Hartford Foundation Commits Funds To Encourage Voting

Hartford Foundation for Public Giving

HARTFORD, CT — A Hartford-based foundation has doled out $200,000 to city nonprofits whose aim is to promote voting turnout and the exercise of democracy.

The grants come as Hartford voters are about to elect a new mayor, with incumbent Luke Bronin already announcing he won't seek a new term.

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving has awarded $200,000 in grants to 11 nonprofit organizations to support nonpartisan voter engagement activities leading up to Hartford’s mayoral primary election in September and general election in November.

With more than 14,000 eligible, not-yet-registered voters in the city, the fundation’s "Get Out the Vote" project aims to encourage greater civic engagement and increase voter participation.

As an example, the BSL Educational Foundation received a $20,000 grant to support its effort to produce at least four candidate forums for the Hartford Mayoral and City Council races.

“We at the BSL Educational Foundation understand that local elections are our society's economic, cultural and social hubs,” said BSL Board of Director’s Vice President Tyron Harris.

“Local elections are crucial because they determine the policies and decisions that affect people's daily lives including the allocation of municipal resources, education funding and policies, and policies and allocation of municipal funding for economic development."

This is the fourth time over the past five years the foundation has provided support for nonpartisan voter engagement.

This year, nonprofits were invited to submit proposals to engage in nonpartisan voter education and mobilization activities in Greater Hartford.

“While voter turnout has increased among all demographic groups across Connecticut between the 2016 and 2020 elections, disparities in voter turnout still persist among both young people and people of color. These disparities are even more pronounced in municipal elections,” said Hartford Foundation Senior Community Impact Officer Kate Piotrowski.

For more information, including a list of grant recipients, click on this link.