Brainard Fund

Caring at home for adult relatives who have physical disabilities and/or mental difficulties takes a heavy toll on the caregivers.  Adult day care centers provide a planned program of care and activities during the day in order to give caregivers time to go to work, handle other household responsibilities, or just take time to refresh.

During 2008, the Brainard Fund at the Hartford Foundation provided grants totaling $143,876 to pay the bills of residents who could not afford the adult day care services provided by six agencies in Enfield, Hartford, Simsbury, and West Hartford.

Another $136,000 in grants paid the medical bills of patients at five hospitals – Johnson Memorial in Stafford, Manchester Memorial, Rockville General, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, and John Dempsey Hospital at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

In addition, $130,800 in grants paid for services from seven visiting nurse associations.

The Brainard Fund was established in 1957 by Newton C. and Elsie B. Brainard. He was a former mayor of Hartford (Brainard Airport is named in his honor) and head of a family printing business. She was among the few women professionals of her time, heading what is now The Village for Families & Children.  They were interested in helping people who worked diligently throughout their lives, had accumulated assets, but still were of modest means, and were confronted with medical bills that would cause a serious financial hardship.  

More than 50 years after its founding, the Brainard’s gifts of $2 million have produced more than $10 million in grants to aid Greater Hartford residents.

The following organizations received grants or payments from the Brainard Fund in 2008:

The Caring Connection
Church Homes, Inc.
Connecticut Community Care, Inc.
Connecticut VNA Partners, Inc.
Easter Seals Greater Hartford Rehabilitation Center, Inc.
Farmington Valley VNA, Inc.
Felician Adult Day Care, Inc.
Hebrew Health Care, Inc.
Home & Community Health Services, Inc.
Johnson Memorial Hospital, Inc.
ECHN, Inc./Manchester Memorial Hospital
The McLean Foundation
McLean Home Care and Hospice
ECHN, Inc./Rockville General Hospital
Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center
Saint Mary Home
University of Connecticut Health Center
Visiting Nurse & Health Services of CT, Inc.
VNA Health Care, Inc.