Community Foundation awards nearly 90 grants to nonprofits

A month since its launch Fairfield County’s Community Foundation has awarded nearly 90 grants totaling $1,359,500 from its Fairfield County COVID-19 Resiliency Fund. The Community Foundation’s grants have been made to nonprofit organizations serving Fairfield County’s most vulnerable residents with a primary focus on four key service categories: employment or economic security; mental or physical health; education; and housing. A full list of grantees, including brief descriptions of how funds are being used, can be found here. Fairfield County’s Community Foundation launched the Fairfield County COVID-19 Resiliency Fund on March 18 to help minimize the social and economic consequences of this global pandemic and to prevent the widening of disparities in education, employment, housing, and health. The fund has received $1.83 million in donations to date. “We’ve been truly humbled by the outpouring of support for our COVID-19 Resiliency Fund and, even more so, the heroism of our region’s frontline nonprofit organizations,” said Juanita T. James, president and CEO, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation. “Our Community Impact team has been working hard to thoughtfully review applications and distribute grant funding as rapidly as possible and will continue to engage our nonprofit community in conversations to help fulfill as much of the need as possible.” The Community Foundation thanks its Founding Fund Partners, a cross-section of generous fundholders, individuals, corporations, and private foundations who have each contributed a minimum of $25,000 to the Fairfield County COVID-19 Resiliency Fund: Anne S. Leonhardt Fund; Anonymous Fundholders and Donors; Bank of America; Buckeye Fund; CNG, SCG, UI -Part of the AVANGRID Family; Dan Levinson; Diane and Andreas Halvorsen; John Mayer’s Back to You Fund; Don Kendall; Eversource; Tony and Judy Evnin, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation; Fairfield County’s Community Foundation Board of Directors; Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation; The Koskoff Fund; NBC Sports Group; O’Herron Family Foundation; Perrin Fund for Youth Voice; Ritter Family Foundation; and Social Venture Partners Connecticut. To provide an additional incentive for giving, an anonymous donor to the Community Foundation has offered a $500,000 challenge grant. Any donation up to $10,000 to the fund will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, up to $500,000. Donations of any size can be made at FCCFoundation.org/COVID19ResiliencyFund. In addition to the $1.83 million raised for the Fairfield County COVID-19 Resiliency Fund in the past month, the Community Foundation’s donor-advised fundholders have directed an additional $1.26 million in grants to nonprofit organizations impacted by the economic disruption of the pandemic during the same period. James concluded, “Despite the extraordinary generosity of so many donors, the requests for funding continue to outpace our fundraising. As of today, incoming requests for emergency funding now exceed $4 million. Yet there is reason for hope. As the various domino-like impacts of COVID-19 unfold, it becomes increasingly obvious that our lives are inextricably bound together. And as we confront the short- and long-term implications, we can all share together in maintaining and rebuilding our community. We are grateful to be among the neighbors who call Fairfield County home.” Consideration for grants from the Fairfield County COVID-19 Resiliency Fund is limited to 501c3 nonprofit organizations, groups fiscally sponsored by a 501c3 nonprofit organization, or other charitable organizations able to receive tax-deductible contributions, such as schools, faith-based organizations serving community needs, and other public entities based in or primarily serving Fairfield County communities and residents. Consideration will also be given to 501c4 social welfare organizations. Requests for funding can be made on a rolling basis here.

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