Endow Hartford 21

Building endowments for Greater Hartford institutions

Greater Hartford is home to hundreds of nonprofits, educational and cultural institutions that keep us healthy, support our most vulnerable populations, inspire our creativity and care for our historical treasures. These institutions are a critical economic engine and an integral part of our region’s civic fabric.

Strong institutions establish endowments to secure their future. A well-managed endowment sends a message of long-term stability, fiscal responsibility and financial viability.

Recognizing the importance of endowment giving, the Zachs Family Foundation has created a matching gift opportunity, Endow Hartford 21, for donors who will help build endowments for approximately 50 nonprofits and organizations in Greater Hartford. With administrative support from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford, the program is designed to incentivize endowment giving across the community and to ensure the long-term stability of our local institutions.

Visit the Endow Hartford 21 website

An endowment is a powerful tool that can:

create a long-term resource that allows it to sustain programs and outreach through periods of revenue fluctuations;
provide funds to capitalize on opportunities or expand strategically;
respond quickly to urgent needs;
launch new ventures otherwise not covered through annual operating revenue;
serve as a repository to accept bequests and legacy gifts.

The need for endowments has become more pressing as nonprofit organizations navigate uncertainty in the financial markets and the unpredictability of annual giving.

Endow Hartford 21 Match Program

The Endow Hartford 21 Match Program is funded with $1 million from the Zachs Family Foundation. The program seeks to encourage endowment giving across Greater Hartford and to establish endowment funds for dozens of local organizations who have agreed to participate and raise money from their constituency.

The Endow Hartford 21 Match Program will match any gifts made by an individual, family, business, or corporation for the benefit of one of the participating agencies, subject to the following guidelines:

Responsibilities for Fundraising:

The responsibility for fundraising lies with the participating organizations.

Eligible Contributions:

Gifts ranging between $250 and $10,000 per donor per charity will be eligible for the match.

Donor shall be defined to mean one of the following:

A single individual, household, family, business, or corporation.

Gifts must be paid, not pledged, by the donor directly to the Hartford Foundation for the benefit of the donor’s chosen organization(s).

The Hartford Foundation will accept the endowment gifts, which will be added to that organization’s endowment fund. The Foundation will issue gift tax receipts to all donors. Gifts can be made by check, credit card or marketable securities. All gifts will be unrestricted for the benefit of a participating organization. Grants from donor-advised funds and corporate matching gifts are eligible for the match.

The following Endow Hartford 21 funds are eligible for a dollar-for-dollar match:

Connecticut Explored Endow Hartford 21 Fund

Building endowments for Greater Hartford institutions

Endow Hartford 21 Match Program

The following Endow Hartford 21 funds are eligible for a dollar-for-dollar match:

Additional Endow Hartford 21 funds