$400,000 Grant Strengthens Permanent Resource for Connecticut’s Black Communities
New Haven, CT (March 4, 2021) – Amidst a pandemic that has exacerbated racial disparities and widened inequities, a $400,000 multi-year grant has been awarded by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (The Community Foundation) to strengthen the capacity of The Prosperity Foundation (TPF) as a local Black-led and Black-serving organization.
“This grant from The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven comes at a critical time in our growth and puts TPF in a stronger position to grow our organizational capacity and become a more potent philanthropic force by, for and of the Black community in Connecticut,” says Howard K. Hill, Founder and President of The Prosperity Foundation.
“A strong, growing statewide Black community foundation has greater potential to expand opportunity and advance racial equity, both priorities of The Community Foundation’s strategic plan framework,” says William W. Ginsberg, President and CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. “We are proud to have supported TPF since its origin and are encouraged to see new partnerships between TPF and other funders. Significant flexible resources can enable TPF to focus attention on its own growth and growing philanthropic resources that advance economic and social mobility in Greater New Haven’s Black communities and beyond.”
In addition to the grant, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven will continue to provide back office and investment management services to TPF, as it has done since TPF established itself as an independent entity in 2015.
Among its many activities, TPF has engaged African Americans throughout Connecticut through educational events in various parts of the State, including Hartford, Stamford and New Haven. It has also produced a seminar series providing donors and prospective donors with greater awareness about how philanthropy can contribute to addressing critical needs in Black communities. And it manages a Small Grants Initiative funding Black-led and serving community based organizations. In response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, TPF help to feed over 60,000 families with fresh produce, dairy, and meat.
About The Prosperity Foundation
The Prosperity Foundation (TPF) is a community foundation designed to strengthen Connecticut’s Black communities in critical areas such as health, education, and economic development. TPF is an outgrowth of the Urban Prosperity Fund, which was created in New Haven, Connecticut in 2010 in order to promote philanthropy, prosperity and self-empowerment in the Black community. TPF is a permanent and endowed vehicle for addressing the Black community's needs, and bringing the community together around common interests. TPF has the features of a community foundation, including donor-advised funds, educational events, giving circles, and other forms of philanthropy. Through TPF, philanthropy is a path to grant making for organizations serving the community and a portal through which Connecticut’s Black community and other interested parties can connect and collectively contribute to improving conditions and opportunities for the community. For more information, visit www.tpf.org.
About The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven in Connecticut is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the U.S. and was established in 1928 as the permanent charitable endowment for New Haven and its surrounding communities of: Ansonia, Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, Wallingford, West Haven, and Woodbridge. In 2020, The Foundation began implementing a 5-year strategic plan and enacted new mission and vision statements toward expanding opportunity and equity in Greater New Haven. In 2021, it launched Stepping Forward, a $26 million commitment to addressing the impact of COVID-19 and advancing racial equity. The Foundation’s mission is to inspire, support, inform, listen to and collaborate with the people and organizations of Greater New Haven to build an ever more connected, inclusive, equitable and philanthropic community.
For more than three generations, generous local donors have built The Community Foundation’s endowment by establishing permanent funds or making gifts to existing funds that distribute grants to a broad variety of issues and organizations. These donors, past and present, make their gifts to ensure that programs and causes that matter most to them will be supported today and forever. As of December 31, 2020, The Foundation’s assets were valued at more than $720 million. For more information about The Foundation visit www.cfgnh.org or follow @cfgnh on facebook and twitter.
