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Apply for a Grant

The Foundation encourages you to discuss your application ideas with program staff in advance of submission. Given the current challenges of the pandemic, we seek to be flexible and responsive to support the important work of our nonprofit sector.

General Eligibility Criteria

Please be sure to view the specific criteria and deadline for each of our grant programs. Here are some general eligibility criteria: 

  • Applicants must be 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, schools, municipal or governmental agencies, or partner with a nonprofit fiscal agent. We do not make grants to individuals or for-profit endeavors.
  • Applicants must serve one or more of the 42 communities in Eastern Connecticut.
  • We do not provide funding for capital or endowment campaigns, litigation costs, religious programming, endowment campaigns, deficit funding or debt retirement.  We do not typically make grants for special events. 
  • Applicants may not discriminate against any person or group of persons on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, disability, marital status or any other characteristic protected under federal, state and/or local laws. 
  • Grant reports must be received before a new grant award is made.
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Regional Impact Grants

About Our Regional Impact Grants

Our regional grant opportunities are based on donor intent and link with our strategic priorities. Each is focused on a particular geographic area.

New Online Grants Center:

Our new Online Grants Center allows you to set up an account to access available grant applications and to start, save, edit and submit applications. 

Note: Before logging on to create an application, familiarize yourself with the new process at the "Online Grants Center" link above.

We encourage all applicants to contact the Community Foundation with questions or to discuss your ideas prior to starting an application. New applicant organizations are required to contact us before beginning an application.

The 2021-22 Grant Applications will be online by mid-November 2021. 

Environmental/Animal Welfare Grants

About Environmental and Animal Welfare Grants

The Peter Grayson Letz Fund for Animals and the Environment was established in 2014 to benefit environmental education and conservation, as well as domestic animals and wildlife, in New London County. The Mary Janvrin & Natalie Janvrin Wiggins Fund for Birds, Other Animals & Nature was established in 2017 and emphasizes the preservation of the natural environment and habitat for birds and other animals.

New Online Grants Center:

Our new Online Grants Center allows you to set up an account to access available grant applications and start, save, edit and submit applications. 

Note: Before logging on to create an application, familiarize yourself with the new process at the "Online Grants Center" link above.

We encourage all applicants to contact the Community Foundation with questions or to discuss your ideas prior to starting an application. New applicant organizations are required to contact us before beginning an application.

The 2022 Grant Applications will be online by mid-November 2020. 

  • Environmental: Proposal Deadline by 5 pm on Wednesday, January 13, 2021
  • Animal Welfare: Proposal Deadline by 5 pm on Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Women & Girls Funds Grants

August 2021 article on the Women & Girls Funds:

PUBLISHED IN THE DAY'S SOUND & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

About Our Women & Girls Fund Grants

2021 applications open August 19 to October 4.

Generous gifts and bequests from caring donors have created four permanent endowment funds serving the Northeast, Norwich, Southeast and Windham areas. Together, we are advancing equal opportunities for women and girls throughout Eastern Connecticut through grants, advocacy and action. 

As we enter into the 2021 grantmaking cycle for the Women & Girls Funds, we are taking steps to incorporate a purposeful lens of equity and social justice. The Community Foundation is committed to a healthy, thriving, sustainable Eastern Connecticut with greater equity for all. Achieving this vision includes grants to organizations that engage in advocacy and systems change work. 

Our grantmaking priorities reflect the challenges identified in The Status of Women and Girls in Eastern Connecticut:

  • Empower women and girls to make positive decisions – Examples include mentoring, leadership, career exposure, character development.
  • Promote healthy relationships and prevent domestic violence – Examples include teen dating violence prevention education, domestic violence shelters and transitional housing, victim advocacy.
  • Advance family economic security – Examples include training for jobs and career advancement, programs to overcome barriers to financial security, and other supports for low-income women.
  • Support access to women’s health, mental health and reproductive health services – Examples include counseling, health education, health care access.
  • Support public policy, advocacy and leadership to promote equity – Examples include statewide policy groups, training programs for grass-roots organizations. Please call the program staff to discuss your ideas.
  • Help New London women, ages 62 and older, with limited incomes to remain in their homes (Southeast only) – Examples include meal delivery, nursing services.

Collectively, the four Women & Girls Funds have an endowment of nearly $6.9 million and have awarded more than $2.41 million in grants to over 531 programs.

We encourage all applicants to contact the Community Foundation with questions or to discuss your ideas prior to starting an application. New organizations are required to contact the program office before beginning an application.

For more information about each fund, and to apply for a Women & Girls Fund grant:

 
 

Recent Recipients

Read more about Recent Grantees

Mini-Grants

Note: Due to the current pandemic and our primary focus on addressing the basic needs and rights of those in our community, we are currently not accepting civic engagement mini-grant applications. 
 

Civic Engagement: Mini-Grants

Civic Engagement Mini-Grants

Alexis de Tocqueville said in Democracy in America that “the health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.”

We at the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut believe that an informed and engaged citizenry is an essential ingredient of a healthy democracy. Through our initiatives, we hope to create an inclusive table and invite all voices to participate, especially those from communities of color and our youth. Our civic engagement grants are intended to support initiatives that share these inclusive values and will further the depth of understanding and likelihood of participation in civic life in the community. 
 

Our commitment to civic engagement seeks to impact the lives and well-being of residents throughout the region. Mini-grants of up to $1,000 are available to support efforts to build and strengthen our communities towards a just and civil society. Contact Deb Battit at deb@cfect.org for eligibility.

 

Civic Engagement Grant Application

Click here for examples of the range of civic engagement activities from PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement).

Note: Grants may not be requested for event sponsorship, staff training or general program support. Additionally, they cannot be used to endorse or denounce a political party or candidate, or to withhold or refuse Information or other assistance based on support for or opposition to particular candidates, parties, or policy/platform positions.
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New London, CT 06320
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