2020 Competitive Grant Awards

The Branford Community Foundation (BCF) recently awarded 9 grants through our regular Competitive Grant making process, although this year’s process was anything but normal. These grants are made annually through our endowment funds based on our spending policy. BCF’s original grant deadline was March 12 — the Thursday of that fateful week that initiated a national shutdown.

While we had already received a number of applications, we made two decisions in response to the coronavirus:

  1. We extended the deadline to May 1, 2020.
  2. We reprioritized our grant making to focus on the impact of COVID19 on our community.

Organizations who had already submitted an application were given the chance to resubmit based on the changing landscape, and many did. Organizations were also encouraged to apply for funding through our new COVID19 Response Fund for Branford, and many did that as well.

The resulting grants through our Competitive Grant making process are as follows:

$500 – Branford High School EXCEL Club to support their work to prevent child abuse.

$1,000 – Neighborhood Music School to support a Parkinson’s Disease Dance Program in Branford.

$3,000 – Branford Parks and Recreation Department to purchase kitchen equipment for future cooking and healthy eating programs.

$3,300 – Tabor Arts Branford for general operating support to make up for lost revenue due to canceled events due to coronavirus.

$4,900 – Orchard House to support cultural activities.

$5,000 – Branford Public Schools Robotics Club for costs for registration, robot supplies, and team support for the 2020-21 FIRST Tech Challenge.

$5,000 – Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter to support the building of a Pet Food Pantry room, which provides pet food and supplies.

$5,000 – Legacy Theatre for general operating support to make up for lost revenue due to canceled events due to Coronavirus.

$6,466 – Literacy Volunteers of Greater New Haven to support ESL in partnership with Branford ERACE.