Local Connecticut Nonprofits Face-off on Road to $10,000

Local nonprofit organizations Capital City Education Alliance and Cove Center for Grieving Children are facing off this week, two of eight nonprofit organizations remaining in this year’s Brackets for Good Connecticut.

Brackets for Good, a statewide competitive fundraising tournament for nonprofit organizations, has helped Connecticut nonprofits raise $85,641 in the first three weeks of the five week effort.

Also in the running are Community Mental Health Affiliates, Connecticut Humane Society, The Mark Twain House & Museum, The First Tee of Connecticut, Hartford City Mission and the Connecticut Council for Interreligious Understanding.

The current round will end on Friday and the final four will be announced on March 30 at 8 p.m. The semi-final and championship round will each last three days, with the Champion crowned on April 6. The winning organization will receive a $10,000 Championship Grant from Stanley Black & Decker.

“Partnering with Brackets For Good in Connecticut is a fun and impactful way we can support numerous organizations that are serving the communities, where many of our employees call home," said Tim Perra, Stanley Black & Decker Senior VP of Public Affairs.

This week’s Engaged Eight includes a match-up of two local organizations with a focus on helping children and teens.

Capital City Education Alliance lays the foundation for workforce readiness by inspiring and empowering pre-teens and teens in the Greater Hartford area through projects and partnerships that build character, skills, and pathways to success.

Martha Guidry, the Executive Director for Capital City Education Alliance said, “We are so excited to make it for the final 8 again this year. This tournament is so much fun because my younger donors like the competitive nature the fundraising so it makes them give more than they would in a regular solicitation effort.”

The Cove Center for Grieving Children’s mission is to provide hope and healing for grieving children/teens and their families, and training for the professionals who work with them. The Cove Center for Grieving Children, based in Meriden, delivers support to grieving children throughout Connecticut through seven satellite sites in West Hartford, East Hartford, New Haven, Meriden, Guilford, Stonington and Easton/serving Fairfield/Newton. The Cove provides family and school-based programs utilizing the peer support group concept for helping children, teens and families work with their unresolved grief due to the death of someone significant in their lives.

Online contributions to the Connecticut nonprofit organizations for Round 4 is now underway, at https://connecticut.bfg.org/ Thus far, the Connecticut tournament, presented by Stanley Black & Decker, has the fifth largest total amount raised, out of the 13 city or state tournaments that are running this year.

Brackets For Good, a 501(c)3 charitable organization based in Indianapolis, hosts online, bracket-style fundraising tournaments every March in communities around the United States. To date, Brackets For Good has raised more than $6.4 million for charitable nonprofits since 2012 with an average of 30 percent of donations coming from first-time donors to the participating organizations.

How to Get Involved

Visit https://connecticut.bfg.org to make online donations to help your favorite nonprofit organization advance to the next round and get one step closer to the $10,000 championship grant. $1 equals one point. The six-round tournament takes place over five weeks beginning March 2 and ending on April 6. Each of the first four rounds lasts a full week and the semi-final and championship round each last three days.

About BRACKETS FOR GOOD

Brackets For Good, a 501(c)3 charitable organization, uses the power of sport, innovative technology, and online bracket-style fundraising tournaments to inspire people to learn about and rally behind charitable nonprofits that make the world a better place. Since the inaugural tournament in 2012, new awareness, fundraising capacity, and over $6.4 Million dollars has been raised for hundreds of charitable organizations across the country. It’s Competitive Giving. Everybody Wins. For more information, visit BFG.org.