In partnership with its affiliate The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, the VCF has awarded nearly $600,000 in multi-year grants through its Responsive Grants process. Click here to read the press release or click below for the complete list of grant recipients.
2011 Valley Responsive Grants
The Valley Community Foundation has awarded a total of $50,000 to 42 neighborhood groups and organizations serving Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton through the Valley Small Grant Program. Grants awarded range in size from $375 to $2,700. Applications encompassed a wide range of activities and presented great potential to achieve the goal of the Program, which is to improve the quality of life in the Valley by funding specific activities and projects that motivate and leverage civic engagement efforts.
Valley Small Grants
Sponsorships for events are awarded throughout the year to nonprofit organizations or groups located in or serving the Naugatuck Valley communities. Below are the sponsorships awarded in the first half of 2011.
Valley Sponsorships
In the Valley Community Foundation’s third year of Responsive Grantmaking, close to $200,000 was awarded, thanks in part to additional grants from donor advised funds.
Responsive 2010 Grants
A total of $40,986 was distributed to 38 groups working in the Lower Naugatuck Valley to motivate and leverage civic engagement efforts across the community. Of the grant recipients, 12 are from Ansonia, 1 is from Derby, 2 are from Oxford, 10 are from Seymour, 1 is from Shelton and 12 are Valley-wide.
Valley Neighborhood Grants
Highlights:
- Approximately $136,000 in grants distributed to 30 non-profits
- Diversity of projects funded: a program to replenish food supplies at a food bank, a training program on positive parenting techniques, an after-school music program to help prevent drug use by teens, a program to bring free to low-cost legal services to Valley residents
Responsive New Grants
American Red Cross, Valley Chapter ($3,170)
To support the dissemination of information and education about safety, preparedness and the reduction of the spread of the influenza/pandemic threat that has recently disrupted local schools and businesses.
Area Congregations Together, Inc. ($6,900)
To support case management efforts, including programming as well as service coordination, to help clients become self-sufficient.
Birmingham Group Health Services ($6,000)
To support the Valley Substance Abuse Action Council's Drums Not Drugs for youth in grades 6th-8th who participate in after school programming at the Boys & Girls Club Ansonia site during the 2009-2010 school year.
Boys & Girls Club of Lower Naugatuck Valley ($10,000)
To provide partial support to cover administrative costs.
Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Hartford ($3,400)
To support the Ansonia Child Guidance Clinic which provides critical services to children with emotional and behavioral disorders, including children experiencing loss, grief, trauma and transition.
Center Stage Theatre, Inc.($8,500)
To support the Youth CONNection summer program, a musical theater summer camp for youth ages 14-22.
City of Ansonia ($2,400)
To help purchase four automated external defibrillator (AED) units and wall cabinets with audible alarm sensors for several public buildings, as well as providing training for town staff to use the AED units.
City of Derby fbo Valley Arts Council ($4,500)
To support the Valley Arts Council to prepare a design study for the interior of the Sterling Opera House.
City of Derby, Bureau of Youth Services ($1,400)
To support a program called "A Rehearsal Of Life" designed to deescalate potentially violent confrontation among youth through role playing. This is a collaboration between the Derby Bureau of Youth Services, URBAN IMPROV, Derby High School and Derby Middle School.
City of Shelton ($500)
To support the purchase of 500 copies of the "Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready of Kindergarten" book to distribute to entering kindergarten students at Shelton School Readiness Council's Kick off to Kindergarten event in January 2010.
Derby Historical Society ($4,000)
To support a collections management professional to inventory and organize the current collection and to supervise its relocation into the Axon House.
Derby Neck Library ($2,700)
To support the expansion of the current collection of early care and education training videos and materials to provide on-going on site professional development. This is partership between the Derby Neck Library and the Valley Directors Network.
Derby Public Library ($5,750)
To support phase II of the Local History Preservation Project which includes digitalization of the collection and linking the digital images to electronic records and creation of a Collections Management Policy.
Father McKenna St. Vincent de Paul Society ($1,000)
To support the purchase of food supplies to stock the food bank through spring 2010.
Friends of the Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center($500)
To support the preparation and planning to open the Redwing Pond House as a nature based preschool program in September 2010.
Griffin Hospital ($10,000)
To support the launch of a new Phlebotomy Certification Course which will provide students hands-on training and a national certificate upon successful completion of the course and testing.
Housatonic Council, Boy Scouts of America ($5,000)
To support the Scouting for Food campaign which mobilizes Scout units and volunteers to collects food to donate to Valley food banks during the Thanksgiving season.
Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut, Inc. ($2,500)
Tto provide title sponsorship for the June 2010 Spirit of Achievement breakfast held at the Brownson Country Club in Shelton.
Lower Naugatuck Valley Parent Child Resource Center Inc. ($4,000)
To support the Positive Parenting Program, a ten week in-home training for parents to help them develop positive parenting skills, for 10 Valley families.
Morris Foundation, Inc. ($2,500)
To support adolescent outpatient substance abuse treatment for high risk Valley high school students.
New Haven Legal Assistance Assoc. Inc. ($10,000)
To help re-establish a presence in the Lower Naugatuck Valley by placing three advocates at the TEAM offices three days a week.
Oxford Historical Society, Inc. ($3,073)
To purchase a display cabinet for the Twitchell-Rowland Homestead museum.
Shelton Historical Society ($5,250)
To support phase 1 of Packing for Posterity to properly assess the current textile collection and to fully catalogue and properly box items that belong in the collection and remove those items that do not belong.
Shelton Youth Services Bureau ($1,400)
To support a Big Brother-Big Sister mentoring program using Peer Advocates from Shelton High School to mentor young children after school.
TEAM, Inc. fbo Derby School Readiness and Discovery Initiative ($1,500)
To support the provision of four kindergarten workshops for parents of children enrolled in kindergarten and those about to enroll.
The Salvation Army Ansonia Corps ($5,000)
To provide operating support to help expands the community food programs for Valley residents.
Valley Emergency Medical Services ($5,000)
To support the replacement of 12 lead cardiac monitors/defibrillators which provide advance life support care to Valley residents.
Valley United Way fbo Valley Council for Health & Human Services ($5,500)
To support costs for printing and community conversations for the Valley Council for Health & Human Services Valley CARES (Community Assessment Research & Education for Solutions) Initiative, a long-term project designed to track critical information about community well-being in the Lower Naugatuck Valley and utilize this information to address residents' needs.
Valley YMCA ($8,000)
To help purchase a new swimming pool lift which would make the pool ADA compliant and accessible to all individuals.
Visiting Nurse Association of South Central CT ($6,700)
To support the creation of a specialized team of Cancer Care Specialists who, through education, certification and train-the-trainer activities, will provide cancer treatment to Valley residents in their homes.
Highlights:
- Approximately $171, 000 distributed to 31 non-profits through the VCF's first ever competitive grants process
- Diversity of projects funded: an historical artifacts program, a healthy food project, a teen safety program, a War Memorial repair project, and a capital campaign for the Valley’s first Cancer Care facility at Griffin Hospital
- Donor advisors inspired to give an additional $21,150 from 6 funds to organizations that provide services to Valley residents.
Responsive New Grants
Ansonia Fire Museum ($2,760)
To provide fire prevention and safety
Ansonia Public Schools f/b/o Ansonia High School Human Relations Club
($5,000)
To assist in funding the Second Annual Community Prejudice Reduction Conference
Area Congregations Together, Inc. ($10,000)
To provide funds to support the Spooner House Capital Campaign and the 11th Annual Walk for Hunger and the Homeless
Birmingham Group’s Valley Substance Abuse Action Council ($5,000)
To collect unwanted and expired pharmaceuticals in an effort to prevent second-hand use of prescription drugs, reduce identity theft, and prevent water supply contamination
Housatonic Council, Boy Scouts of America ($10,000)
To provide boxes for collection and distribution of food to local food banks
Boys & Girls Club of Lower Naugatuck Valley ($10,000)
To partially fund the hiring and salary of a new Chief Financial Officer
Center Stage Theatre, Inc. ($5,000)
To bring theatrer to Valley public schools
Crestview Ridge Tenants' Association ($2,500)
To install a patio awning at Crestview Ridge Senior Housing in Oxford
Derby Historical Society ($7,500)
To support the campaign to reduce the mortgage balance on Axon property purchase
Derby Neck Library Association f/b/o Valley Library Directors Network
($2,000)
To support dissemination at Valley libraries of training and professional development resources for Valley child care providers and the community
Derby Public Library ($10,000)
To inventory, re-house, catalog, and promote local history collection
City of Derby f/b/o Youth Service Bureau ($1,000)
To assist teen saftey program designed to reduce youth deaths caused by automobile crashes
Doyle Senior Center Activities Committee ($1,500)
To purchase table and chairs to improve the environment for area Senior Citizens
Father McKenna St. Vincent de Paul Society ($2,000)
To re-supply their food bank with food through Spring 2009
Friends of Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center ($2,500)
To complete a multi-year strategic plan for the Ansonia Nature Center
Griffin Health Services ($15,000)
To assist the capital campaign for a new ambulatory care pavilion and community cancer center
Housatonic Valley Association ($2,500)
To restore selected Valley shoreline and educate residents about buffers
Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut, Inc. ($1,500)
To sponsor personal financial literacy classes at Bungay Elementary School in Seymour
Long Hill Burial Ground ($2,000)
To restore Long Hill Burying Grounds in Shelton
Lower Naugatuck Valley Parent Child Resource Center Inc. ($7,000)
To prevent escalation of behavioral disorders in children ages 2-12
Oxford Historical Society, Inc. ($2,000)
To fund town-wide mailing designed to increase public support of local non-profits
Plumb Memorial Library ($5,000)
To assist in providing delivery of books, movies, and audio books to 3,500 housebound disabled residents
Rape Crisis Center of Milford, Inc. ($2,500)
To support advocate program for non-offending parents of child victims of sexual abuse
Seymour Public Schools f/b/o Regional School Readiness Initiative ($750)
To provide speaker for network of Valley elementary administrators regarding early childhood
Shelton Historical Society ($8,000)
To improve climate control, storage capacity and conduct an educational workshop at the Shelton Historical Society
Sutter-Terlizzi Post 16 American Legion ($7,500)
To support the renovation of the permanent War Memorial at Riverview Park in Shelton
TEAM, Inc. ($10,000)
To support the renovation and equipment of a licensed Early Education and Family Support Center within the City of Derby
Valley Emergency Medical Services ($10,000)
To purchase the purchase of a new emergency response vehicle
Valley United Way ($10,000)
To support the Valley United Way Annual Community Campaign Challenge
Valley YMCA ($7,500)
To support an instructional day care playground at new Boys & Girls project in Ansonia
TEAM, Inc. ($10,000)
To support the renovation and equipment of a licensed Early Education and Family Support Center within the City of Derby
Valley American Red Cross ($3,000)
To provide assistance to individuals and families faced with crisis situations
Valley Emergency Medical Services ($10,000)
To purchase the purchase of a new emergency response vehicle
Valley United Way ($10,000)
To support the Valley United Way Annual Community Campaign Challenge
Valley YMCA ($7,500)
To support an instructional day care playground at new Boys & Girls project in Ansonia
Donor Advised and Endowment Fund Grants
Central Connecticut State University for Joseph Imbro ($150) from the Joseph “Jay” Amico Scholarship Fund
Derby Public Library for book purchases ($2,000) from the Cohen Family Book Fund
Derby Public Library ($28,708) from the Derby Public Library Endowment Fund
Derby Public Schools for scholarships $2,000 from the Lou and Dolly Defilippo Fund
Southern Connecticut State University for Nadia Gaddis ($150) from the Joseph “Jay” Amico Scholarship Fund
Discretionary Funds Through a Grant From The Frank and Ross Gates Fund at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
Ansonia Community Action for emergencyoperating support and for organizational planning ($10,000)
Derby Historical Society for the Day in 1762 Educational Program ($1,000)
Valley YMCA Sprinters Club for an electronic timing system ($1,500)
The Parent Child Resource Center in honor of David Grant’s Platinum Award from the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce ($500)
Center Stage in honor of David Grant’s Platinum Award from the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce ($500)
The Boys and Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley in honor of David Grant’s the Platinum Award from the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce ($500)
The Women In Networking Fund at the Valley Community Foundation to match new gifts ($1,000)
The Valley Parish Nurses in honor of their Silver Award from the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce ($1,000)
Area Congregations Together Spooner House in honor of Carolyn Schuster’s Gold Seal Award from the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce ($500)