Hartford Foundation Seeks Proposals to Support the Wellbeing of Greater Hartford’s LGBTQIA+ Community

Grants of up to $50,000 will be provided through the Foundation’s Equality Fund

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is pleased to announce a competitive grant opportunity through its Equality Fund to support the wellbeing of LGBTQIA+ residents in the Greater Hartford region. The Foundation welcomes requests of up to $50,000 for grant activities implemented over one year and expects to provide up to $200,000 in grants this year.

Established in 2018 by Joel Roskin, The Equality Fund supports organizations serving the Greater Hartford region that empower people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions to thrive. The Foundation has contributed a portion of its unrestricted grantmaking dollars to bolster grantmaking through The Equality Fund.

With a grant from The Equality Fund, the Foundation commissioned a LGBTQIA+ Resident Wellbeing study in partnership with DataHaven in late 2023 to illustrate the current state of the LGBTQIA+ community’s quality of life in the Greater Hartford area. Findings provided in this report were designed to assist organizations and funders in understanding conditions that affect LGBTQIA+ residents’ health and wellbeing to better direct resources and meet the needs and opportunities of this growing community. The study provided disaggregate data to explore LGBTQIA+ residents’ lives at the intersection of other identities including age, disability, race, and ethnicity in relation to their experiences with housing stability, financial security, health outcomes, health access, and a sense of belonging and social connectedness.

While Connecticut was identified as a national leader in LGBTQIA+ protections and resources in the study, the report also highlighted some recurring themes and recommendations about ways to further strengthen the LGBTQIA+ community and promote better quality of life: through increased support for queer youth, increased access to quality and affirming healthcare, and continued advocacy for LGBTQIA+ needs around disparate health and wellbeing outcomes.

Grants awarded through The Equality Fund will be considered for Greater Hartford organizations that have missions that explicitly support the LGBTQIA+ community or have programs designed specifically to address the unique needs of the LGBTQIA+ community.

For this request for proposals,  the Foundation will prioritize proposals that align with the recommendations set forth in the Foundation and DataHaven’s LGBTQIA+ Resident Wellbeing study including: 

• Social connectedness of queer youth.
• Third or community safe spaces.
• LGBTQIA+ advocacy (e.g., inclusive legislation that protects LGBTQIA+ individuals).
• Improved access to quality, culturally relevant, and inclusive medical and mental health services (e.g., reducing transportation or cost barriers, gender affirming care, training and support for affirming communication and care approaches).
• Community-based harm reduction practices.
• Accessing safe, affordable housing and shelter (e.g., addressing discrimination and safety concerns including survivors of intimate partner violence, educating community on housing rights and resources, housing systems navigation).

“The Foundation is pleased to be offering this opportunity for nonprofit organizations in our region to develop proposals that seek to address the needs of Greater Hartford’s LGBTQIA+ community,” said Senior Community Impact Officer Kate Piotrowski. “The report issued in 2023 pointed to a broad range of challenges and offered a roadmap for the type of services our region needs to support this community. We are so grateful to be launching this first request for proposals for The Equality Fund which will serve as a foundation to build upon in the future.”

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for Hartford and 28 surrounding towns. Through partnerships, the Foundation seeks to strengthen communities in Greater Hartford by putting philanthropy in action to dismantle structural racism and achieve equity in social and economic mobility. Made possible by the gifts of generous individuals, families and organizations, the Foundation has awarded grants of more than $1 billion since its founding in 1925. For more information, visit www.hfpg.org or call 860-548-1888.