Hartford Foundation Seeks Applicants for Grants to Support Housing Policy and Advocacy

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is announcing a new grant opportunity focused on supporting policy and advocacy activities. Proposals can include work related to administrative advocacy, state legislative advocacy and/or municipal advocacy aimed at preventing/addressing homelessness and creating pathways to more accessible, affordable, stable, and higher quality housing for residents of color, low-income residents, and/or residents experiencing unique housing barriers (such as returning citizens).

Over the past two years, the Foundation offered its support for policy and advocacy by nonprofits and community members, awarding more than $200,000 in grants to support 16 state and local housing and homelessness prevention initiatives.

In this third round, the Foundation welcomes requests of up to $25,000 for activities to be implemented over the course of the next year or sooner, particularly activities focused on the 2024 legislative session. Grant applications are due on Monday, September 11^th (11:59pm) and grant awards will be announced by end of October 2023. For more information on how to apply for the grant, including a recording of an information session, can be found here.

“The Hartford Foundation believes policy and advocacy strategies are critical in achieving meaningful systems change to meet the substantial housing needs of our community,” said Hartford Foundation Community Impact Officer Cynthia Wills. “We are proud to support the advocacy work and policy interventions of nonprofits, particularly those efforts that are led by/engage residents with lived experience.”

Since 2014, the Hartford Foundation has been a been a registered lobbyist in the State of Connecticut, providing testimony and engaging with legislators and state agency staff on key issues. Through its work, the Foundation has learned that the public policy ecosystem relies upon a diverse variety of voices, and the combined contributions of these different entities ultimately shape public policy that more closely represents the community. The history of structural racism in housing is long and multi-faceted; addressing inequitable housing policy is key to supporting social and economic mobility of Black and Latino residents. It is for these reasons that the Foundation chose a focus on housing and homelessness as its first funding opportunity for policy-related activities, including legislative lobbying.

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 $948 million since its founding in 1925. For more information, visit www.hfpg.org or call 860-548-1888.