Catalyst Endowment Fund: 2017 Topic & Information

The 2017 topic of study for the Catalyst Endowment Fund will be:

Family Economic Security: Career Pathways

We know the importance of earning family-sustaining wages to overall wellbeing and economic security in our region. Participants will learn about programs that integrate education, job training and support services for adults, as well as why more employers do not participate in employment partnerships and what needs to change.

Catalyst Endowment Fund meetings have concluded for 2017.

In our final grantmaking meeting, the group awarded a $50,000 grant to a program that recruits and trains women for manufacturing careers.

Stay tuned for information about 2018!

Each year, the Catalyst Endowment Fund chooses a topic that they explore and discuss throughout the year, ultimately awarding a grant to a local nonprofit (or multiple nonprofits) that work in this area. Last year's topic was "Addressing the Mental Health Challenge." At the end of the year, a $50,000 grant was awarded to the Injury Prevention Center at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Past topics have included job readiness, literacy, domestic violence, homelessness and more. 

At our first meeting of 2017 on March 30, Catalyst members learned about Family Economic Security and heard from guest speaker Patrick Flaherty of the Connecticut Department of Labor. 

Our second meeting of 2017 on June 20 was a continuation of the Family Economic Security theme. Hartford Foundation director of programs and investments, Judy McBride, talked about the foundation's Career Pathways Initiative. Oz Griebel, president and CEO of MetroHartford Alliance, spoke about job creation and attracting millennials. Alice Pritchard of CCSU discussed the intersection of education and workforce. 

Click here for more information about the Catalyst Endowment Fund and how to join. 

We encourage you to follow the Hartford Foundation on Facebook and Twitter, where we'll continue the discussion of Family Economic Security throughout the year.

Family Economic Security: Related Links

Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance Receives $302,000 Grant to Reduce Unemployment in Hartford’s South End
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving (Feb 21, 2018)

Acknowledging childhood trauma - a growing movement in Connecticut
CT Viewpoints (Oct 31, 2017)  

Raising awareness to close the manufacturing skills gap
Hartford Business Journal (Oct 30, 2017)

Goodwin College ceremony recognizes first class of manufacturing careers collaborative
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving (Sept 25, 2017) 

Billings Forge Community Works and Our Piece of the Pie receive $250,000 from Hartford Foundation for opportunity youth job training program
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving (Sept 18, 2017)

CBIA helps kick off 2017 Women in Manufacturing Summit
CBIA (Sept 15, 2017) 

How do I prepare my students for jobs that may soon disappear? 
Education Week (Sept 12, 2017) 

Focus on women in manufacturing
Hartford Courant 

CT energy industry facing workforce shortages
Hartford Business Journal (June 16, 2017) 

Survey shows Connecticut gained 6,700 jobs in May
CTNewsJunkie (June 15, 2017)

Hartford job-training program builds new lives — and a ballpark 
Hartford Courant (June 12, 2017) 

Learning inmates' lessons in second chance program 
Hartford Courant (June 11, 2017) 

Pre-release employment programs prepare inmates for the future
Hartford Courant (June 1, 2017) 

Job training center for female inmates opens
Hartford Business Journal (May 31, 2017)

CT's hands-on training schools help fill skills gap
Hartford Business Journal (May 29, 2017) 

Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Annual Report 2016: A Second Chance For a Better Life (VIDEO featuring Zest 280)
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving (May 23, 2017) 

CT manufacturers say more training programs needed to fill worker shortage
Hartford Business Journal (May 17, 2017) 

Write On! encouraging young adults to share stories, confront mental health stigma
WNPR (May 16, 2017) 

Partnership key to building stronger career pathways for CT residents
CT Viewpoints (May 10, 2017) 

Move UP!, a partnership for adult learning, receives $420,000 from Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
Hartford Courant (May 8, 2017) 

Manufacturing Leader: Create more jobs, not more taxes
CBIA (May 2, 2017) 

The 25 best cities for job seekers right now
TIME Magazine (May 1, 2017)

New course in Connecticut targets dearth of job-ready software developers
WNPR (May 1, 2017) 

Connecticut's not ready for hiring boom
Hartford Courant (April 25, 2017) 

Manufacturing's future starts in grade school
Hartford Business Journal (April 10, 2017)

The latest on working, wages and the wealth gap
Nonprofit Quarterly (April 4, 2017) 

The Hartford training new apprentices for jobs
Hartford Business Journal (April 4, 2017)

Vo-tech instructor shortage is manufacturing's next big test
Hartford Business Journal (March 27, 2017) 

CT, Hartford to benefit from $3.8M job-skills grant
Hartford Business Journal (March 24, 2017) 

Hartford Business Journal (March 21, 2017) 

Hartford Business Journal (February 27, 2017) 

Divisions of Labor: New kinds of work require new ideas - and new ways of organizing 
New York Times Magazine (February 23, 2017)

Could giving circles rebuild philanthropy from the bottom up?
Nonprofit Quarterly (February 4, 2017)

CBS Moneywatch (January 12, 2017)