New & Noteworthy
Hartford Foundation Awards More Than $344,000 in Grants to Support Food Programs, Other Basic Services
The Hummingbird Project provides culturally specific, survivor-informed services to support individuals in the Black community healing from the deep-seated trauma caused by sexual violence, including sex trafficking, sexual assault, and exploitation. With a recognition that the Black community faces a disproportionate impact from sexual violence, the organization is committed to changing this narrative—with the ultimate hope that their work will no longer be necessary. The Hummingbird Project engages communities by offering awareness, training, resources, and practical guidance to reduce vulnerabilities to sexual violence. Additionally, they connect survivors with culturally competent services and provide data-driven insights to help organizations and systems make informed, culturally relevant decisions.
Access to housing is a significant barrier for many clients of The Hummingbird Project, including having sufficient funding to cover required security deposits and first-month rent. To assist in this effort, the organization has received an $8,000 grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
“By meeting the emergency basic needs of survivors in crisis or those on their healing journey, we help them focus on their mental, physical, and emotional well-being,” said The Hummingbird Project executive director Jermika Cost. “Addressing survival barriers creates the space for survivors to take ownership of their healing journey, opening pathways for empowerment within marginalized and underserved communities. These funds will be used to provide one-time security deposit assistance or first-month rent assistance for survivors of human trafficking.”
Founded in 2022 by Lucinda Canty, PhD, Lucinda’s House seeks to address the racial disparities in maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity. The organization draws on the existing strength and knowledge in communities of color. Historically, pregnancy and childbirth were honored and celebrated by the Black community. Women felt safe and cared for, even with minimal resources due to structural barriers. Lucinda's House exists to create environments where women of color feel safe and supported and provides individual consultations, health educational events, and information about community resources.
To support the women they serve, Lucinda’s House received a $7,500 grant from the Hartford Foundation to provide personal care items for pregnant or postpartum women and babies, including formula, baby food, diapers, wipes, ointment, sanitary items, and other personal care items.
“We are grateful for this grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving,” said Canty. “This support will allow Lucinda's House to support families with their basic personal needs."
The Hummingbird Project and Lucinda’s House are two of 38 nonprofit organizations receiving a total of $344,300 to provide food and other basic needs to residents throughout Greater Hartford. In August, the Foundation awarded an additional $344,000 in emergency assistance grants to 33 organizations. Since 2022, the Foundation has made emergency assistance grants available twice a year, based on feedback from nonprofits that having access to funds earlier helps in planning and meeting community needs.
The Foundation’s Emergency Assistance grants focus on increasing access to food and addressing immediate needs such as personal care items (e.g., deodorant, diapers), utility assistance, emergency transportation, and other items essential to wellbeing (such as reading glasses and assistive canes). This grant opportunity prioritizes nonprofits that serve neighborhoods and towns in the region with a higher percentage of residents living in poverty, seek to reduce barriers to equitable access to basic needs and provide direct support to clients. Grants are made using an equity lens, acknowledging that many of these barriers disproportionately impact people of color.
These grants support both regional and local agencies in Greater Hartford. Grants range from $3,000 and $20,000 through support from the Foundation’s discretionary funding and in partnership with the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation.
Of the 38 grants, the primary need served include:
- Eighteen are primarily for food or food assistance ($151,500).
- Twelve are primarily for emergency financial aid assistance ($106,300).
- Four are primarily for personal care items ($25,500).
- Three are for organizations to provide emergency case management ($41,000).
- One is for emergency clothing needs ($20,000)
“When individuals and families cannot afford to pay for groceries, housing, medical care or other basic necessities, it is incredibly challenging for children to perform in school or for adults to go to work each and every day,” said Hartford Foundation Senior Community Investments Officer Cierra Stancil. “Providing the most basic of human needs helps individuals and families stabilize themselves on their way toward upward social and economic mobility.”
Hartford Foundation Second Round of 2024 Basic Human Needs Grants
| Organization Name | Project Name | Primary Purpose | Project Description | Grant Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advancing Connecticut Together, Inc. | Nutritional Support Services for HIV+ Clients at Connections Wellness Center, Hartford | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to provide lunch and breakfast as part of a daily meal service for HIV+ clients at Connections Wellness Center on Albany Avenue. Breakfast and lunch are served Monday through Thursday. | $10,000.00 |
| American Red Cross - CT | Disaster Relief- Direct Financial Assistance for the 29 towns in your support area | Emergency financial assistance | Grant funds will be used to provide direct emergency assistance to residents who have been impacted by a fire or local natural disaster. Assistance is given for financial needs such as emergency hotel stay, clothing, personal items, diapers and formula, and any other necessary items. | $15,000.00 |
| Capitol Region Education Council Foundation, Inc. | The Family and Community Engagement Team, also known as the FACE Team. | Emergency financial assistance | Grant funds will be used to provide emergency support to students attending CREC schools and their families. Support will include food and clothing expenses, emergency housing, utilities, transportation, and other basic needs. | $10,000.00 |
| Cathedral Food Pantry | Cathedral Food Pantry | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to purchase fresh food such as produce, dairy, eggs and bread to supplement food received from CT Foodshare, Midwest Foodbank and other community partners. | $7,500.00 |
| Circle of Care for Families with Cancer | Lifeline Emergency Fund | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to provide grocery cards to families with a child undergoing treatment for pediatric cancer. Requests for assistance come through social workers at partner hospitals, including Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. | $2,500.00 |
| Community Solutions, Inc. | Basic Needs Assistance for Returning Citizens in the Greater Hartford Area | Emergency clothing needs | Grant funds will be used to purchase winter coats, boots, gloves, hats and other basic needs for adult male and female residents of 6 residential reentry centers. | $20,000.00 |
| Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants, Inc. | Emergency Case Management | Emergency and/or informal case management services | Grant funds will be used to provide emergency case management and immigration legal services for foreign-born survivors of human trafficking (both adult and child), foreign-born survivors of domestic violence and unaccompanied children and their host families residing in Hartford and the surrounding communities. | $15,000.00 |
| Easter Seals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut, Inc. | Financial Assistance Removing Health Health Access Barriers | Emergency financial assistance | Grant funds will provide emergency financial assistance with transportation to healthcare appointments or employment, rental assistance (maximum $1000/qualifying client) to be paid directly to housing authority, and grocery gift cards. | $5,000.00 |
| Enfield Loaves and Fishes, Inc. | Basic Human Need Provision | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to purchase food, cleaning supplies, sanitary and safety equipment, and perform maintenance on food processing equipment. Meals are provided 7 days per week by this community soup kitchen. | $15,000.00 |
| First Church of Christ in Hartford | The Outreach Center at Lewis and Gold | Personal care items | Grant funds would be used to purchase items to meet immediate needs of clients and guests. Needs may include bedding and tents, personal care and sanitation items for those in transition, fees associated with identification applications, bus passes, short term rent and utility assistance, and temporary housing arrangements for victims of domestic violence and abuse. | $10,000.00 |
| Futures, Inc. | Caring Cuisine for Students with Disabilities Living in Hartford | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to purchase food for distribution to students with disabilities and their families during school breaks and holidays when the students do not have access to healthy school meals. The beneficiaries of this program will be 18 students from Futures School along with their families who reside in Hartford. | $8,000.00 |
| Global PEHT Corp | Greater Hartford Transitional Housing Program | Emergency and/or informal case management services | Grant funding will be used to provide case management and wrap around services for any woman experiencing homelessness and commercial sexual exploitation, domestic violence and human trafficking on site at a safe home located within the Greater Hartford Region. Grant funds will also be used to personal care items and medical assistance for expenses not covered by insurance. | $12,000.00 |
| Goodwin University | Ann B. Clark Co-Op and Student Emergency Response Fund | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used, in part, to purchase culturally appropriate foods (including Halal and Kosher options) and provide emergency financial assistance to students, faculty and families of the Goodwin University system. | $5,000.00 |
| Grace Lutheran Church | Crisis and Emergency Support - Grace Lutheran Outreach | Emergency financial assistance | Grant funds will be used to food, personal care items, diapers, money for bus passes, assistance with utilities, medical assistance, and informal case management services. | $10,000.00 |
| Hartford Neighborhood Centers | Basic Human Needs - Food Pantry | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to purchase fresh foods such as bread, eggs, and dairy for the food pantry located on Lawrence Street, expanded pantry hours, and weekly food pick up from community partners. Food pantry hours will be Monday - Friday, 9:00 - 3:00, with after hours available by appointment. | $15,000.00 |
| Holcomb Farm, Inc. | Fresh Access funding for Hispanic Health Council for 2025 | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to provide fresh produce food to residents of Hartford and surrounding towns through a partnership with the Hispanic Health Council in Hartford, and its Community Nutrition Center program. | $8,000.00 |
| Hummingbird Project | Hummingbird Nests | Emergency financial assistance | Grant funds will be used to provide one-time security deposit assistance or first-month rent assistance survivors of human trafficking. | $8,000.00 |
| Klingberg Family Centers | Klingberg Child Advocacy Center | Emergency financial assistance | Grant funds will be used to a new flexible fund for the provision of emergency financial assistance, personal care items, and/or personal clothing needs for child victims of sexual assault and their non-offending family members. | $7,500.00 |
| La Bodeguita de la Gente | Bodeguita Pantry | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to purchase food, clothing, diapers, and personal items. All programs and services are provided in Spanish. | $7,500.00 |
| Lawson Chapel/Urban Hope Refuge Church | UHR 2024-25 Basic Human Needs Initiative | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to purchase food for the community food shelf and the Saturday community breakfast, stipends for volunteers working the community breakfast sites, transportation, winter coats, and administrative costs. | $5,000.00 |
| Living Word Empowerment Ministries | We Care Outreach | Personal care items | Grant funds will be used to provide care bags that contain personal items such as socks, unisex toiletries, and seasonal necessities such as gloves and hats to the homeless communities. Funds will also be used to purchase food for distribution to families during the holidays. | $5,000.00 |
| Lucinda's House | Program to support new mom personal needs | Personal care items | Grant funds will be used to provide personal care items for pregnant or postpartum women and babies, including formula, baby food, diapers, wipes, ointment, sanitary items, and other personal care items. | $7,500.00 |
| Malta Food Pantry, Inc. | Dinners for the Holidays | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to purchase food for holiday meal distribution. | $4,000.00 |
| Metropolitan Community Church of Hartford | TV-365 (Transgender Voice and Visibility 365 Days a Year) Expansion | Emergency financial assistance | Grant funds will be used to provide emergency financial assistance to transgender and non-binary residents. Assistance will include rent, security deposits, lodging, medical needs, medications, transportation, food, post surgery supplies and care. Grant funds will also be used for administrative costs. | $11,000.00 |
| New Covenant United Methodist Church | Friendship Center Soup Kitchen and CSFP Seniors' Food Boxes. | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to purchase food and supplies for the Community Soup Kitchen, utilities for Community Soup Kitchen, and software needed to organize Serv Safe recertification and track demographic data required by the Federal Government for the Seniors' Food Box program. | $5,000.00 |
| New Testament Tabernacle | New Testament Tabernacle food pantry | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to purchase supplies for the food pantry, winter maintenance at the food pantry, rental truck to pick up food, garbage and recycling pick up, and administrative fees. | $5,000.00 |
| North End Little Pantries | Free Farmer's Market | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to purchase produce from local BIPOC farmers for distribution to the community at twice monthly “farmers markets”, storage space rental, rental van to pick up food, and gas cards to support volunteers. | $10,000.00 |
| Our Savior Lutheran Church | Serving Our Community by Easing Food Insecurity | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to purchase perishable food to meet the needs of our clients and to offset the decreased availability from regular providers. Funds will also be used to purchase requested personal care items, cleaning supplies, and other basic needs. | $7,000.00 |
| Provision Ministry, Inc. | Provision Ministry Food Distributions in the Hartford Area | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will partially support the purchase of a truck for use in pickup, processing, and distribution of in-kind goods. | $10,000.00 |
| Second Congregational Church | Pantry clients emergency needs fund. | Emergency financial assistance | Grant funds will be used to meet urgent needs of pantry clients or other community service referrals. | $5,000.00 |
| Shiloh Baptist Church | Shiloh Baptist Church Community Basic Human Needs | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to purchase food, supplies, cleaning supplies, gas for item pick up, and utilities for the food pantry located on Albany Avenue. | $12,000.00 |
| The Cornerstone Foundation, Inc. | Basic Human Needs: Food Assistance | Food or food assistance | Grant funds will be used to purchase food for the Community Kitchen, the Food Cupboard, the weekend backpack program, and the home delivery for homebound. Food purchased will not available from CTFoodshare or Midwest Food Bank. Funds will also be used to purchase meals for families that arrive late in the evening. A small portion of the funds will be used to purchase items like paper good, cleaning supplies or containers to help distribute the food. | $15,000.00 |
| The Oliver-Benoit Foundation CO | WINTER 24-25 GIVING CYCLE | Personal care items | Grant funds will be used to provide socks, hats, scarves, and other basic needs to homeless individuals. | $3,000.00 |
| The Underground NE | Adult Mentor Program | Emergency and/or informal case management services | Grant funds will be used to provide crisis stabilization, safe housing, food security, personal hygiene items, clothing, transportation to health care and appointment,; acquisition of personal identification and records, and emergency case management to survivors of trafficking and exploitation. | $15,000.00 |
| Town of Somers | Somers Self-Sustainability Project | Emergency financial assistance | Grant funds will be used to purchase grocery gift cards for those with an immediate/emergency need for food, such as between availability of food pantry resources, SNAP, etc. Additionally, funds will be used to provide emergency financial assistance up to $500 per household for rent, utilities, heating/fuel, or car repairs to ensure stable housing and to prevent absence from work or school. | $4,000.00 |
| Windsor Community Service Council aka Windsor Food and Fuel Bank | Emergency Rental Assistance | Emergency Financial Assistance | Funds will be spent to pay one month's rent (current or back) for community members in need in order to prevent eviction. | $10,000.00 |
| YACO International Inc | Providing emergency relief for migrants/immigrants in East Hartford and environs in Connecticut | Emergency financial assistance | Grant funds will be used for food, transportation and handling of donated food, supplies, emergency financial assistance such as rent, transportation, utilities, and other basic needs of clients of the East Hartford based African Community Resource Center. | $9,800.00 |
| YWCA of New Britain | Sexual Assault Crisis Services | Emergency financial assistance | Grant funds will be used to support sexual assault survivors contacting the Sexual Assault Crisis Service (SACS). Supports provided to clients in crisis include basic needs gift cards, bus passes, clothing for survivors needing to give up their clothing for evidence, clothing for homeless survivors, and short term housing following an assault. | $10,000.00 |
The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for Hartford and 28 surrounding towns. Through partnerships, the Foundation seeks to strengthen communities in Greater Hartford by putting philanthropy in action to dismantle structural racism and achieve equity in social and economic mobility. Made possible by the gifts of generous individuals, families and organizations, the Foundation has awarded grants of more than $998 million since its founding in 1925. For more information, visit www.hfpg.org or call 860-548-1888.