Foundation’s Capacity Building Initiative Offers Multiple Opportunities for Nonprofit Organizations

January 5, 2021 (New Britain, Conn.) – The Community Foundation of Greater New Britain’s (CFGNB) Capacity Building Initiative is offering multiple opportunities for local nonprofits who serve the communities of Berlin, New Britain, Plainville, and Southington. The Initiative, which began in 2018, provides agencies with resources aimed at strengthening organizational functioning. For the first half of 2021, the Initiative will be comprised of three main components.

The 2021 Executive Directors’ Forum will focus on creating a space where executive directors can learn, guide, and support one another though nine monthly sessions. Each session will take place virtually for 1.5 hours between February-June and September-November. Topics will focus on reemerging organizations from the pandemic, but will also provide a good base for professional development including financial scenario planning, 6-month budgeting options, what business continuity looks like, how often a racial equity lens is applied to your work, nonprofit lifecycles, re-pivoting programs and fundraising successes, failures and dilemmas. In addition, each member of the forum will receive a one-hour consultation with Sharon Danosky to discuss an issue or explore a topic more deeply. These sessions can be broken into 1, 2 or 3 sessions, at the individual’s preference. The Foundation will accept applications on a first-come, first-served basis until the series reaches full enrollment of 18. To apply for the executive Directors’ Forum, CLICK HERE.

Next, the CFGNB will provide scholarships of up to $250 for 20 non-profit organizations based in New Britain, Berlin, Plainville or Southington who plan to participate in grant writing training, a need identified by Executive Directors through a survey and follow up meeting in the fall of 2020. Participants can choose the training that best meets their needs and may include, but are not limited to, those offered by the Grantsmanship Center, Candid Proposal Writing Boot Camp, or National Funding Foundation. These scholarships will be awarded on a first come, first served basis and an application is required.
Finally, and back by popular demand, the Foundation will again offer COVID-19 mini-grants of up to $2,000 to help organizations that provide a significant amount of services in Berlin, New Britain, Plainville, and Southington to make modifications, purchases, changes, or improvements that support operations or program delivery because of the pandemic. Examples of considered requests are technology costs, technical support to re-design your program for online access, marketing, communications, or fundraising support, financial planning, modifications to physical spaces, and more. The first round of grant decisions will be made by mid-February for applications received by January 31, 2021. For the application, please CLICK HERE.

According to Joeline Wruck, Director of Community Initiatives and Program Services, “Our goal is to be as responsive as we can be to the needs of our nonprofit organizations, especially as many are still stabilizing as a result of the pandemic. The design of our 2021 program is a direct result of what we heard from the leadership of our local organizations and we will continue to be flexible in order to remain responsive.”

Planning is also underway for two spring workshops focused on fundraising, cultivating donors and mission-based sponsorships. The CFGNB will also continue to provide on-line access to interested nonprofits for the Foundation Directory Online (FDO), a powerful online resource that contains information on more than 225,000+ grant makers.

For consideration, application materials or if you have any questions, contact Joeline Wruck at 860-229-6018 ex. 307 or jwruck@cfgnb.org.

Established in 1941, the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain is “Where Good Begins” in Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington. Located at The Foundation Center at 74A Vine Street, New Britain, the Foundation works to inspire philanthropy, responsibly manage permanent charitable assets effectively, and partner to address key community issues through strategic leadership. For more information, visit www.cfgnb.org.