New Haven, CT (June 18, 2020) – United Way of Greater New Haven (United Way) and The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (The Foundation) are pleased to announce that more than $1.4 million has been awarded to 80 organizations from the Greater New Haven COVID-19 Community Fund (The Fund). With these 3rd and 4th round of grants, the Fund has distributed $2.7M to 130 organizations since it was created on March 20, 2020. The Fund is a community-wide effort to raise money for and get resources quickly to Greater New Haven’s nonprofits and the people they serve affected by COVID-19. Funding was awarded through an application process with an emphasis on supporting organizations led by and/or partnering with people of color and/or those living in poverty.
“We’re very pleased to be able to continue to support our community through this public health crisis through grant-making from our region’s COVID-19 Fund. Money raised here stays here, and is put to good use helping so many residents in need. These latest rounds of funding, for example, enabled us to support increasing safety measures and creative programming for children and youth in these challenging times,” said United Way of Greater New Haven President and CEO Jennifer Heath.
“COVID-19 has posed enormous and unprecedented challenges to so many people in our community, from those newly unemployed and needing assistance in meeting their basic needs to those on the front lines providing vital services. Through the extraordinary generosity of donors in our community, the COVID-19 Community Fund has been able to help meet these needs and others by providing much-needed support through these first months of the COVID-19 crisis,” said William W. Ginsberg, President and Chief Executive Officer at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
As with the first two rounds of funding, these third and fourth rounds were conducted by a volunteer Committee that reviewed applications and made grant decisions; members of the Committee consist of current and former Community Foundation and United Way board members, including: Khalilah L. Brown-Dean (bio), Andrew Eder (bio), Judith Meyers (bio), Flemming Norcott, Jr. (bio), Marcella Nuñez-Smith (bio), and Diane Young Turner (bio). The application process is now closed as The Foundation and United Way listen and survey nonprofits and individuals about their needs. A list of Greater New Haven COVID-19 Community Fund grant recipients to date and ways to donate to the Fund can be found here.
Forth Round Grant Recipients
- Adonai Spiritual Formation Center - $3,000: To support personal protective equipment, including masks, and health education to the West Hills and Dixwell/Newhallville communities.
- All Our Kin Inc. - $40,000: To provide direct financial assistance to family child care providers, cleaning supplies, technology enhancements and infrastructure support.
- Believe In Me Empowerment Corporation - $15,000: To provide food and basic needs essentials to individuals through the Emergency Food Service and housing programs.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Milford - $22,000: To support the purchase of personal protective equipment as well as staffing to meet state COVID-19 regulations for summer programming for youth.
- Casa Otonal Inc. - $20,000: To provide rental assistance and food for elderly residents.
- Catholic Charities Inc. Archdiocese of Hartford - $25,000: To support clinical staff for mental health and/or substance abuse treatment through New Haven Outpatient Clinic, and to support case management services, personal protective equipment and basic needs essentials for families served through Centro San Jose.
- Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church - $5,000: To support the provision of food and basic need support to the Newhallville/Hamden community.
- Connecticut Food Bank Inc. - $40,000: To purchase food to distribute through its emergency assistance network.
- CT Students for a Dream - $30,000: To support groceries, utilities and rent for undocumented and immigrant youth and their families; as well as mental health support for youth and online programming.
- EIR Urban Youth Boxing - $30,000: To support personal protective equipment, staffing and operational costs of reopening its recreational program to low income New Haven children providing mentorship and educational support.
- Elm City Internationals- $5,000: To support staffing of the academic and athletic programs for immigrant and refugee middle school and high school students.
- Foundation for the Arts and Trauma Inc. - $20,000: To provide virtual summer programming for middle school and high school students.
- Good Child Development Center - $30,000: To support the costs for staffing and personal protective equipment.
- Griffin Hospital - $20,000: To support the purchase of personal protective equipment.
- Higher Heights Youth Empowerment Programs Inc. - $15,000: To support virtual college and career readiness programming for New Haven and Hamden high school and adult education students.
- IRIS – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services - $32,500: To support rental and utility assistance as well as food, cleaning supplies and case management services for immigrants and refugees.
- Interfaith Volunteer Care Givers of Greater New Haven - $2,000: To support the distribution of personal protection equipment to 400 home bound elderly clients.
- Junta for Progressive Action - $30,000: To support staffing and direct financial assistance for Latinx and undocumented families.
- Kadiwaku Family Foundation - $8,000: To support the purchase of food and personal protective equipment, as well as mental health services to New Haven African refugee and immigrant residents.
- Kingdom International Economic Development Corp (KIEDC) - $5,000: To support the provision of food for New Haven and Hamden families and elderly residents.
- Leadership, Education and Athletics in Partnership Inc. - $25,000: To support the provision of rental assistance, food, and technology for New Haven youth and their families.
- Mary Wade Home - $15,000: To support the purchase of personal protective equipment and other equipment related to COVID-19 and to its reopening for family visits.
- New Lifestyles Transitional Housing for Women Inc. (Women’s Empowerment Resource Center) - $5,000: To support the purchase of personal protective equipment, food and hygiene supplies, as well as to support health programming, wellness check ins and direct financial assistance for clients.
- New Haven Pearls of Excellence Foundation Inc. - $11,500: To support the purchase of food and personal protective equipment for seniors through elderly housing facilities in the Dixwell community, and to support the purchase of personal protective equipment and the provision of health and education through food distribution efforts and children’s programing in Dixwell/Newhallville communities.
- New Haven Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. - $25,000: To support the purchase of feminine hygiene products and personal essentials, as well as educational programming for young women served by local non-profits targeting homeless and diverse populations.
- New Haven Early Childhood Council - $40,000: To support the costs of personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies, cleaning services, educational materials and needed adjustments to ensure that New Haven early childhood education centers are meeting COVID-19 state regulations.
- Oak Hill - $7,520: To support the purchase of personal protective equipment and food, as well as coordination for disabled group home residents, students and veterans in the New Haven area.
- Pequeñas Ligas Hispanas de New Haven - $1,000: To support personal protective equipment and program supplies in order for its summer athletic program to comply with COVID-19 state regulations.
- Phenomenal I Am Inc. - $10,400: To support virtual enrichment programming and mentoring, as well as the purchase of food and basic needs essentials to youth participants and their families in the New Haven area.
- ‘r kids Family Center Inc. - $12,000: To support the purchase of food for families as well as the costs of cleaning staff and mentors for the afterschool program for girls.
- Reach Out and Read Inc. - $6,000: To support programming and costs to adapt to state COVID-19 regulations in delivering books to area pediatricians and families.
- Ronald McDonald House Charities of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts - $5,000: To support personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies and paper goods for families in residence.
- Saint Martin de Porres Academy - $10,000: To support the purchase of personal protective equipment as well as cleaning services in preparation for reopening the school for inner city children in New Haven.
- SARAH Inc. - $30,000: To support the purchase of personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies to allow in-person services following state COVID-19 regulations
- St. Mary-St. Michael School - $6,000: To support staffing and technology for virtual learning for elementary students over the summer and into the fall.
- Stratford Visiting Nurse Association - $5,000: To support medical supplies for nursing staff.
- Students for Educational Justice (SEJ) - $20,000: To support leadership development and political and social justice education over the summer to a diverse student population in Greater New Haven, including stipends, personal protective equipment and financial assistance to meet basic needs.
- The New Haven (CT) Chapter of Links Inc. - $20,000: To support educational materials and technology, personal protective equipment and food assistance to inner city children and their families through a partnership with New Haven Public Schools and other organizations serving African American and other at risk communities.
- Thomas Chapel Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ - $5,000: To support the provision of financial assistance, food and personal protective equipment for food pantry clients, and to cover needed cleaning of the facility.
- Ulbrich Boys & Girls Club - $15,000: To support virtual programming and the costs of personal protective equipment, staffing and program supplies for summer camp programming for North Haven and Wallingford youth.
- Urban Community Alliance Inc. - $14,000: To support case management, tutoring and staffing, in partnership with Higher Heights, to juniors and seniors from New Haven and Hamden.
- Walk Of Faith Church, COCDOC - $8,000: To support the purchase of food and cleaning supplies, as well as transportation and operational costs for the weekly community food pantry.
- Weruche Inspires, International Inc. - $2,700: To support food and technology to meet the basic needs of African immigrant seniors.
Third Round Grant Recipients
- ALS Association, Connecticut Chapter - $20,000 – To support direct financial assistance for ALS households in Greater New Haven who have suffered a loss of income due to COVID19, respite care support for caregivers who are also essential workers and equipment/personal protective equipment for ALS families.
- American Red Cross, Connecticut Chapter - $10,000 – To support additional staff to assist with blood services due to an increase in demand and a decrease in volunteers.
- APT Foundation Inc. - $40,000 – To support the purchase of equipment for telehealth services, personal protection equipment for staff and food for clients.
- Arts Council of Greater New Haven - $30,000 – To support financial assistance up to $1,000 for low-income individual artists and small-budget creative institutions.
- Clelian Adult Day Center (Apostles of the Sacred Heart Clelian Center Inc) - $25,000 – To support the purchase of personal protection equipment and program supplies, as well to support staffing.
- Concepts for Adaptive Learning - $25,000 – To support the purchase and management of 150 tablets for New Haven Public School preschoolers and kindergarteners.
- Connecticut Bail Fund - $40,000 – To support financial assistance for women impacted by mass incarceration.
- Elena’s Light- $5,000 – To support mask production and educational initiatives for refugee and immigrant community members.
- FaithActs for Education - $40,000 – To support the purchase of grocery store gift cards for families experiencing food insecurity and cash assistance directly to churches for direct service relief to their communities.
- Family Centered Services of CT - $20,000 – To support the food pantry and other client basic needs including access to technology. personal protective equipment and sanitizing equipment for staff.
- Family Re-Entry -$12,000 – To support financial assistance for basic needs for clients and hazard pay for frontline workers.
- Gaylord Hospital - $35,000 – To support the purchase of a UV shoe decontamination station and Powered Air-Purifying Respirators.
- Haven’s Harvest - $32,000 – To support the provision of food storage as well as staff program costs.
- Living Word Ministries d/b/a Vertical Church - $36,000 – To support the purchase of food and food distribution costs.
- Master’s Manna Inc. - $5,000 – To support the purchase of food and staffing costs.
- Milestones Behavioral Services - $19,000 – To support the purchase of personal protection equipment, sanitization products and upgraded Zoom accounts for telehealth services.
- Milford Council on Aging - $20,000 – To support the purchase of food, packaging, cleaning supplies and personal protection equipment for the Mini-Lunch Program and Milford Food Bank.
- Mount Hope Recovery Center - $5,000 – To support the purchase of food to meet the increased demand for the Food Pantry, as well as personal protective equipment for staff.
- Music Haven Inc. - $20,000 – To support the continuation of online teaching and mentoring programs into the summer and the distribution of basic needs items for its families.
- New Haven Legal Assistance Association Inc. - $20,000 – To support legal and safety services for individuals impacted by the pandemic including victims of domestic violence, undocumented immigrants, newly unemployed, and those under threat of eviction
- New Haven Pride Center - $20,000 – To support the provision of basic needs items as well as health and mental health services to the LGBTQ+ community.
- New Haven Reads - $15,105 – To support a Summer Read to Succeed program, a virtual literacy and tutoring program for children and youth.
- Orchard House (Medical Adult Day Center) - $8,500 – To support programming and staffing costs to ensure the health and safety of elderly clients during the pandemic.
- Planned Parenthood of Southern New England - $40,000 – To support hazard pay for staff providing in-person visits as well as the costs for personal protective equipment for staff and patients and for the COVID -19 testing process.
- Read to Grow - $15,000 – To support the distribution of children’s books to families participating in the New Haven Public School summer meals program.
- SARAH Foundation - $30,000 – To support the purchase of personal protection equipment for staff and residential clients.
- Southington-Cheshire Community YMCAs Inc. - $5,000 – To support emergency child care programming for hospital staff and first responders.
- Spanish Community of Wallingford - $25,000 – To support the basic needs for undocumented immigrants and underserved populations in the Wallingford area.
- The Storehouse Project Inc. - $25,000 – To support the cost of refrigeration and the purchase food.
- The UNITE HERE Education and Support Fund - $20,000 – To support direct financial assistance for members.
- WLM Ministries Inc. - $24,000 – To support the provision of social and emotional support to the Black community impacted by COVID-19, specifically in New Haven neighborhoods.
- Yale University - $40,000 – To support the Community Health Care Van which will provide essential neighborhood-based medical care for newborn infants and their post-partum mothers residing in areas shown to be of high COVID-19 burden and for low -income communities with poor access to care.
About United Way of Greater New Haven
United Way of Greater New Haven fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in greater New Haven. The organization, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2020, brings people and organizations together to create solutions to the region’s most pressing challenges. We tackle issues that cannot be solved by any one group working alone. Join the movement to Live United at www.uwgnh.org.
About The Community Foundation
Thanks to the generosity of three generations of donors, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is composed of hundreds of individually named funds and distributes millions of dollars in grants annually to build a stronger Greater New Haven region. The Foundation’s 20-town service area includes: Ansonia, Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, Wallingford, West Haven, Woodbridge. For more information about The Community Foundation, visit www.cfgnh.org.
