HARTFORD, CT – The Connecticut Council for Philanthropy (CCP) named SHEILA PERRIN the recipient of the 2017 John H. Filer Award for her leadership in promoting private action for the public good. Sheila Perrin, co-founder and board chair of New Haven-based Perrin Family Foundation, has been a leader in local and state philanthropy for more than 20 years.
Sheila founded the Perrin Family Foundation with her husband, Charlie, in 1994. In her position as president and with the experience of working with many CT non-profit boards, she actively stewarded the foundation’s evolution from a family foundation with several funding priorities to one with a specific mission and focus on Youth Voice.
Sheila is an emeritus director of the Fairfield County’s Community Foundation and actively served on the board from 1998-2013. She chaired the program and education committees, served as board vice chair, and became board chair after the merger with the Greater Bridgeport Area Foundation was completed in 2012-2013.
“The Community Foundation is stronger because of Sheila’s longstanding board service,” said Juanita James, President and CEO of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, and current CCP Board member. “During the foundation’s challenging merger, Sheila’s steady, hands-on leadership was critical.”
“Sheila also led our first Education Committee which focuses on strategies for addressing our county’s deep academic achievement gap and insisted that our new community leadership initiative, Thrive by 25, include a strong youth voice component.”
Sheila served as a board member for the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy from 2003- 2009, and has been an active member of CCP’s Fairfield County Funder Network.
About the John H. Filer Award
The award honors the life and work of the late John H. Filer, former chief executive of Aetna Life & Casualty Company, who was known for his bold support of corporate citizenship and who helped reassert the American commitment to private philanthropy in the 1970s. Each year, the award recognizes an individual or individuals who embody an entrepreneurial spirit and leadership in promoting the field of philanthropy, and have demonstrated a creative response to solving societal problems. For more information about the Filer Award including previous recipients visit the CCP’s website.
About the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy
The Connecticut Council for Philanthropy (CCP) is an association of grantmakers committed to promoting and supporting effective philanthropy for the public good. CCP’s members are foundations (private, corporate, community), business and corporate giving programs, bank trusts, donor-advised funds, individual philanthropists and those serving the philanthropic sector. CCP members granted more than $858 million from assets of more than $7.6 billion in 2014. For more information go to www.CTphilanthropy.org.
Photo: CCP’s 2017 John H. Filer Awardee Sheila Perrin (center), co-founder and board chair of the Perrin Family Foundation, with husband, Charlie Perrin (left) and Juanita James (right), president and CEO of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, and current CCP Board member.
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Contact:
Karla Fortunato
President
Connecticut Council for Philanthropy
860-525-5585
kfortunato@CTphilanthropy.org
Website: www.CTphilanthropy.org