LGBTQIA+ Organization Latest to Join Slate of Nonprofit Partners
NEW HAVEN, CT -- At The Community Fund for Women & Girls’ annual meeting, newly appointed Chair Karen Peart announced grant awards totaling $130,000 to 12 nonprofit partner organizations working to advance gender equity in the region. Among the grantees is the New Haven Pride Center, which is the first LGBTQIA+ organization to receive a grant from The Fund.
“These grantees are working on the front lines of gender equity and economic security and you will also find a deep commitment to inclusiveness,” said Peart. “All of the grant awards are related in some way to economic security and inclusive growth and all of them are made possible by women’s philanthropy – the generous sharing of time, talent and treasure.”
The annual meeting also featured the moderated panel discussion, “The Care Economy: Women, Wealth and Work” featuring Jessica Sager, co-founder and CEO of All Our Kin; Natalícia Tracy, Ph.D., executive director of Brazilian Worker Center and Elyse Shaw, study director at the Institute for Women's Policy Research. The panelists discussed how women make up the bulk of the U.S. healthcare and care support workforce (nearly 88 percent), the personal and financial costs to women providing services in the care economy and the importance of advocacy to raise wages and improve working conditions. To learn more about the subject and view the panel discussion, visit fundforwomenandgirls.org.
2019 Grant Recipients in Alphabetical Order:
All Our Kin: $10,000 to support the continuation of the Business Development Program, through which childcare professionals succeed as business owners, parents are able to participate in the workforce and children receive the early learning experiences they need to succeed in school and beyond.
Bridges Healthcare: $15,000 to support the expansion of prevention education and case management services with a particular focus on the West Haven community. B-SAFE will address the needs and concerns of girls and young women between the ages of 13-25 around sexual activity and reproductive health, pregnancy and parenting and will support young women and girls to make healthy, responsible decisions to foster future independence and self-sufficiency.
Chapel Haven: $5,000 to support the Communicative Competency Women’s Group offering discussion-based, community integrated programming that teaches women with high functioning Autism to define personal boundaries and healthful relationships, improve life skills, enhance awareness of others, and socialize as a way to empower, build relationships, and increase personal safety.
Collective Consciousness Theatre: $7,000 to support a 12-16 week program for young women who attend a New Haven public school and elder women who reside at a New Haven senior residence/eldercare facility. Students interview elders about their political participation generally and their voting experiences specifically. Students and theatre artists will produce a public gallery-style exhibit, a talkback with some of the participants and a PSA-style video leading up to the 2020 Presidential election.
Community Bonds: $15,000 to support the first formal organizing initiative against mass incarceration in Connecticut, led by women of color.
Connecticut Women’s Education & Legal Fund: $20,000 to support the Bilingual Community Advocacy project and Advocacy Fellowship program in Greater New Haven. Bilingual Community Advocacy is a part of CWEALF’s comprehensive Legal Education Program that empowers low-income and Spanish speaking clients with free legal information, legal advocacy, referrals to Cooperating Attorneys and partner agencies, and community education.
The Connecticut Collective for Women and Girls: $20,000 for continued support for a statewide network of women and girl-serving organizations, allies and advocates.
IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services): $12,000 to support literacy programming for refugee mothers with young children, who have no other options for learning English. Mothers will attend daily English language classes while young children attend adjacent preschool readiness class. Multi-level class focuses on practical applications of reading, writing, and speaking English in order to improve womens’ integration and help them manage their daily tasks, support their children’s education, and engage in community life.
New Haven Free Public Library: $9,500 to support the expansion of the Tech Titans: Girls Who Code Club, which serves girls in grades 3-5 weekly, throughout the NHFPL system. Girls learn coding basics, the history of women in STEM, and additional STEM topics in a safe space. Funding will expand the clubs to four additional library locations by joining the Girls Who Code national network as a community partner.
New Haven Pride Center: $2,000 to contribute to the hiring of a part-time program officer who will focus exclusively on creating new programming and enhancing existing activities for LGBTQ+ identified women, including assigned female at birth, cisgender and transgender women.
Student Parenting and Family Services: $7,500 to support adolescent New Haven mothers in overcoming barriers to education and employment. The program provides crisis intervention, counseling, home visits and basic needs assessments.
Women & Family Life Center: $7,000 to support the continuation of one-on-one financial consulting programming while expanding the program to other sites in neighboring towns to serve more women.
About the Community Fund For Women & Girls
The Community Fund for Women & Girls is Greater New Haven’s only endowment promoting the social and economic advancement of women and girls. Learn more at fundforwomenandgirls.org
Photo Caption: The Community Fund for Women & Girls’ 2019 Annual Meeting panelists (l-r): Miriam Gohara; Natalícia Tracy; Elyse Shaw and Jessica Sager.
###
Contact:
Ratasha Smith
Communications Officer
The COMMUNITY Foundation for Greater New Haven
203-777-2386
rsmith@cfgnh.org