nonprofit. As with most community funders, donor-advised funds are managed on an invitation-only basis. For example, the Draper Foundation Fund supports nonprofits named by the Drapers and groups in Torrington, Winsted, Norfolk, Colebrook, New Hartford, and Barkhamsted, while the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation supports animal welfare. The endowment accepts applications on a rolling basis throughout the year.
To learn about nonprofits that have worked with NCCF’s in the past, search the funder’s online nonprofit database. Past grantees include summer camps for kids, financial literacy efforts for women and girls, local YMCAs, and a wide range of well-established and grassroots groups in the area. Geographically, NCCF focuses its giving on the following Connecticut towns: Barkhamsted, Bethlehem, Canaan (Falls Village), Colebrook, Cornwall, Goshen, Hartland, Harwinton, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Hartford, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Torrington, Warren, Washington, and Winchester/Winsted.
Grants are often less than $1,500. This local community foundation provides funding for programs and projects through its cycle grants three times per year with applications due in January, April, and September. You can apply for a year-end critical needs grant between the late-summer and mid-October. In addition to grants, the foundation also awards scholarships, offers nonprofit sponsorships, and provides nonprofit education sessions to address topics like nonprofit board evaluation, nonprofit leadership, and the changing landscape of philanthropy. The foundation’s financial data can be viewed here. You can direct general questions to the staff at 860-626-1245 or via online contact form. Keep up with what this funder is interested in and where grants are going by following its news section.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only.)
LINKS:
