Helping People Help Themselves
Four necessities for achieving economic stability in Fairfield County include affordable housing, public schools that prepare students for college and employment, upward mobility for low-income workers, and the ability to speak English.
Yet, in the richest county in the richest state in the richest country in the world, over 52,000 families in Fairfield County can't afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment. Our urban, largely minority public school students suffer from one of the largest achievement gaps in the country. Nearly half of female-headed households with young children live in poverty. And, on average, nearly one out of five residents of Bridgeport, Danbury, Norwalk and Stamford are not proficient in English.
Helping people help themselves by providing a hand up instead of a handout is at the core of the Foundation’s grantmaking in the area of economic opportunity.
What's Being Done
The Fairfield County Community Foundation is leading four countywide initiatives to help people help themselves.
We are bringing together policy makers, nonprofit leaders, community leaders, fundholders, contributors, private funders and other experts to increase affordable housing, close the achievement gap in our urban public schools, help low-income working women achieve economic stability, and help immigrants assimilate into our communities. To learn more about each of these initiatives, click here.
How You Can Help
It's easy, just click the "Donate Now" button. You can make a tax deductible, online contribution to funds that support economic opportunity, other Foundation initiatives and regional grantmaking.
To make a contribution by mail or fax, or for more information, contact Linda Franciscovich, Vice President of Development and Philanthropic Services, at 203.750.3200. For a sampling of Foundation funds supporting economic opportunity, please scroll down.
Funds Supporting Economic Opportunity Fairfield County Community Foundation Fund for Women and Girls
The Fairfield County Community Foundation Fund for Women and Girls supports programs that foster economic stability, academic achievement and the physical, emotional and social well being of women and girls in our communities. The Fund also educates women about philanthropy, and engages them in creating change through collective, targeted giving.
Fairfield County Collaborative Fund for Affordable Housing
The Fairfield County Collaborative Fund for Affordable Housing is working to increase the supply of affordable housing in Fairfield County by increasing the productivity and sustainability of nonprofit housing developers in the county.
It's no secret that Fairfield County is one of the most expensive housing markets in the country. Increasing the availability of housing that low- and moderate-income families can afford increases our region's quality of life and the potential for economic growth and vitality.
It also mitigates problems that challenge companies, hinder public sector organizations, frustrate workers, drive young families away and restrict upward mobility, such as:
* Local companies report increasing difficulty attracting and retaining a quality workforce
* Municipalities and local nonprofit organizations have difficulty hiring employees and attracting volunteers
* Traffic congestion is increasing as commuters are forced further out of the county or state with commutes exceeding 90 minutes
* Homeownership is out of reach for a growing number of families and young employees who are vital to the future of the county and the state
* Low- and moderate-income residents are being pushed into economic instability with a growing part of their income being consumed by the rising costs of housing
* Residents of public housing or other subsidized rental housing — whose next step is home ownership — cannot afford to buy. This limits the ability of other low-income individuals and families to move into subsidized rental housing
* Local shelters are overflowing with working families who need to stay longer because they cannot afford rental housing in the community.
Fairfield County Community Foundation Fund for New Americans
The Fund for New Americans will support nonprofit organizations serving the growing immigrant communities of southwestern Connecticut.
The Fund has a special interest in supporting efforts to:
* increase the number of high quality, sequential English as a Second Language classes taught by qualified instructors;
* expand access to citizenship classes and legal services;
* provide needed, culturally competent social services, education and health care delivered by both grassroots and mainstream organizations;
* offer vocational training to immigrant workers in expanding job sectors;
* facilitate asset development among immigrants, such as access to mainstream banking and home ownership opportunities; and
* promote public understanding of the role of immigrants in Fairfield County, including producing new research of use to the media, policymakers and elected officials, nonprofit organizations and private philanthropy.
For more information about the Fund for New Americans, please contact Yolanda Caldera-Durant, Program Director, at 203.750.3200.
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