The Hartford Foundation produces a variety of publications for donors, grantees, professional advisors, and community members interested in how philanthropy enhances our region. We encourage you to request a copy of a publication of interest to you and then, if you wish, ask to be included on our mailing list.

Use our online publications order form to request hard copies of our publications and/or sign up for our mailing lists. (Reports are only available for download – see below.)

Click on the links below to download specific publications in PDF format (requires Adobe Reader to view).

PUBLICATIONS

Summer Program Directory
>English version
>Spanish version

Hartford Foundation Annual Reports

Grants List

Guidelines for Grantseekers

"Conversations"
Hartford Foundation's periodic newsletter.
>archives

Nonprofit Support Program Update
A bulletin for nonprofit leaders.

REPORTS

Click titles to view - all reports are in PDF format (requires Adobe Reader to view). Please be patient...some of these documents are large and may take several minutes to open.

To view additional reports about issues affecting residents of Greater Hartford, visit www.hartfordinfo.org, a website of the Hartford Public Library and the Hartford Community Data Collaborative.  Various reports on the health and well-being of Connecticut's children and families are available from Connecticut Voices for Children.

Reports About Hartford Foundation Programs & Initiatives

A Children's Stock Portfolio: One Smart Investment (April 2007)
A project of the Connecticut Commission on Children and funded by the Hartford Foundation and The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Children's Stock Portfolio is intended to demonstrate to the public and municipal leaders the importance of making investments in critical programs for young children.

Strategic Audit of Hartford Foundation's Brighter Futures Initiative (December 2006)
This in-depth, independent strategic audit of the Brighter Futures Initiative determined, among other things, that Brighter Futures has allowed the Hartford community to be at the forefront nationally of creating a more integrated approach to providing early childhood services, and bringing a number of service delivery enhancements and innovations to Hartford. 
>Executive Summary
>Full Report

Hartford Foundation Arts Marketing Initiative (December 2006)
This independent evaulation of the Hartford Foundation's recently completed Arts Marketing Initiative found the Initiative to be an exemplary program that could be successfully replicated.

Grantee Perception Report (Fall 2006)
In 2006, the Hartford Foundation contracted with the national Center for Effective Philanthropy to survey our grantees on a number of variables, including our grant process, interactions with grantees, and communications.  The responses were aggregated and compared to the responses of grantees of 142 foundations across the country.

Strategic Review of Hartford Foundation's Nonprofit Support Program (February 2005)
This independent assessment of the Nonprofit Support Program determined that the NSP strengthens nearly all elements that are essential for an effective nonprofit, enabling agencies to improve their services. Read the executive summary.

Six Building Blocks to Lift Hartford's Children Out of Poverty (December 2004)
Richard Sussman, Director of the Foundation's Brighter Futures Initiative, testified before the Connecticut Child Poverty Council at a public hearing on December 6, 2004.  This transcript addresses the specific needs of young children in poverty.

Hartford Children are Learning by Leaps and Bounds: Investment in Quality Child Care Pays Off (October 2004)
This study of preschoolers who attended 14 child care programs in Hartford that receive funding and support from the Foundation, shows that the children demonstrated significant improvement across five major developmental areas associated with school readiness. The study was commissioned as part of the Hartford Foundation’s Brighter Futures Initiative, which works to improve the school readiness of Hartford’s children.

Preparing Hartford’s Children for School (June 2004)
Through a partnership between Hartford Public Schools and the Hartford Foundation in fall 2003, a study was conducted to assess the level of readiness among kindergarteners in Hartford and to identify the factors that influence that readiness. The study was commissioned as part of the Hartford Foundation’s Brighter Futures Initiative, which works to strengthen the school readiness of Hartford’s children. This report outlines the findings of that study.

Other Reports of Interest
The following reports were supported by the Hartford Foundation.

The East Hartford Book of Data, about our Children & Families (May 2008)
East Hartford ChildPlan has released a book of data about services available for East Hartford children and families, which was collected during an eight-month process and funded by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving

Connecticut's Playbook for Prevention, a "game plan" that parents, educators, care providers, and policymakers can follow to ensure all Connecticut children grow into healthy, productive adults was unveiled this month...click here to visit the website.

Connecting the Dots, the 2007 Connecticut KIDS COUNT Report (December 2007)
Released by the Connecticut Association for Human Services and funded in part by the Hartford Foundation, this report highlights how poverty and growing achievement gaps in Connecticut affect the state's job growth and overall economy, and calls for a collaborative approach to ensure the state's long-term economic health.

Progress Report on Young Children in Hartford (October 2007)
The Mayor's Office for Young Children published this first-ever report to shed light on the City's progress in preparing its children age birth to 8 for school and life, and makes recommendations for what needs to be done.  Chris Hall, vice president for programs and special projects at the Hartford Foundation, served on the Advisory Work Group to the Cabinet for Young Children, which developed the report.

The State of the Workforce in North Central Connecticut (September 2007)
This report, prepared by Capital Workforce Partners, provides a “snap shot” of the region's labor market.  In addition, the region was rated on how well it is meeting a series of indicators for what's needed to make and keep the region competitive.  Richard Porth, vice president for grantmaking at the Hartford Foundation, served on a committee with other area leaders that helped identify the goals and indicators.  Click the above title for the State of the Workforce Report; click here for indicators.

Project Choice Campaign: Improving and Expanding Hartford's Project Choice (September 2007)
This report, prepared by the Poverty and Race Research Action Council of Washington, D.C., for the Sheff Movement coalition, and funded in part by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, examines the under use of the Project Choice program and offers recommendations for its expansion.  Click the above title for the executive summary; click here for the full report.

Hartford Blueprint for Young Children (May 2005)
This comprehensive five-year plan will enable Hartford’s young children to achieve success in school and beyond.  Developed under Mayor Eddie Perez’s direction by a team of early childhood professionals and community leaders, the Blueprint outlines six goals and the steps necessary to achieve measurable outcomes for young children.  The Hartford Foundation provided funding for the report, and Chris Hall, vice president for programs and special projects, and Richard Sussman, director of the Foundation’s Brighter Futures Initiative, served on the Mayor’s Blueprint team. Click the title above for the executive summary; click here for the full report.

College Park Educational Corridor – Development Concept (May 2003)
This report, commissioned by the City of Hartford and funded by the Hartford Foundation, “is intended to start conversation about the way Hartford’s citizens want Hartford to look in the future.” It outlines a possible development of a College Park located on the east side of Main Street between I-84 and Rensselaer. The idea is to create a pedestrian-friendly gateway between downtown Hartford and the North End that would house classrooms, labs, dormitories, condominium housing, bookstores, and restaurants.

Take Action for Literacy: The Status of Literacy in Greater Hartford 2003 (May 2003)
Intended to encourage everyone to take action for literacy, this report provides an in-depth look at the major literacy-related needs and issues facing Greater Hartford, and steps for addressing the many challenges involved in improving literacy levels. Supported by a grant from the Hartford Foundation, the Greater Hartford Literacy Council developed this report through its Community Literacy Enhancement Across the Region initiative. The goals of this initiative are to produce meaningful change in the provision of, planning for, and funding of literacy services for individuals from birth through adulthood in Greater Hartford.

Connecticut Metropatterns: A Regional Agenda for Community and Prosperity in Connecticut (March 2003)
This report was commissioned by the Office of Urban Affairs of the Archdiocese of Hartford through its CenterEdge Project. The CenterEdge Coalition was created to promote public education about disparities created by long-term patterns of development in each metropolitan area of Connecticut. Community education events were conducted around the State to discuss the findings and implications of the MetroPatterns report. The Hartford Foundation's Catalyst Endowment provided funding for events in 23 cities and towns in Greater Hartford, which were attended by more than 1,800 people.