| Welcome to the Branford Community Foundation
“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
For over 30 years, the Branford Community Foundation has been keenly aware that we are the stewards of an endowment designed to benefit the Branford Community. In managing the endowment, our goal has always been to provide sufficient funds for grants to the community while preserving the endowment’s value into the future. The Board of Directors oversees the management of the endowment. We aim to achieve investment return that preserves the long-term purchasing power of the endowment after grants have been paid.
The year was again a challenging one for our residents as Connecticut’s unemployment hit 8.5 percent. Through it all, the Branford Community Foundation was able to remain one source of support for nonprofits in Branford. While our endowment certainly took a hit in 2008, our spending policy, as it was designed to do, enabled our grant-making to be fairly stable. And because many of our donors have created funds that give flexibility in deciding how best to spend the money, we were able to target funds to the most needy areas. This flexibility has been evident in the past three years when the Branford Community Foundation, in response, took steps including increasing funding for agencies that respond to basic human needs.
During 2010, the Branford Community Foundation gave grants to a wide range of nonprofit organizations in our town. These grants made a difference in many areas: arts and culture, education, health, family, social services, and basic needs of our residents. Scholarships were awarded to help students afford a higher education.
The Board of Directors of the Branford Community Foundation honors the essence of who we are—our values, our mission, our commitment to those we serve. At the same time, we need to be willing to confront the brutal facts and constantly innovate and reinvent ourselves to be responsive to the needs of the community we serve. I am pleased to continue serving as president of the Branford Community Foundation. The directors, all volunteers, use their talents, expertise, and love of Branford for the benefit of enhancing the quality of life in our community. With these exceptional people, I know we are offering solid leadership in meeting the needs of nonprofit organizations throughout Branford.
To learn more about the Foundation, please
browse our web site, or download a copy of our newsletter
Reaching Out. For more information, you can contact
us at (203) 488-6063 or by email. |
BRANFORD COMMUNITY TELEVISION
In 2010, BCTV conducted a telephone survey of Branford residents in an effort to become a more vital part of the community. In all, 271 surveys were completed, made possible in part by a generous grant from the Branford Community Foundation. As a result, a number of new programs are being investigated. Above, BCTV Board President Alan Fitz.
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BRANFORD COUNSELING CENTER
The Counseling Center’s Basic Needs Program serves the underemployed, the working poor, and those on fixed incomes. Basic needs can range from food and gas expenses, to prescriptions, rent payments, mortgages, condo fees and utility bills. The Center is extremely grateful to the Branford Community Foundation for its generous grant to help with these basic needs.
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