Community Fund for Women & Girls Awards Six-Figure Grant to Boost Women Businesses

For Immediate Release

Fund Celebrates 20 years of Advancing Women and Girls in Greater New Haven

New Haven, CT (October 30, 2015) – At its 20th Anniversary celebration luncheon, The Community Fund for Women & Girls, Greater New Haven's permanent charitable endowment dedicated solely to advancing women and girls, announced it has awarded $203,740 in grants to eight nonprofit organizations serving women and girls in Greater New Haven and the Valley. The list includes a six-figure, Signature Grant to All Our Kin to help women hone their skills as business people and entrepreneurs.

"This year is reflective of all we aim for at the Community Fund for Women & Girls," says Nancy Yao Maasbach, the Fund's Advisory Board Chair. "We saw outstanding proposals, terrific management teams and big ideas from our nonprofit partners. We acknowledge the spirit of collaboration among these organizations, as many have joined forces to promote health, science, education and economic advancement - areas that support the growth of all females."

In addition to acknowledging the 2015 grant recipients at its Anniversary event in New Haven, the Community Fund for Women & Girls hosted a conversation between Gloria Steinem, writer, activist and organizer for gender equality and Teresa Younger, president & CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women. Included in the activities of the day was a video presentation highlighting a $1 million pledge to the Fund by a local donor and a call to action for individuals to give as much as they can in support of women and girls' programs.

"All of us believe strongly in the collective power of women and we believe that together, our investments in women and girls around us betters our community, our region, our country and our world," said Maasbach. "With philanthropy as our tool of change, we also challenge ourselves and all of you to follow in the footsteps of the Fund's founders to be bold, daring and audacious when it comes to advancing women and girls."

2015 Grant Recipients in Alphabetical Order:

All Our Kin, Inc. ($160,000) Signature Grant
To train and assist female child care providers in developing successful businesses that offer affordable, high-quality child care. This grant supports the Women Entrepreneurs, Women Clients: Family Child Care Business Coaching and Consultation Project. Women child care providers will receive training, coaching and consultation and individualized coaching/consultation services and one-on-one support so that they can hone their skills as businesspeople and entrepreneurs; earn more through their work in family child care; and communicate more effectively with the families they serve in order to increase the sustainability of their child care businesses.

Boys & Girls Club of New Haven ($10,000)
To support ASCEND, a college readiness and career awareness program designed to educate and encourage girls ages 9-17, with the assistance of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Connecticut Women's Education & Legal Fund ($2,500)
To fund a scholarship offered as part of a Girls & STEM Expo hosted at Gateway Community College for 9th and 10th grade girls from New Haven County.

Girl Scouts of Connecticut ($5,000)
To launch a pilot program in partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of New Haven, aimed at underserved girls (ages 5-14) who are often unable to participate in Girl Scout activities due to economic issues and other barriers.

LEAP ($10,000)
To support the expansion of a "Girls Only" summer program serving low-income girls ages 7-12, featuring STEM activities such as computer coding and physical activities such as swimming.

Literacy Center of Milford ($5,000)
To support the Adult Women's ESL program and Mother's Advanced Class, programs serving immigrant women in the community.

Pequenas Ligas Hispanas de New Haven ($8,740)
To fund the instruction of girls, ages 4-18, in the fundamentals of sports such as volleyball, basketball, baseball and more, in order to encourage greater female participation.

Young Parent Program of Milford, Inc. ($2,500)
To support the education of teens and young adults through childbirth classes, designed to attain positive pregnancy outcomes and enhance infant wellbeing.

The Community Fund for Women & Girls is a component fund at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and the second oldest women's endowment in the state of Connecticut. It has awarded approximately $1 million to more than 200 programs since its establishment. Individuals interested in growing the endowment with a gift or to learn more about the work of the Fund are encouraged to visit www.fundforwomenandgirls.org.

Thanks to the generosity of three generations of donors, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven awarded over $22 million in grants and distributions in 2014 from an endowment of more than $460 million and composed of hundreds of individually named funds. In addition to its grantmaking, The Community Foundation helps build a stronger community by taking measures to improve student achievement, create healthy families in New Haven and a more welcoming community, promote local philanthropy through www.giveGreater.org® and encourage better understanding of the region. The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven's 20 town service area includes: Ansonia, Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, Wallingford, West Haven, Woodbridge. For more information about The Community Foundation visit www.cfgnh.org, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.org/cfgnh or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cfgnh.