Community Foundation’s Non-Profit Resource Center and Lending Library Offers Educational Tools for Local Charities

Center Established with Assistance from Farmington Bank Community Foundation

New Britain, Conn., June 21, 2018 – Local non-profit organizations serving Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington now have free access to a diverse variety of educational and capacity-building resources, both on-line and in hard copy, thanks to the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain’s newly opened Non-Profit Resource Center and Lending Library.

Located at the Community Foundation’s offices at 74 Vine Street in New Britain, the Resource Center is unique to Central Connecticut and is the latest addition to the Foundation’s Capacity Building Initiative designed to help local non-profit organizations strengthen their operations and sustainability.  It is made possible in part with support from the Farmington Bank Community Foundation.

“This is another important way that the Community Foundation can support those non-profit organizations we work with every day and which provide such vital services to our communities,” said Joeline Wruck, Director of Community Initiatives and Program Services. “Managing and growing a non-profit organization today is challenging and providing these organizations with helpful tools they can use is vital.”

Available resources are both on-line and in hard copy, and include on-line philanthropy and non-profit management subscription services, how-to basics and reference materials, professional publications, town and local directories and more. Materials address topics including fundraising, relationship building, asking and stewardship; governing boards, goal setting, strategic thinking and volunteer management; grant writing; inspiring philanthropy; leading, mission and managing teams; statistical data; and much more.

Subscriptions to the Foundation Center website and Foundation Directory Online offer non-profits a research database to find grant makers most likely to provide funding. The CFGNB will offer training in the future on how to use this powerful resource. The Library also includes access to Board Source, an online resource that supports excellence in nonprofit governance and board and staff leadership.

The Resource Center is open for use by local non-profits Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Books and materials are available for a complimentary 30-day loan, while on-line resources may be used in the Foundation offices by appointment. For more information, contact Joeline Wruck at jwruck@cfgnb.org or 860-229-6018, ext. 307.

Additional components of the Community Foundation’s Capacity Building Initiative include a series of popular capacity building workshops for local non-profits being conducted with support from the American Savings Foundation, and a monthly “Non-Profits Impacting Greater New Britain” page in the New Britain Herald which offers local non-profits the opportunity to promote and raise awareness of their services.

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, manage permanent charitable assets effectively, and partner to address key community issues through strategic leadership. For more information, visit www.cfgnb.org.