Foundation Doles Out $400K To Help Needy

HARTFORD, CT — The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Friday announced it has awarded more than $400,000 in grants to 50 nonprofit agencies that provide food and other basic human needs to residents throughout Greater Hartford.

The foundation said it is part of ongoing efforts to "dismantle structural racism and advance equity in social and economic mobility in Greater Hartford's Black and Latinx communities."

One of 50 groups benefitting is the Services for the Elderly of Farmington, Inc., which is receiving $4,500 to support meals-on-wheels for seniors in the Farmington Valley region.

This year, the foundation expanded when it awards grants and will issue them on two occassions this year.

The application process for the second round of basic human needs (BHN) grants will begin Aug. 2. To learn more about this and other grant opportunities, nonprofits can log onto https://www.hfpg.org/nonprofits/current-grant-opportunities.

The BHN grants focus on increasing access to food and addressing immediate needs such as personal care items (deodorant, diapers), utility assistance, emergency transportation and other needs essential to well being.

The grants support both regional and local agencies in Greater Hartford.

Grants range between $1,000 and $15,000 and are primarily funded through the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation as well as the foundation’s discretionary funding.

A total of 50 grants were awarded, according to Friday's announcement, most to organizations in Hartford and the Greater Hartford area.

In addition, grants were awarded to groups in Vernon, Enfield, Farmington, Manchester and other towns.

“When individuals and families cannot afford to pay for groceries, housing, medical care or other basic necessities, it is incredibly challenging for children to perform in school or adults to go to work each and every day,” said Hartford Foundation Senior Community Investments Officer Cierra Stancil.

“Providing for the most basic of human needs helps individuals and families stabilize themselves on their way toward upward social and economic mobility.”

For more information, including a list of the specific organizations receiving funding, click on this link.