The New Canaan Community Foundation celebrated its annual Grant Awards Ceremony Thursday morning, where the agency divided $650,000 among 80 local nonprofit organizations.
Human Services organizations gather for a photo after being awarded grants by NCCF. Credit: Eva Pace
NCCF Board Chair Sharon Stevenson said the ceremony provided a chance to “come together to celebrate and look forward to our shared work going forward.”
“This patchwork of investments is touching a broad range of needs in our community,” Stevenson said during the hourlong event, attended by more than 150 people and held in the Lamb Room at New Canaan Library.
Arts, Culture & Community Resources organizations gather for a photograph after being awarded grants from NCCF. Credit: Eva Pace
With its other grant programs, NCCF will invest more than $1 million dollars in grant aid this year.
John Knight, the organization’s Distributions Committee chair, said the grant investments “depend primarily on the generosity of local donors.”
The 2017 Fundraising Appeal Committee, co-chaired by Sara and Spencer Schubert and Linda and Jay Twombly, led efforts to raise the donated funds.
This year’s 92 grant requests totaled nearly $1.3 million.
“Our process was especially competitive this year, so today’s grantees should be proud,” Knight said.
This year, programs were divided into five categories: Human Services, Arts, Culture & Community Resources, Youth & Education, Health, and Seniors & Special Needs.
The Human Services branch divided $171,800 between 20 organizations seeking to ensure the basic needs and safety of community members.
Filling in the Blanks received a grant supporting its partnership with Children’s Learning Centers of Fairfield County. This allows them to expand from 40 to 65 students per week at an early childhood center, according to the New Canaan-based organization.
Filling in the Blanks representative Devon Johnson said the money will allow the group “to help the students from the Free and Reduced Lunch Program and Alice population at the Children’s Learning Center.”
Nonprofits in Arts, Culture, & Community Resources spread $152,900 in grants among their organizations, ranging from the endeavors of the New Canaan Historical Society to Wildlife in Crisis.
Eighteen Youth & Education nonprofits split $123,850 worth of grant money. This includes the ABC Inc. of New Canaan which intends to use its donation to increase college enrollment of minority youth, officials said, especially young men attending school in New Canaan.
Kai Clancy, a senior at New Canaan High School and ABC student, said the funds are “very special and very necessary to support the eight kids a year that require food, electricity and heating in the program.”
Twelve Health organizations, including Circle of Care for Families with Cancer to the Tiny Miracles Foundation, split $118,950.
Seniors & Special Needs grants were donated to 10 organizations, totaling about $82,500 in aid. Nonprofits such as STAR, Inc. and Arts for Healing work to ensure that older adults and those with special needs can maintain a high quality of life.
What follows is a full list of the beneficiary organizations that were awarded at this year’s ceremony.
Arts, Culture, & Community Resources
- American Red Cross
- Carriage Barn Arts Center
- Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County
- Friends of Mead Park Playground
- The Glass House
- Magical Music for Life Foundation
- New Canaan Historical Society
- New Canaan Library
- New Canaan Nature Center
- New Canaan YMCA
- New England Dance Theatre
- Norwalk Symphony Orchestra
- Pro Bono Partnership
- Shakespeare on the Sound
- Silvermine Arts Center
- Stamford Museum & Nature Center
- Stamford Symphony Orchestra
- Summer Theatre of New Canaan
- Waveny Park Conservancy
- Wildlife in Crisis
Health
- Americares Free Clinics
- Child Guidance Center of Mid-Fairfield County
- Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut
- Circle of Care for Families of Children with Cancer
- Fairfield County Hospice House
- Laurel House
- New Canaan Parent Support Group
- Norwalk Hospital Association
- Silver Hill Hospital
- Tiny Miracles Foundation
- Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County
- Waveny LifeCare Network
Human Services
- Building One Community
- Child Advocates of SW Connecticut
- Exchange Club Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse of Southern CT
- Family Centers
- Family ReEntry
- Filling in the Blanks
- Food Rescue US
- Human Services Council “Children’s Connection”
- Inspirica
- Kids in Crisis
- New Covenant Center
- Open Door Shelter
- Pacific House
- Person-to-Person
- Pivot Ministries
- Saint Joseph Parenting Center
- The Sexual Assault Crisis & Education Center
- Voices of September 11th
- Women’s Mentoring Network
Seniors & Special Needs
- Abilis
- Arts for Healing
- ElderHouse
- Family & Children’s Agency
- Getabout
- Meals on Wheels of New Canaan
- New Canaan Mounted Troop
- Saint Catherine Center for Special Needs
- STAR, Inc., Lighting the Way
- Staying Put in New Canaan
Youth & Education
- A.B.C. House of New Canaan
- All Our Kin
- Carver Foundation of Norwalk
- Children’s Learning Centers of Fairfield County
- Domus Kids
- Earthplace
- Future 5
- Horizons at New Canaan Country School
- INTEMPO
- LiveGirl
- Mercy Learning Center
- New Canaan CARES
- New Canaan High School Scholarship Foundation
- Norwalk Community College Foundation
- Norwalk Grassroots Tennis & Education
- REACH Prep
- Stamford Cradle to Career Initiative
- Stepping Stones Museum for Children
The New Canaan Community Foundation’s annual Grant Awards is an amazing presentation that I wish every New Canaan resident could attend. This event highlights the BEST of the BEST that our community has to offer. We salute both the organizations represented and the donors who made the grants possible.
These Grant Awards are the result of thousands of hours of volunteer due diligence conducted by NCCF board members and over 100 community volunteers. The grant review process is about determining those non-profit organizations working to fill a community need with a project or service that will have both reach and impact within the greater New Canaan community.
We thank every resident who contributed to our Annual Appeal last fall or supported any of our special events over the past year that provided the financial resources to make these grants.
Looking forward, I invite EVERY New Canaan resident to consider supporting the New Canaan Community Foundation this year with a gift – no matter how large or small – to show how New Canaan comes together to make a collective impact on improving every residents’ quality of life. http://www.newcanaancf.org/Give/GiveNow.aspx
Thank you,
Leo Karl III
Board Member
New Canaan Community Foundation
Mr. Karl – I couldn’t agree more. Being in the audience and accepting a grant representing the Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County, my heart swelled with joy to be part of this amazing group of people. Visiting Nurse & Hospice, myself and the patients we serve are so grateful to the NCCF board, staff and community volunteers for undertaking this task. Thank you for the difference you make in our community.
Dawn Jeffrey
Associate Director of Development
Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County