GOLD2024

Fairfield County's Community Foundation

Together We Thrive

Norwalk, CT   |  https://fccfoundation.org/

Mission

Fairfield County’s Community Foundation is partnering with our community to create a county where every person has an equitable opportunity to thrive. We work closely with community organizations, nonprofits, businesses, and philanthropists to address challenges and identify opportunities to create a stronger, more vibrant community.

Ruling year info

1991

President & CEO

Mendi Blue Paca

Main address

40 Richards Avenue Fairfield County's Community Foundation, Inc.

Norwalk, CT 06854 USA

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EIN

06-1083893

NTEE code info

Community Foundations (T31)

Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (W12)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2023, 2022 and 2021.
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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

To close the opportunity gap in Fairfield County, we seek to eliminate disparities in education, employment, housing, and health.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Donor Services

We provide donor services through financial management, grantmaking and our knowledge of the Fairfield County community.

Population(s) Served
Adults

The Fairfield County Community Foundation has the unique ability to bring people together, initiate collaborations and form partnerships to tackle our most critical regional problems:

• The Community Foundation is the leading grantmaking nonprofit organization in Fairfield County with a countywide point of view and a local funding strategy

• With our in-depth knowledge of Fairfield County, we see how issues are interrelated among our 23 cities and towns

• With 25+ years of working with local nonprofits throughout Fairfield County, we know which organizations and community leaders are accomplishing positive results

• Leaders from Fairfield County nonprofits, communities, civic offices, corporations, and private foundations regard us as a trustworthy, knowledgeable and skillful neutral party.

All of these factors allow us to invite local nonprofit leaders, community leaders, elected officials, experts, and donors to the table to collaborate, form partnerships, create solutions, pool funding, then take action.

Population(s) Served
Adults

OUR IMPACT & STRATEGIC POSITION:

• Fairfield County Foward, the Foundation's strategic plan released in 2022, aims to address the root causes of the disparities that exist in Fairfield County and position the community for a new era.

• The Foundation's target populations are Black, Indigenous & People of Color; Youth ages 16-25; Women & Girls.

Our Results Areas:
• All Fairfield County residents have equitable access to workforce, entrepreneurship, and employment skill-building opportunities to achieve and maintain financial self-sufficiency and build assets.

• All Fairfield County residents have safe, stable, and affordable housing in communities of opportunity.

• All Fairfield County youth and young adults graduate with a high school degree and are prepared for post-secondary education.

• All Fairfield County residents have equitable access to high-quality, culturally-competent physical and behavioral health services

Since 1992, FCCF has awarded over $390M in grants.

Population(s) Served

Through our Fund for Women & Girls, philanthropists are coming together to invest in sustainable solutions that support the safety, health and economic security of women and girls across Fairfield County. As part of the larger women’s movement, the Fund makes a greater impact by partnering in national coalitions such as Women’s Funding Network and Prosperity Together – working for progress on issues like closing the pay gap and creating pathways to economic security for low-income women and families.

Population(s) Served

The Community Foundation has nearly 200 scholarship funds established by generous individuals, businesses, and organizations that help deserving students pursue college study and strengthen the future of the local communities. These funds each have their own eligibility requirements and cover many different areas of study, such as health care, the arts and engineering. Students from the Greater Bridgeport Area towns of Bridgeport, Easton, Fairfield, Milford, Monroe, Shelton, Stratford, Trumbull or Westport, CT may apply for scholarships. See website for additional information

Population(s) Served

Organizations may qualify for economic opportunity grants if you provide affordable housing, prepare students for college and employment, and foster upward mobility for low-income workers

Population(s) Served

The Foundation provides grants to organizations for education and workforce development programs that align youth with educational tools and job opportunities and empower every young adult to achieve self-sufficiency by age 25 – strengthening the future of our whole community.

Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Preteens

Where we work

Accreditations

Council on Foundations Accredited

Community Foundations National Standards 2023

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome

Financials

Fairfield County's Community Foundation
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Fairfield County's Community Foundation

Board of directors
as of 04/17/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Mr. Edwin Ford

Edwin L Ford

Clayton H Fowler

Gerald M Fox, III

Michelle Kay Garvey

Joel Z Green

Preston Tisdale

Charles MacCormack

Neil R. Marcus

Mark Riser

Terrence Cheng

Steve Edwards

Carolyn Gonzalez

Joette Katz

Marie Rocha

Maya Reddi

Chris Whitney

John Fraade

Anthony Bennett

Mindy Houck

Christopher Johnson

Charles Presbury

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 4/17/2024

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Black/African American
Gender identity
Female
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 04/17/2024

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.