On April 1st, the New Britain school district and the Coalition for New Britain’s Youth was presented the Community Vision Award from the Childhood Conversations Conference Committee. “While the conference does not typically award cities, the work of New Britain is a beacon of hope for other communities looking to make gains through the power of school and community engagement,” said Ken Anthony, Director of Professional Development and Research at the Connecticut After School Network. Read More

48 COMMUNITIES RECOGNIZED FOR ACHIEVING MEASURABLE PROGRESS IN ADVANCING EARLY LITERACY

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 29, 2017 – The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading today announced its 5th Annual Pacesetter Honors. Forty-eight communities across the nation have been recognized as Pacesetters for “leading by example” to solve one or more of the challenges that can undermine early literacy — school readiness, school attendance and summer learning.

“Recognizing the Pacesetters is our way of applauding the civic leaders, organizations and agencies that have joined forces to build brighter futures for the children in their communities,” said Ralph Smith, managing director of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. “We are learning with them and from them what it takes to move the needle and close the gap.” Read More

The Connecticut Council for Philanthropy (CCP) has released the third paper in a series exploring the public-private partnership undertaken by the Connecticut Early Childhood Funder Collaborative, the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy and the State of Connecticut. The Fund for Greater Hartford’s Executive Director serves as one of the co-chairs of the Early Childhood Funder Collaborative.

The series examines an emerging systems change collaboration model which grew out of a funder-and-state partnership. This unique partnership led to the creation by executive order of a new and independent Office of Early Childhood, which was formally approved by the Connecticut State Legislature in 2013.

This final paper, Co-Creation: The Public Sector Perspective, shows how those working within the public sector—specifically in the State of Connecticut—in forged new working relationships with the philanthropic community. Read More

The Connecticut Early Childhood Funder Collaborative, a project of the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy, sponsored the February 2nd, ESSA Forum: Opportunities for Children Birth to Grade Three. The Forum was hosted by the Commission on Women, Children and Seniors (CWCS) and organized by the Birth to Grade 3 Leaders’ Council. The purpose of the Forum was to learn about national best practices and local opportunities under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to better align early care and education and K-3. Collaborative Executive Director Carol O’Donnell, and Collaborative members Kimberley Russo of The Fund for Greater Hartford; Jim Williamson and Joeline Wruck of the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain; and Elena Trueworthy of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and 125 early childhood leaders and legislators participated.  Read More

In early 2016, The Fund for Greater Hartford embarked upon a strategic planning process. By initiating the strategic planning process, The Board of Trustees sought to determine how The Fund can best utilize its strengths, resources and relationships to increase its impact for the community it serves. The Fund wanted to support the community in a more proactive, meaningful way.

After deep conversation over the course of the strategic planning process, The Fund has revised its mission: “The Fund for Greater Hartford works to improve the lives of children and families of Greater Hartford by investing in their academic and social success.” Read More

New Britain, Conn., June 19, 2016 – On the strength of an energizing weekend presentation in Denver by community stakeholders focusing on the city’s accomplishments in raising healthy, successful children, the National Civic League on Sunday designated New Britain a 2016 All-America City, one of only 10 communities nationwide to be so honored.

The prestigious All-America City Award (AAC) celebrates and recognizes neighborhoods, villages, towns, cities, counties, tribes and regions nationwide that engage residents in innovative, inclusive and effective efforts to tackle critical challenges. A team of 11 New Britain stakeholders from the government, business, education and non-profit communities has been preparing for the past month to compete against 19 other AAC finalists, taking off on the theme “New Britain: None Better.” Read More

HARTFORD, CT – September 2, 2015 – The Board of Trustees of The Fund for Greater Hartford has announced the appointment of Kimberley Russo as its new Executive Director. Russo succeeds Kate Miller, who retired after 15 years as Executive Director.

“The trustees are very excited about the wide variety of proven nonprofit and philanthropic skills and experiences Kim brings to The Fund and the communities we serve,” said Nina Elgo, President of the Board of Trustees. “She has the grant-making, strategic planning, community impact assessment and relationship-building expertise that we need. In addition, she has demonstrated a passion for and dedication to the nonprofit community throughout her career.” Read More