Connecticut Toolkit for Giving

 

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Community Foundations

Community foundations support charitable activities for the long-term benefit of a defined geographic area. They are tax-exempt, independent, publicly supported philanthropic organizations.

The decision to make a charitable contribution to benefit your community is an important one. You want it to go where it will do the most good. You want to know its use will make a difference. A community foundation can help you. Donors to community foundations are from diverse backgrounds with a common commitment to the well-being of their communities.

Community foundations bring people together to discuss important local issues and to find creative ways to address them. And they help donors ensure that their gifts will have maximum impact, now and in the future.

Community foundations exist to serve virtually every town in Connecticut (a complete list can be found on the back of this sheet). They know the community you care about.  They connect you with the charitable areas that interest you. They are unique in their communities, and they are able to help you make the most of your charitable gift. Community foundations can:

  • carry on your philanthropic goals for generations to come

  • acquaint you with effective charities in your areas of interest

  • evaluate an organization’s programs and finances

  • administer an organized program of scholarships, corporate contributions, or private foundation grants

Community foundations are structured in various ways, are different sizes and serve a range of cities, towns and rural areas, but they all share one goal: to bring together resources—both human and financial—to strengthen the fabric of the community and improve the lives of all of its residents.

Each community foundation has:

  • a mission to enrich the quality of life in a defined geographic area;

  • a focus on building permanent endowment with as few restrictions as possible;

  • an independent local volunteer governing body that is knowledgeable about and generally representative of the community

  • accountability to the public and an openness to its broad participation in the foundation.

Community foundations provide service to three primary constituencies:

1) donors—as a vehicle for giving and a resource for information about local needs;

2) charitable organizations—as a source of grants and technical assistance, and as a guardian of nonprofit endowments;

3) the community at large—as a facilitator, convener and catalyst around significant community issues.

Community foundations welcome gifts of any size, and people who give through the community foundation enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that their gifts will be safely and efficiently administered for the charitable purposes they specify—plus they receive the maximum tax advantages for their contributions. 

The Grave Family Fund was established at the Community Foundation in memory of my mother. It now makes more than $2,000 a year available for grants to help address the healthcare needs of people who live and work in New Haven County. The Community Foundation has been very flexible with us both to help us determine our philanthropic goals and to achieve them.
--Dick Grave

Connecticut Community Foundations
Underlined towns are covered by more than one community foundation. 

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation
271 Main Street, Suite 3
Great Barrington, MA 01230
tel: (800) 969-2823; fax: (413) 528-8158
email: info@berkshiretaconic.org
website: www.berkshiretaconic.org
Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, Goshen, Kent, Litchfield, Norfolk, North Canaan,
Salisbury, Sharon, Warren, Winchester

Branford Community Foundation
PO Box 462, Branford, CT 06405
tel: (203) 488-6063; fax: (203) 488-6063
email: info@branfordcommunityfoundation.org
website: www.branfordcommunityfoundation.org
Branford

Central Connecticut Community Foundation
35 Pleasant Street, Meriden Suite 1E, Meriden, CT  06450
Tel:  (203) 235-4403
E-mail: dariafanelli@hotmail.com
Meriden, Wallingford

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
70 Audubon Street, New Haven, CT 06510
tel: (203) 777-2386; fax: (203) 785-8054
email: contactus@cfgnh.org
website: www.cfgnh.org
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

Community Foundation of Greater New Britain
74A Vine Street, New Britain, CT 06052
tel: (860) 229-6018; fax: (860) 229-2641
email: website@cfgnb.org
website: www.cfgnb.org
Berlin, New Britain, Plainville, Southington

Community Foundation of Northwest Connecticut
PO Box 1144, Torrington, CT 06790
tel: (860) 489-0026; fax: (860) 489-7517
email: info@cfnwct.org
website: www.tafpg.org
Barkhamsted, Colebrook, Cornwall, Goshen, Hartland, Harwinton, Litchfield,
New Hartford, Norfolk, Torrington, Winchester

Community Foundation of Southeastern Connecticut
147 State Street, P.O. Box 769, New London, CT 06320
tel: (860) 442-3572; fax: (860) 442-0584
email: jessica@cfsect.org
website: www.cfsect.org
East Lyme, Groton, Ledyard, Lyme, Montville, New London, North Stonington, Old Lyme,
Salem, Stonington, Waterford

Community Foundation of the Tri-County Area
676 Main Street, 4th floor, Willimantic, CT 06226
tel: (860) 423-4373
email: tricounty@yahoo.com
website: www.tricountyfoundation.org
Ashford, Bozrah, Brooklyn, Canterbury, Chaplin, Colchester, Columbia, Coventry, Eastford,
Franklin, Griswold, Hampton, Killingly, Lebanon, Lisbon, Mansfield, Norwich, Plainfield,
Pomfret, Preston, Putnam, Scotland, Sprague, Stafford, Sterling, Thompson, Union
Voluntown, Willington, Windham, Woodstock

Connecticut Community Foundation
156 West Main Street, Waterbury, CT 06702
tel: (203) 753-1315; fax: (203) 756-3054
email: info@conncf.org
website: www.conncf.org
Beacon Falls, Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Cheshire, Goshen, Litchfield, Middlebury, Morris,
Naugatuck, New Milford, Oxford, Prospect, Roxbury, Southbury, Thomaston, Warren,
Washington, Waterbury, Watertown, Wolcott, Woodbury

Fairfield County Community Foundation
383 Main Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06851
tel: (203) 750-3200; fax: (203) 750-3232
email: info@fccfoundation.org
website: www.fccfoundation.org
Bethel, Bridgeport, Brookfield, Danbury, Darien, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Milford, Monroe,
New Canaan, New Fairfield, Newtown, Norwalk, Redding, Ridgefield, Shelton, Sherman,
Southbury, Stamford, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston, Westport, Wilton

Greater Bridgeport Area Foundation has merged with Fairfield County Community Foundation.
Please see listing above.

Guilford Foundation
15 Boston Street, Guilford, CT 06437
tel: (203) 453-2259; fax: (203) 453-3597
email: whihn@snet.net
website: www.guilfordfoundation.org
Guilford

Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
10 Columbus Boulevard, 8th floor, Hartford, CT 06106
tel: (860) 548-1888; fax: (860) 524-8346
email: hfpg@hfpg.org
website: www.hfpg.org
Andover, Avon, Bloomfield, Bolton, Burlington, Canton, East Granby, East Hartford,
East Windsor, Ellington, Enfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Granby, Hartford, Hebron,
Manchester, Marlborough, Newington, Rocky Hill, Simsbury, Somers, South Windsor,
Suffield, Tolland, Vernon West Hartford, Wethersfield, Windsor, Windsor Locks

Madison Community Foundation
P.O. Box 446, Madison, CT 06443
Tel: (203) 245-3887
email: webmaster@themadisonfoundation.org
website: www.themadisonfoundation.org
Madison

Main Street Community Foundation
PO Box 2702, Bristol, CT 06011-2702
tel: (860) 583-6363; fax: (860) 589-1252
email: susan@mainstreetfoundation.org
website: www.mainstreetfoundation.org
Bristol, Burlington, Plainville, Plymouth/Terryville, Southington, Wolcott

Middlesex County Community Foundation
PO Box 25, 211 South Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457
tel: (860) 347-0025; fax: (860) 347-0029
email: info@middlesexcountycf.org
website: www.middlesexcountycf.org
Chester, Clinton, Cromwell, Deep River, Durham, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex,
Haddam, Killingworth, Middlefield, Middletown, Old Saybrook, Portland, Westbrook

New Canaan Community Foundation
PO Box 1285, New Canaan, CT 06840
tel: (203) 966-0231; fax: (203) 966-5453
email: info@newcanaancf.org
website: www.americantowns.com/nccf
New Canaan

Orange Foundation
PO Box 729, Orange, CT 06477
tel: (203) 795-3716; fax: (203) 795-3716
email: president@tofoundation.com
website: http://www.orangefoundation.org
Orange

The Valley Community Foundation
2 Enterprise Drive, Suite 303, Shelton, CT 06484
tel: (203) 225-0880; fax: (203) 926-9505
email: apowers@aol.com
website: www.valleyfoundation.org
Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton

The Watertown Foundation
P.O. Box 117, Watertown, CT 06795
tel: (860) 274-4299
email: wttnfoundation@sheglobal.net
Watertown

 
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