In 2019, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving established $100,000 Greater Together Community Funds for each of the 29 towns in the Foundation’s region, which includes the City of Hartford.

The purpose of the Greater Together Community Funds is to support residents in taking ownership of the needs in their towns, encourage broad and inclusive civic engagement, and anchor the Hartford Foundation in each town. In 2020, Hartford’s Greater Together Community Fund Advisory Committee was created.

Advisory Committee Members

The role of the Advisory Committee is to design and lead an inclusive process to identify the needs in Hartford and manage a grantmaking process aimed to ensure that the Greater Together Community Fund can have the greatest impact for the benefit of Hartford residents.

The current Advisory Committee members are:

David Barrett, Tamar Birckhead, Talia Clarke, Hasion Gaston, Merlyn Herrera Duran, Shannon Kula, Lara Langer, Tyree McMillan, Greg Secord, Alexander Thomas, Zachery Rubin

Questions? Contact the advisory committee at hartfordgreater2gether@gmail.com.

Second Round Grant Awards

In November 2021, the Hartford Greater Together Community Fund made grants to five community organizations. Eligible organizations had to be based in Hartford and had to submit a proposal in one of three categories below. Read the press release to learn more. 

Health Care

Hartford Health Initiative, $4,000, to support its Care Coordination Network, which connects residents in North Hartford to preventative care such as primary and dental care. Service is provided through a network of community health services. The program includes recruitment, intake, coordination of care and follow-up.

Childcare

The Hartford Catholic Worker, $4,000, for its weekend backpack program.  This program provides children with adequate food and good nutrition outside of school days; on Fridays, the program offers children backpacks filled with food.

Lawyers For Children America, $2,000, to support its work to reduce abuse and neglect of children in Hartford. Lawyers for Children America recruits volunteer lawyers to provide pro bono services on behalf of these children. The funds will go to help service a caseload of 200 children in Hartford, making it possible for them to live in a safe, nurturing environment.

Active City, $500, to support Active City’s sports programs for Hartford youth, such as Saturday Hoopsters, Hartford Soccer League and Jumpstart Spring Sports, providing childcare assistance for busy families and youth-oriented positive physical outlets.

Criminal Justice

The RiseUp Group, Inc., $500, to help cover the costs for the creation an “Anti-Violence Mural.” The RiseUp Group, Inc is partnering with Posh Paint’s “Art from the Heart" youth program. Fifteen youth from the program will participate to create a large-scale public art mural.

In July, the fund made its inaugural grants to eight community organizations. Grants ranged from $500 to $5,000 and supported projects that addressed food insecurity, education, or housing. Click here to see further details about these grants.

Click here to read the Advisory Committee Conflict of Interest Policy

For media inquiries, please contact Chris Senecal at csenecal@hfpg.org