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 The Greater New Haven Green Fund is an environmental foundation that carries out grantmaking in four municipalities of the Greater New Haven area. Since its inception the Green Fund has contributed more than $250,000 towards organizations and projects working to enhance environmental quality and environmental justice.

We are currently seeking proposals for funding of environmentally beneficial projects serving the towns of New Haven, East Haven, Hamden, and Woodbridge. Grants up to $10,000 will be made in a competitive application process. Proposals are due January 12.

Please see www.gnhgreenfund.org for more information.

Grant Processes Open

New Haven, CT (December 5, 2017) - The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the region’s permanent endowment and largest grantmaker to local nonprofits, announces two grant opportunities with application deadlines in January.

The Community Fund for Women & Girls is accepting applications for the 2018 grants cycle through Thursday, January 18, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. Grants are awarded to gender-specific initiatives that are intentional, equitable and well-informed.  All interested applicants are required to contact The Community Foundation before applying.Learn more here.

The Quinnipiac River Fund, a component fund at The Community Foundation, is accepting applications through Monday, January 22, 2018. The Fund makes grants for projects designed to benefit the environmental quality of the Quinnipiac River, the New Haven Harbor, and surrounding watersheds. Approximately $100,000 in grants is awarded each spring from the Fund.Learn more here.

The Issue:

Congress is in the finals stages of passing major tax legislation, H.R. 1, that has serious negative implications for older adults and aging services providers. We are opposed to its passage. We urge Congress to defeat this legislation and find better solutions for older Americans.

The House and Senate have each passed their own version of H.R. 1 and are now starting a House/Senate Conference Committee to iron out their differences. Both bills are bad for older adults. At risk are the medical expense tax deduction, private activity bonds and advance refunding, and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program.

In addition, the bill could pave the way for big cuts to Medicare and Medicaid resulting from the $1.5 trillion cost of the bill. Congress should stop this bill and start anew to find solutions that will work for older adults.

Now is the time to act. Let your senators and representative know that H.R. 1 will hurt the health and wellness of older adults.

This legislation is moving fast, we need YOU to take action today!

How you can help:

Call or email your lawmakers TODAY!
Share this information with the residents in your community and suggest that they call as well. The proposed changes will directly impact them.
Forward this action alert to your network.
SHARE WITH OTHERS

You can Help Hurricane Maria Survivors in New Haven. Please Spread the Word...

U.S. Citizens whose lives have been severely disrupted by Hurricane Maria, who have lost their homes, their jobs, and in some cases their loved ones, are arriving in New Haven every day. These fellow U.S. citizens come here because of a family or a historic connection to our city. Like most disaster victims they arrive with few resources.

JUNTA for Progressive Action is acting as the Central Resource Center for Victims of Hurricane Maria who have evacuated to New Haven. Volunteer help is needed!

HOW YOU Can Help:

Option 1: If you are bilingual (English/Spanish), feel comfortable speaking on the phone JUNTA needs your help. Basic computer skills are helpful but not required for this volunteer opportunity. If you want to volunteers click on this link to share information about your availability.*

Option 2: If you are not bilingual, you can help by sharing this information with people you know who might be able to assist. Anyone you know who is able to help is more likely to help if they are asked to do so by someone they know.

Option 3: Of course, anyone who wants to help by donating funds is welcome to make a tax deductible donation to JUNTA. To donate: online click here. If you prefer to send a check in the mail: JUNTA for Progressive Action 169 Grand Avenue, New Haven, CT 06513

Option 4: Donate winter: coats, sweaters, scarfs, hats and gloves, as well as winter-appropriate shoes for children, women and men. Also needed new bedding: specifically blankets, comforters and pillows.

* Thank you to the City of New Haven for creating this volunteer matching page to help Junta and the people who want to volunteer.

JUNTA for Progressive Action is New Haven's oldest Spanish speaking social service agency. JUNTA provides numerous services to disaster victims, including registering for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance and accessing resources to meet critical needs including SNAP, food, medical care, insurance, emergency transportation, clothing, furniture, energy assistance, English classes, computer classes, diapers, legal services, children’s after school program, cell phones, assistance for the elderly, and translation. 

Our screens and feeds are filled with news and images of black Americans dying or being brutalized. A brief and yet still-too-long list: Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Eric Garner, Renisha McBride. The image of a white police officer straddling a black teenager on a lawn in McKinney, Tex., had barely faded before we were forced to grapple with the racially motivated shooting in Charleston, S.C...

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/24/magazine/racisms-psychological-toll.html?_r=2

FISH of Greater New Haven strengthened the safety net for local veterans this past year through a new partnership with the West Haven VA. FISH, which delivers fresh food to the homebound, now also provides food to veterans who recently moved into supportive housing.

The new service targeting formerly homeless veterans is the latest example of how community partnerships enable this small nonprofit to have a big impact.

“We helped 1,100 people last year with one full-time staff-member,” says Executive Director Jilan Crowley. “The magic of how FISH works is through all of our volunteers and partner agencies.” Continue reading . . .

Over four decades, Chapel Haven has gained an international reputation for running innovative programs that teach adults with developmental and social disabilities how to live independent lives. Now the pioneering school is building on that success with an expansion of its campus in New Haven’s Westville neighborhood. 

“It is amazing how the community embraces our adults,” says Chapel Haven Vice President Julia Isenberg. “When our adults go to the store, they get hugs across the counter. It’s a really beautiful relationship.” Continue reading.

By  JIM SCHAFFER 

Generic unconscious bias training and its umbrella intervention, diversity training, have been around for decades, but they have still failed to close the leadership gender gap. In their article Why Diversity Programs Fail, Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev argue that this is because too much diversity training is mandatory, prompting resentment and defensiveness from managers. “Trainers tell us that people often respond to compulsory courses with anger and resistance—and many participants actually report more animosity toward other groups afterward,” they write...

http://www.leadingwomen.biz/blog/why-unconscious-bias-training-doesnt-close-the-gender-gap-gender-dynamics

At a time when mental health funding continues to fall short of meeting the need, Bridges remains more committed than ever to treating people, regardless of their income levels, who suffer from opioid addiction, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or other mental health disorders. 

“We look forward to further expansion of our healthcare system as we respond to increasing difficulties on the behavioral health horizon, including the opioid epidemic and rising suicide rates,” says Bridges President & CEO Barbara DiMauro. “While the continuing budget crisis in the state has been of great concern to us, our goal, as always, is to remain a premier provider of healthcare services over the next six decades, and beyond.” Continue reading . . .

Attention area residents!

Do you have a project in mind to improve your neighborhood?

Join us at the last orientation session of the Neighborhood Leadership Program - an eight month training and grant program that supports community leaders in imagining, developing, testing and realizing projects which build community and provide positive outcomes in:

• New Haven
• East Haven
• West Haven
• Hamden

If you are a resident in one of these towns, who has demonstrated a commitment to making a positive difference through resident engagement, AND if you are eager to build skills, develop your capacity to increase your impact, and engage with other leaders in learning, practice and project execution, YOU should come to this orientation session.

Final Orientation Session
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Stetson Branch Library (Dixwell)
200 Dixwell Ave., New Haven
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Questions? Email Lee Cruz or call him at 203-777-7074.

REGISTER NOW online or by phone at 203-777-7205.

If not for the ChildSight® program, thousands of school-aged children would struggle to see the words on the blackboard or in their books. The national program, working in 32 New Haven public schools, performs vision tests and delivers free prescription eyewear to children in need. Continue reading.

The environmental movement has long been divided along race and class lines. Perhaps there is some momentum to change all of that in the face of the desperate need for equity and people to be at the center of the sustainability agenda if we wish to build the movement necessary to effectively take on the challenge of climate change...

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2017/10/18/equity-core-principle-big-green-environmental-justice-nonprofits-try-align ;

Does the future of business center on integrating the twin goals of building a better world alongside growing profits?  With an increasing frequency, Americans are saying it should—with their wallets...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/morganstanley/2017/08/02/is-nextgen-changing-business-for-good/#3acd40d470b3

The Progreso Latino Fund (PLF), in partnership with a Latino-led global fundraising campaign, is sending emergency disaster relief to Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Every donation is part of a collective impact. Join us.

Hurricane Maria’s devastating landfall in Puerto Rico last month has left large areas of the island without power. Thousands of people continue to live in shelters and much of the population has limited access to fresh water and other basic necessities.

Also last month, Mexico suffered a massive earthquake that toppled buildings in and around Mexico City and killed and injured hundreds of people.

PLF is responding to these disasters with $17,500 to support nurses, firefighters, shelter providers and other first responders who are working on the ground.

PLF is supporting Puerto Rico through a $5,000 grant to the Hispanic Federation and a $10,000 grant to Hispanics in Philanthropy.

The grant to the Hispanic Federation is in conjunction with the New Haven relief effort led by State Rep. Juan Candelaria and Arte, Inc. Championed by “Hamilton” composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Hispanic Federation is designating 100 percent of its Hurricane Relief Fund to organizations working on the ground in Puerto Rico.

PLF has also given $10,000 to Hispanics in Philanthropy, which is in partnership with the Puerto Rico Community Recovery Fund at the Puerto Rico Community Foundation. The recovery fund is working with local Puerto Rican organizations that can respond to needs across the island. PLF is also giving Hispanics in Philanthropy $2,500 for disaster relief efforts in Mexico.

Hispanics in Philanthropy is providing a one-to-one match for all donations and is also designating 100% of the money raised to funding organizations that are on the ground working to meet the needs of people in the community.

Much more is needed for both for the emergency response and the longer-term rebuilding effort.

Every donation is part of a collective impact. Join us.

"Papi tiene muerte cerebral.”

I don’t know when my cousin originally sent the text, but it buzzed through to Connecticut from Puerto Rico’s battered communications towers last Sunday at 6:27 a.m. My uncle was brain dead.

“Hay que desconectarlo.”

The machines keeping him in a state resembling life could not undo the damage that had been done. Soon, they would let him pass.

At 78, my uncle had survived Hurricane Maria’s winds and the floods its rains unleashed. But the deadliest time in most hurricanes is after the storm passes. And for my uncle, the devastation of the island where he’d lived his whole life was too much to bear. A week and a half after Maria made landfall, he hanged himself at his ruined home...

https://ctviewpoints.org/2017/10/09/my-uncle-survived-hurricane-maria-despair-over-its-devastation-killed-him/ ;

After more than a decade of teaching classical chamber music to young children, Music Haven is seeing its first students about to graduate high school and go on to college. And the program continues to be a sought after as ever. 

“We consistently have thirty to forty kids on the waiting list,” says Executive Director Mandi Jackson. “We have a ninety percent retention rate. Once they come they tend to stay. It gives them not just a passion for music, but also an avenue to new opportunities.” Continue reading

Planned gifts are thoughtful and intentional charitable gifts that make an impact now and in the future. There is no one-size-fits-all planned giving solution because every donor has unique philanthropic goals and objectives. The Valley Community Foundation, a partner of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, launched a community-wide planned giving initiative in May 2017 called the Valley Gives Back™.

Since 1950, the New Haven Chorale has spread a joy and passion for choral music in Greater New Haven.

On October 7, 2017, it will hold an annual Gala to help it continue its mission bringing together community singers to present high-level, professionally-conducted choral music to the region. The evening event, “Direct from Las Vegas,” features The Edwards Twins, World-Famous Celebrity Impersonators, at the Pine Orchard Country Club in Branford, CT. Continue reading.

Chapel Haven is delighted to announce several upcoming events open to prospective parents. See below for more details and save your seat! If you are interested in Chapel Haven West, our Tucson, AZ-based campus program, please scroll down and register for an open house set for Veterans Day in Tucson.

This fall, there is a lot to see as Chapel Haven’s New Haven campus expansion has broken ground! Chapel Haven is underway with a multi-year campus expansion, with the ultimate goal of providing lifelong services to adults with social and developmental disabilities. Phase One of the project consists of construction of three new buildings, including a 32,500 SF building to house the REACH program, a new, state-of-the-art facility dedicated to aging services, allowing senior members of the community to continue living among friends and with independence, and a new welcome center. Read more about our expansion here

An early bird discount is available to families who apply to the REACH program before the winter holidays. Families who start the application process now and schedule a week visit before the end of 2017 can achieve a savings on the assessment that is a required part of the application process. Chapel Haven’s six-day visit gives applicants a chance to experience the program. Questions? Contact Christy Chandler in the Admissions Office at (203) 397-1714, x185, or cchandler@chapelhaven.org

Join us on these dates:

Tuesday, Oct. 17, 5-7 p.m. Join Chapel Haven for a parent-led discussion, “Moving Out and Making It: Life after High School.” Chapel Haven parents and students will share the factors they weighed as they looked at how to prepare their young adults for independence, including things that can be done during the high school years and their journey in looking at next-step programs. Join us at 5 p.m. to see life skills and dinner prep in action in the Chapel Haven apartment setting, then enjoy a light dinner and the parent panel.

Register here for Oct. 17 Evening Parent Mixer

Saturday, Nov. 11, 10 a.m. to noon, New Haven campus – Chapel Haven invites you to join us for a morning open house, which includes light breakfast, program overviews, campus tours, and the chance to mingle and chat with our parents and students.

This event takes place on a Saturday morning to help accommodate busy schedules.

Register here for Nov. 11 open house

Saturday, Dec. 9, 10 a.m. to noon – Holiday crafts workshop: Join us for a brief program overview of Chapel Haven, then make a holiday gift for a loved one with Chapel Haven’s UARTS, which will also offer unique, artisan products made by our students for sale for your holiday shopping! This event is free and open to all but pre-registration is kindly requested.

Register here for Dec. 9 open house

 Interested in Chapel Haven West, Tucson, AZ?