Our Priorities
Equity is at the center of our work.
To achieve our mission, we focus our resources on people, places, and programs that face the greatest barriers to opportunity.
Many in our region struggle to meet basic needs, access and finish school or career training, and find quality, affordable housing. These challenges are shaped by decades of harmful policies, practices, and disinvestment, and particularly impact Black and Latine people. We know these inequities are rooted in systems and structures, and not a lack of individual talent and effort.
Our strategic priorities are dismantling structural racism and advancing economic and social mobility throughout Greater Hartford.
Advancing equity in Greater Hartford
We want to remove barriers to opportunity so that ALL residents can reach their full potential and the entire region can thrive.
How can we dismantle structural racism?
- Shifting power: Change the makeup of who benefits from opportunity and who makes decisions about practice, policy and allocation of resources.
- Building equity: Support and lead efforts to change organizational and systemic policies and practice to advance racial and ethnic equity.
- Influencing attitudes and beliefs: Support and lead awareness, education, training and movement building to address individual, organizational and systemic biases.
A Focus on Outcomes
Creating a region where everyone prospers starts with addressing disparities and removing barriers that keep residents from reaching their full potential.
We are focused on five long-term outcomes that together guide our grantmaking and partnerships.
How did we decide on these outcomes?
Each outcome focuses on the people and places facing the greatest disparities and contributes to our overall effort to advance equity and create more opportunity.
We gained insight into what matters most by learning from data, research, and our grantees. Each outcome connects to a specific portfolio of grantmaking and other activities, and we also consider how these portfolios work together to address challenges.
How do we work to advance these outcomes?
We create progress toward our five outcomes using an array of tools and approaches.
This work is interconnected.
The tools and approaches we employ help make progress toward our desired outcomes, which advance our strategic priorities, and ultimately put us closer to our achieving our mission of a more vibrant Greater Hartford.
Join Us
Creating a prosperous region for all and advancing equity is a continuous journey—and everyone has a role to play. We must work cooperatively and pool our community’s resources to dismantle racist and unjust systems, rebuild, and achieve greater opportunity for all.
Nonprofits:
Does your mission or project work align with our priorities and outcomes? Learn how to best position your organization for our grant opportunities. Explore grant opportunities, capacity building resources, and other ways we support organizations contributing to growing equity in our region.
Donors and Philanthropic Organizations:
We want to explore how we can invest in our region together. Your resources can enhance our Foundation’s efforts, and we are here to share our expertise on community issues, nonprofits, and effective grantmaking to maximize the impact of your giving.
Community Members:
Learn about our 29 Community Funds and how residents help address needs in their towns.
Policymakers:
We believe in the power of public-private partnership. We are eager to share our on-the-ground knowledge, collaborate to pilot innovation, and support learning and evaluation.
