Hartford Foundation’s Respond-Rebuild-Renew Fund Awards First Grants to Support Newly Relocated Residents from Natural Disaster Areas

In November 2017, the Hartford Foundation established the Respond-Rebuild-Renew Fund in response to the growing needs faced by individuals and families relocating to Greater Hartford following natural disasters.  As a current use fund, the Respond-Rebuild-Renew Fund connects donors to Greater Hartford nonprofit and community efforts that are addressing both immediate and long-term recovery efforts resulting from unforeseen natural and human-made disasters that align with the Foundation's core values of equity, diversity and inclusion.

This month, the Foundation approved three grants totaling $30,000 to three local agencies: Capitol Region Education Council ($10,000), Catholic Charities ($10,000), and The Salvation Army of Southern New England ($10,000). These grants will help to meet a variety of critical, basic needs (e.g., public transportation passes, housing deposits, furniture, food and clothing) to newly relocated residents from natural disaster areas.

"The Hartford Foundation created this new fund to provide both short- and long-term support, should our region suffer from the types of crises that we have witnessed in Florida, Houston, Las Vegas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands," said Hartford Foundation president Jay Williams. "We are pleased to make these grants to support services for the influx of people who have come to Greater Hartford after this past fall’s devastating hurricanes. We hope that our incredibly generous donors will continue to grow the Respond-Rebuild-Renew Fund to help fill in gaps in support to provide immediate assistance as well as long-term efforts that may be necessary to stabilize our region in the aftermath of a serious crisis.”

Going forward, the Respond-Rebuild-Renew Fund will support:

• Nonprofits and public sector entities addressing immediate and longer-term recovery, rebuilding and healing needs of residents and communities.
• Gaps where public resources are unavailable.
• Cross-sector collaborations with government, donors and public/private partnerships.
• Public awareness and education efforts and community discussion around topics exacerbated by the event.
• Legal services supports and coordination that provide direct services to impacted residents.

To learn more about the fund or make an online donation, visit hfpg.org/respond.

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for Hartford and 28 surrounding communities. Made possible by the gifts of generous individuals, families and organizations, the Foundation has awarded grants of more than $680 million since its founding in 1925. For more information about the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, visit www.hfpg.org or call 860-548-1888.