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There are 20
community foundations in Connecticut serving all of the 169
towns in the state. In 2006 the combined assets of community
foundations were over $1.4 billion. While each foundation has
its own characteristics, they share the following common
features:
§
enrich the quality of life in a defined geographic area
§
focus on building permanent endowment
§
service to
ü
donors
ü
charitable organizations
ü
the community at large
§
a
local governing board knowledgeable about and representative of
the community
§
accountable to the public and openness to its broad
participation
§
eligible to apply to meet the Council on Foundations’ national
standards for community foundations
The following
are statistics on 19 of the community foundations in
Connecticut. (One very new foundation does not yet report
financial information.)
Geographic
coverage
-
All 169
towns are covered although some areas such as Eastern
Connecticut have extremely few resources
-
One town
not previously covered— Meriden—is now served by the new
Community Foundation of Central Connecticut
-
38 towns
are served by two different community foundations
-
2 towns
(Litchfield, Oxford) are covered by three community
foundations and one (Shelton) is covered by four foundations
Assets/Grants
-
total
assets in 2006 equaled $1.4 billion
-
assets
increased 12.4% from $1.25 billion in 2005 to $1.4 billion
in 2006
-
assets
increased 41.8% during the 5-year period from December 2001
to 2006
-
total
grants in 2006 equaled $59 million
New Gifts
-
total new
gifts received in 2006 equaled $66.9 million
-
gifts
increased by 19% from $56.3 million in 2005 to $66.9 million
in 2006
-
five-year
total of new gifts equaled $278.5 million
-
240 new
funds were created at community foundations in 2006 compared
to 230 in 2005; with a five-year total of 1,098
Other
Statistics
-
11
foundations have met the Council on Foundations’ national
Standards
-
Agency
endowments are held by 13 foundations
-
Sixteen of
the foundations have paid staff (In a few cases, this means
one part-time person.)
-
Scholarship
support is provided by 16 of the 19 foundations
-
Over 1,500
volunteer committee members and volunteer staff are involved
in the work of the foundations.
(1) On September 30, 2007 Fairfield County Community Foundation
and Greater Bridgeport Area Foundation announced plans to merge
during the 1st quarter of 2008.
(2) The Valley
Community Foundation is an affiliate of and supporting
organization to The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
and the two organizations report their results on a consolidated
financial statement. |
