Community Foundation of Greater New Britain Inc.
Where Good Begins in Berlin, New Britain, Plainville, and Southington
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Since 1941, the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain has been the area’s signature resource for those who, like us, aspire to make our community a better place. Primarily a grantmaker for many years, providing funding to support New Britain area non-profits and their programs, our Foundation today is leading and collaborating to shape the Berlin, New Britain, Plainville, and Southington of tomorrow. Our more than 250 charitable funds, $55 million endowment and nationally recognized asset management expertise give us the financial wherewithal to continue funding important programs and services. But it is our vision and leadership – be it in early childhood education, the arts, or health and human services – that truly define who we are. We also strive to connect donors who care with causes that matter bringing current needs to the attention of donors who have Donor-Advised Funds with us and through those resources more needs are met.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Community Response Grants
Grants from the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain support organizations and programs primarily benefiting the residents of Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington. Our Areas of Interest include Arts/Culture/Heritage, Community & Economic Development, Education, and Health & Human Services
First Years First - Early Childhood Education Initiative
A CFGNB priority area is early childhood development. As part of its role as a proactive community leader, the Community Foundation created the First Years First
Initiative in 2005 to prepare the children of Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington for success
in school and in life by enhancing their early childhood development experience.
Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico Relief Fund
Established immediately following the devastating Hurricane in Puerto Rico in 2017 and recognizing that more than 30% of the New Britain, CT population is of Puerto Rican descent this fund will benefit community action agencies in Puerto Rico through 2019 as they rebuild following the storm, and a portion of the fund will assist displaced families who have moved temporarily to the greater New Britain area during the rebuilding.
Scholarships
Numerous scholarships have been established by individuals, families and organizations and we work with the high school guidance office staff to match up students with scholarships. Additional scholarships are listed on our web site (www.cfgnb.org) and students can inquire directly with the foundation about those.
Capacity Building for Nonprofit Organizations
Established as an initiative in 2018 this effort offers no-cost or low-cost workshops for nonprofit management and board members to strengthen their knowledge and provide tools to make them more successful in the communities we serve. Additionally, we established a Nonprofit Resource Center in our building which provides a lending library, local studies and statistics, and access to the Foundation Directory Online database of foundations that nonprofits can apply to for grants.
Young Philanthropy Initiative
Programs, communication pieces, and social-educational events planned throughout the year to inform and educate younger professionals about philanthropy and nonprofits in the area they can become involved with and donate to. With more involvement a new generation will become more connected to the communities where they work and live and all will benefit.
Catalyst Giving Circle
The Catalyst Fund brings people who care about Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington together to experience philanthropy first-hand. With a modest donation of only $50 for first-time “Discovery” members and $250 for annual renewals, members (individuals and couples) pool their resources to:
-Learn about topical issues facing our communities.
-Jointly determine grants to nonprofit organizations tackling those issues.
-Meet new people who share a commitment to our communities.
Three times per year, Catalyst Fund members gather to learn about a member-chosen issue facing their community, and to consider funding requests from charitable organizations addressing the issue. The year concludes with a collective vote to award a $12,500 grant to a chosen grantee.
Degree Completion Initiative
There is a growing trend of college juniors and seniors suddenly facing financial pressures making it difficult or impossible for them to continue in their education and complete their degrees. This can be due to a parent losing a job, decreasing scholarship assistance, increasing education costs, the need to work more hours in jobs to pay for education, child care, etc. The CFGNB has partnered with CCSU to establish the Degree Completion Initiative Program to provide financial assistance to those in the latter part of their education with a good college standing and demonstrated need.
Beginning in 2019, CFGNB established a set-aside of undesignated funds to begin a pilot program with CCSU. In following years, grants to this initiative will also be made from the James G. Williamson Education Assistance Fund, a fund named in memory of former Foundation President Jim Williamson who was a strong proponent of helping students complete their educational pursuits. After researching with CCSU’s task force information and other data, we decided to offer our scholarship to students in their junior or seniors years, who owed less than $2,500. In the first year of the initiative, we were able to completely pay three students’ balances, and assist two others in completing their education.
Following an evaluation of the initial program the Foundation may increase its support of the initiative for future semesters at CCSU and possibly at a local technical school. CFGNB looks forward to continuing to make an impact on the students and future workers of our community.
Greater New Britain Disaster Response Fund
The CFGNB wants to be prepared to respond appropriately to what the Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington communities may need during times of local emergency as local funds for emergency assistance by towns and other non-profits are often limited. Additionally, in some cases, local residents, rather than non-profits, take up collections of funds with little, if any, oversight. A CFGNB Disaster Response Fund is a fund that the community can contribute to prior to or in time of crisis and will provide funds to the towns for affected residents in a responsible manner.
The purpose of the Fund is to make resources available to local government community service departments and crisis coordinators to meet the basic needs of residents from Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington who are displaced from their homes for an extended period of time due to a natural disaster. Funds may also be used to support individual municipalities for basic food and shelter expenses related to temporarily supporting residents displaced due to a natural disaster. Natural disaster incidents include fire, flood and other weather related emergencies.
Disbursements from the Fund: Representatives from local government community services or crisis coordinators will screen applicants and have them complete appropriate applications. Individuals that inquire to access funds will be directed to the local Community Service offices from their town of residence as follows:
Berlin Social and Youth Services (860-828-7059)
New Britain Community Services (860-826-3360)
Plainville Social Services Department (860-793-0221 ext. 294)
Southington Community Services (860-628-3761)
Once approved by the local government official, the official will request grant funds from the CFGNB Director of Community Initiatives and Program Services via email and using a designated request form. Once approved, funds will be dispersed to the local government Community Services department who will allocate them accordingly or purchase the appropriate gift cards to meet the need(s). Grants will not be paid directly to individuals. Funds raised for a specific event, individual or family that exceed the need and are therefore unexpended will remain in the Disaster Response Fund for general use for future disasters.
Where we work
Accreditations
Council on Foundations National Standards 2011
Council on Foundations National Standards 2017
Council on Foundations National Standards 2018
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total dollar amount of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth, People with disabilities, People with diseases and illnesses, Substance abusers
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Total of all Community Initiative, Community Response, Donor-Advised, Designated and Field of Interest Grants, Scholarships, and Community Sponsorship Awards per year.
Average grant amount
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, People with disabilities, Substance abusers, People with diseases and illnesses, Children and youth
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Total of all Community Initiative, Community Response, Donor-Advised, Designated and Field of Interest Grants, Scholarships, and Community Sponsorship Awards per year.
Total number of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth, People with disabilities, People with diseases and illnesses, Substance abusers
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Total of all Community Initiative, Community Response, Donor-Advised, Designated and Field of Interest Grants, Scholarships, and Community Sponsorship Awards per year.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Mission of the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain is to Inspire Philanthropy, Responsibly Manage permanent charitable assets, and partner to address key community issues through strategic leadership. Our Goals toward achieving this mission are to
1) Be connected to our community through our staff and volunteer (board and committee member) involvement in the communities we serve. We serve in a variety of ways including involvement with Chambers, Commissions and Task Forces regarding local topics, Economic Development Committees, and serving as members and corporators in local organizations,
2) Listen for, be aware of, and research the needs in our respective communities which often each have different needs,
3) Respond to those needs that arise with programs of grant making, sponsorships, scholarships, guidance, and initiatives that we offer.
Our Vision Statement is to make our community vibrant and a better place to work and live. That statement helps guide the work of our various committees.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
In 2018 our board established a new Operational Plan that centers on three words; Visibility - Relevance - Impact
All of our strategies and the execution of our plans are centered on being more visible, relevant and impactful in the communities we serve.
Each committee's work is guided by those three words so we can grow as a foundation, meet more needs in the community, be more relevant, and then, as a result be more impactful. Our Community Foundation is strong, effective, and is a good steward of the resources trusted to us, but we know that with growth we can do so much more.
Therefore, we will work to;
1) Examine our initiatives to make sure they are needed to the degree we are funding them, that they are effective and make adjustments where needed.
2) Increase operating revenues and rigorously manage expenses so as to reduce Operating Subsidies from Discretionary Funds; through our "Civic Leadership Fund" campaign for operating support ask the community to support our operations so that we can award more grants to the community; Secure more new funds and scholarships and encourage current Fund Representatives to add to their funds currently, with a future planned gift, or both.
3) Execute a multifaceted Marketing Plan to increase awareness of the Foundation in the communities we serve.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
As one of the country's oldest community foundations, CFGNB is extremely well-positioned to undertake and support the activities required of the Goals we have set. We manage more than $55 Million in Assets, approximately 67% of which are Discretionary to our Board. This allows us to be highly flexible and responsive in our grant-making to the needs and opportunities presented by both our First Years First early childhood development and other initiatives and our ongoing Community Response Grants program. Finally, we are led by a dedicated Board of 18 talented community, civic and corporate leaders which in turn is supported by a highly-experienced, seasoned professional staff of 7 FTEs with an average tenure with the Foundation of over 11 years.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
1) Kindergarten Readiness: From a low of 38% in 2003, the percentage of incoming New Britain kindergartners with a preschool experience is now reported to be 86%, higher than the State average.
2) Chronic Absence Reduction: Thanks to Foundation funding since 2012, absenteeism has been reduced for kindergarten students by approximately 39.7% and for kindergarten through grade 3 students by 44.86%.
3) Full Day Kindergarten: Thanks in part to Foundation public advocacy and legislative testimony, two school districts, Berlin & Southington, instituted new Full Day Kindergarten programs during the 2013-14 School Year.
4) Family Resource Center Programs: with Foundation advocacy and funding support, the New Britain School District increased the number of Family Resource Centers from 3 to 4, and the Plainville School District was able to expand its summer hours and programs to serve more children and families.
5) Reducing the Summer Slide: with funding support from the Foundation and other partners, the New Britain School District's Summer Enrichment Experience is now considered a national model for summer learning loss prevention. In 2016, more than 570 students took advantage of the program and 60% experienced no summer slide. SEE has been featured at Regional Conferences and is once again a finalist for the National Summer Learning Association's national award.
6) Civic Leadership Fund: With a strong example by the Stanley Black and Decker corporation, headquartered in one of our four towns, contributions from the businesses, organizations, and individuals continue to bring in more than $70,000 annually showing strong annual support by the community.
7) New Funds: In 2022 we established our highest total of new funds with seventeen new funds and multiple new Beehive Legacy Society members. A New Funds Booklet is now available for anyone wishing to learn more about how to establish a fund with us.
8) Our staff and volunteers are very active throughout our service area and build relationships with individuals and organizations who can partner with us.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild 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.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild 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.
Community Foundation of Greater New Britain Inc.
Board of directorsas of 08/24/2023
Art Schaller
Schaller Auto World
Term: 2021 - 2023
Art Schaller
Schaller Auto World
Nina Jankowski
The Real Estate Exchange
Jessica Hernandez
Central Connecticut State University
John Cookley
TD Bank
Camelia Lawrence MD
Hospital of Central Connecticut and MidState Medical Center
Dr. Zulma R. Toro
Central Connecticut State University
Jerrell Hargraves
City of New Britain
Thomas Mills
State of Connecticut
Janis Jerman
Employee Family Protection, Inc
Zachary Alexander
Day Pitney LLP
Timothy Fitzpatrick
Baseball Works
Fawatih Mohamed-Abouh
Sudanese American House in CT
Violet Jiménez Sims
University of Connecticut
Richard Dighello
Updike, Kelly & Spellacy
Jennifer Farley
Hospital for Special Care
William Ostapchuk
Retired Educator
Nicole Sanders
Consolidated School District of New Britain, CT
Adam Salina
Kozak & Salina
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
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
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/03/2021GuideStar 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
- 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 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.