Impact Fairfield County Awards Nearly $300,000 in Grants to Local Nonprofits

Impact Fairfield County (“Impact”), one of Fairfield County’s leading women’s nonprofit organizations, recently announced the recipients of its 2026 grant awards at its annual Grant Awards Celebration held at Serafresca at the Italian Center in Stamford.

Selected by a vote of Impact’s more than 270-member organization, Food Rescue US – Fairfield County and Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders (“BCYL”) each received transformational grants of $100,000 to expand innovative programs addressing food insecurity, workforce development, and youth opportunity across Fairfield County.

The remaining finalists — Catholic Charities of Fairfield County, ElderHouse, The Carver, and The Center for Family Justice — each received unrestricted operating grants of $18,250 in recognition of their impactful work serving the community.

The winners were selected following Impact’s extensive member-led review process, which narrowed a record pool of 74 applicants to six finalists through grant application reviews, financial evaluations, and site visits.

“This year’s applicant pool was strong - and the largest we’ve seen to date,” said Jennifer Servedio, Co-President of Impact Fairfield County. “Our members were inspired by the innovation and impact of these organizations and proud to invest in programs creating lasting change across Fairfield County.”

Food Rescue US – Fairfield County

Food Rescue US – Fairfield County redistributes approximately 3.8 million pounds of surplus food annually through a network serving nearly 200 social service agencies across the region. The organization’s Impact-funded initiative will expand staffing capacity as Fairfield County has faced an 11% rise in food insecurity over the past two years.

“We are incredibly honored and grateful for this investment from Impact Fairfield County,” said Karen Saggese, Lead Site Director of Food Rescue US – Fairfield County. “Right now, we are at capacity, meaning opportunities to feed families are being missed every day. This funding will allow us to rescue more food and serve more people.”

Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders

Founded by brothers John and Edwin Torres, Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders has grown from a neighborhood baseball league into a youth development organization serving nearly 10% of Bridgeport’s K-12 student population through sports, education, and leadership programming. Impact’s grant will fund “Health Explorers,” a new initiative introducing Bridgeport students to healthcare careers while providing pathways to certification and employment in high-demand medical fields.

“This grant creates life-changing opportunities for our students,” said John Torres, Executive Director of Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders. “We are helping young people see a future for themselves in healthcare and giving them the tools to achieve it.”

The event also featured updates from prior grantees highlighting the long-term ripple effect of Impact’s investments. Craig Baker, CEO of The Boys & Girls Club of Stamford, shared how Impact funding helped strengthen mental health and support services reaching nearly 600 children daily, helping youth feel “safe, seen, and supported.” Filling in the Blanks founders Tina Kramer and Shawnee Knight reported that, following their Impact grant, their organization expanded from seven to thirteen mobile food pantries, distributing more than 321,000 pounds of fresh food to 16,000 family members, in addition to providing participants with in-person connection points to 37 community partners.

The 2026 finalists represented a broad range of initiatives addressing some of Fairfield County’s most pressing needs, including homelessness prevention, trauma-informed youth mentorship, workforce development, dementia care, and food insecurity.

Since its founding in 2015, Impact has awarded nearly $2.8 million in grants to local nonprofits.

About Impact Fairfield County: Impact is a collective giving organization whose mission is to empower women to engage in local philanthropy through deeper knowledge and active participation in grantmaking. By pooling annual membership contributions, Impact provides large, transformational grants to nonprofit organizations serving Fairfield County.

For more information, please visit Impact’s new website at: impactfairfieldcounty.org.