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Connecticut Health Foundation Inc

Annual Giving
$2.9M
Grant Range
$1K - $0.1M
Decision Time
4mo

Connecticut Health Foundation Inc

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $2,942,231 (2023)
  • Number of Grants: 117 grants awarded (2023)
  • Decision Time: 4 months (program grants)
  • Grant Range: $1,000 - $150,000
  • Geographic Focus: Connecticut only
  • Assets: $122.6 million (2024)

Contact Details

Website: https://www.cthealth.org
Email: grants@cthealth.org
Phone: 860-724-1580
Application Portal: https://cthealth.fluxx.io
Address: Hartford, CT

Overview

The Connecticut Health Foundation (CT Health) was established in July 1999 as Connecticut's largest independent health philanthropy. Created when ConnectiCare, Inc., reorganized and converted into a for-profit entity, CT Health received 100% of the equity in ConnectiCare under an agreement approved by the Connecticut Attorney General. With over $122 million in assets, the foundation is dedicated to improving health outcomes for people of color and ensuring all Connecticut residents have access to affordable, high-quality care. The foundation's work includes grantmaking, policy advocacy, research, convening, and leadership development. Under President & CEO Tiffany Donelson's leadership since September 2020 (succeeding founding CEO Patricia Baker), the foundation launched a new strategic plan for 2024-2028, introducing maternal health equity as a core focus area alongside its continuing work on health care coverage expansion, community health worker funding, and fostering infrastructure for health equity.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Program Grants (Quarterly Awards)

  • Amount: Typically over $25,000; range $25,000 - $150,000
  • Focus: Projects with potential for broader, systems-level change advancing health equity for people of color
  • Application Method: Online portal; quarterly deadlines
  • Duration: Typically 12 months

President's Discretionary Grants (Rolling Basis)

  • Amount: $1,000 - $25,000
  • Focus: New ideas, time-sensitive projects, or emergency funding aligned with strategic plan
  • Application Method: Rolling basis via online portal
  • Duration: Often one-time, immediate projects

Requests for Proposals (Occasional)

  • Amount: Varies by specific strategic objectives
  • Focus: Specific initiatives identified by the foundation
  • Application Method: Announced periodically; check website for active RFPs

Event Sponsorships (Rolling Basis)

  • Amount: Up to $1,000
  • Focus: Nonprofit health-related events in Connecticut
  • Application Method: Rolling basis

Priority Areas (2024-2028 Strategic Plan)

1. Expanding Health Care Coverage

  • Policy advocacy and research supporting Connecticut's HUSKY public health program expansion
  • Expanding coverage options for uninsured Connecticut residents
  • Recent example: Connecticut Citizen Research Group received $50,000 to support work protecting Medicaid (HUSKY)

2. Sustainable Funding for Community Health Workers

  • Securing sustainable payment through Medicaid and other payers
  • Integrating community health workers into health care and social service systems
  • Recent examples: Ledge Light Health District and Norwalk Health Department each received $100,000 to employ community health workers

3. Maternal Health Equity for People of Color

  • NEW focus area in 2024-2028 strategic plan
  • Supporting doula integration and community-based solutions
  • Creating maternal health equity blueprints
  • Recent example: Griffin Hospital received funding for maternal health equity projects

4. Fostering the Infrastructure for Health Equity

  • Supporting advocacy field development
  • Improving data collection on race, ethnicity, and language preference
  • Leadership development programs including the Academy for Health Equity Advocacy & Leadership
  • Recent example: Connecticut Students For A Dream received $65,000 for youth organizing and leadership development

Additional Funded Areas:

  • Health journalism and communications (Connecticut News Project received $225,000 over three years)
  • Research and program evaluation for health equity initiatives
  • Piloting innovative care delivery models

What They Don't Fund

  • Individual grants
  • Direct service delivery only (unless testing new delivery models or evaluating effectiveness)
  • Clinical laboratory research
  • Capital projects or building campaigns
  • Academic endowments
  • Projects not focused on Connecticut residents
  • Lobbying activities
  • Projects outside Connecticut (unless specifically benefiting Connecticut residents)

Governance and Leadership

Board of Directors

Leadership

  • Chekesha Kidd, Chair – Founder of Kinumi; former executive at Delta Dental, The Hartford, and Aetna
  • Alvin W. Thompson, Vice Chair – U.S. District Judge for the District of Connecticut
  • Getty Atienza, Treasurer – Managing Director, Blackstone Alternative Asset Management
  • Dennis Torres, Secretary – Chief Health Officer, Family Centers Inc.

Committee Chairs

  • Hector Glynn, Program Committee Chair – President and CEO, The Village for Families and Children
  • Mehul Dalal, MD, Governance Committee Chair – Community Services Administrator, City of New Haven
  • Barbara L. Pearce, Policy & Communications Committee Chair – CEO, The Connecticut Hospice

Other Board Members

  • Mikki Meadows-Oliver, MSN, PNP – Program Committee Vice Chair; Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, NYU
  • Yvette Meléndez – Finance & Investment Committee Vice Chair; Chair, CT Public Broadcasting
  • Kristie Kuhl, JD – Governance Committee Vice Chair; Chief Communications Officer, Invivyd
  • Patrick A. Charmel – President and CEO, Griffin Hospital
  • Darcey Cobbs-Lomax – Executive Director, Office of Health Equity and Community Impact, Yale New Haven Health
  • Denis Horrigan – Partner and Co-founder, Connecticut Wealth Management

Key Staff

Tiffany Donelson, President & CEO – Oversees all foundation operations including grantmaking, policy advancement, and leadership development. Donelson stated: "Our vision is for Connecticut to be a state where all pregnant people of color have the opportunity to have a healthy pregnancy, birth, and start to parenthood."

Ellen Carter, Vice President of Program – Oversees programmatic strategy including grantmaking, policy, leadership, and evaluation

Kevin Collins, Director of Grantmaking – Leads grantmaking work, directs leadership development programs

Tonia Douglas, Program Officer – Works directly with applicants and grantees on inquiries, grant reviews, and project evaluation

Sabrina Selk, Director of Policy – Oversees policy agenda; collaborates with grantees and policymakers

Former founding CEO Patricia Baker (1999-2020) set the foundation's direction. She stated upon retirement: "We have a commitment and vision that the next generation will not face the same racial and ethnic health disparities their parents and grandparents faced."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Step 1: Pre-Application Preparation

Step 2: Submission

  • Submit applications through the online portal: https://cthealth.fluxx.io
  • For program grants: Submit concept paper first
  • Staff provides feedback and technical assistance before full application

Step 3: Application Types

  • Program Grants: Quarterly deadlines (check portal for specific dates)
  • President's Discretionary Grants: Rolling basis
  • RFPs: Specific deadlines announced with each RFP
  • Event Sponsorships: Rolling basis

Eligibility

Eligible Organizations:

  • 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofits
  • Coalitions or advocacy groups with 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsors
  • State and municipal public agencies
  • Public and private universities
  • Out-of-state organizations (if project benefits Connecticut residents)

Fiscal Sponsorship: Organizations without tax-exempt status must secure a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)(3) status that agrees in writing to seek grants on their behalf.

Decision Timeline

Program Grants (4-Month Process):

  1. Applicant submits concept paper
  2. Staff reviews and provides feedback/technical assistance
  3. Full application submitted
  4. Staff reviews and makes recommendation to board's program committee
  5. Program committee meets quarterly to review and vote
  6. Approved applications forwarded to full board
  7. Applicants notified by email within 7 business days of board decision

President's Discretionary Grants:

  • Faster turnaround on rolling basis
  • Timeline varies based on urgency and timing

Post-Award Requirements

  • Each grantee assigned a program officer as primary contact
  • Grants over $25,000: Split into two installments
  • Grants under $25,000: Single payment after electronic grant agreement signing
  • Indirect Costs: Up to 15% of total budget supported
  • Reporting: Interim reports at 6 months; final reports for 12-month grants
  • Invitation to participate in "learning collaboratives" for knowledge-sharing

Success Rates

Based on available data, the foundation awarded 117 grants in 2023 totaling $2.9 million. Specific application-to-award ratios are not publicly disclosed.

Reapplication Policy

No specific reapplication policy is published. The foundation accepts applications on a quarterly basis (program grants) and rolling basis (discretionary grants), suggesting unsuccessful applicants may reapply in subsequent cycles. Contact grants@cthealth.org for guidance on reapplication.

Application Success Factors

Focus on Systems Change, Not Direct Services

The foundation is explicit: "Focusing on systems change efforts means they typically do not provide grants to support direct services." However, they will consider grants for organizations testing new service delivery models or evaluating service effectiveness in addressing health disparities.

What this means in practice:

  • Don't propose a program that simply provides health services to more people
  • DO propose a project that pilots a new way to deliver services, researches sustainable funding options, or evaluates program effectiveness
  • DO propose projects that change policies, rules, and practices creating racial and ethnic health disparities

Align with Current Strategic Priorities

The foundation selected its 2024-2028 focus areas "based on where there was momentum to advance health equity, where it could add value as a foundation, and where there were opportunities to make change using the tools it has." Applications must align with at least one of the four strategic goal areas.

Recent successful projects demonstrate this alignment:

  • Policy advocacy for HUSKY/Medicaid protection (health care coverage expansion)
  • Community health worker employment in health departments (sustainable CHW funding)
  • Maternal health equity projects and doula integration (maternal health equity)
  • Youth leadership development and advocacy training (infrastructure for health equity)

Center People of Color and Health Equity

Every aspect of the foundation's work focuses on improving health outcomes for people of color. Tiffany Donelson emphasized that community-based approaches are "particularly effective for people of color and those with low-incomes," highlighting "their ability to build trusting relationships based on shared community and/or experiences."

Successful applications should:

  • Clearly articulate how the project advances health equity for people of color
  • Elevate community voices and ensure people most affected are heard in policy debates
  • Build trusting relationships based on shared community experiences
  • Address structural racism and systemic barriers

Demonstrate Potential for Broader Impact

The foundation prioritizes projects with "potential for broader, systems level change." Examples of this approach include:

  • Developing or piloting better care delivery methods that can be scaled
  • Researching sustainable funding options for programs promoting equitable outcomes
  • Evaluating programs to determine effectiveness and ingredients for success
  • Piloting innovative approaches to health equity that can be replicated

Evidence of Partnership and Collaboration

Recent grants show a pattern of funding collaborative work:

  • Health departments partnering with community organizations
  • Media organizations covering health equity issues
  • Advocacy coalitions bringing together multiple voices
  • Universities partnering with community groups

Geographic Focus

Projects must benefit Connecticut residents, though out-of-state organizations may apply if their work focuses on Connecticut. The foundation's grants extend across the state, from Bridgeport to Hartford to New London.

Be Specific About Outcomes

The foundation requires interim and final reports and conducts evaluations of its strategic plan. Applications should include clear, measurable outcomes demonstrating systems-level impact rather than just service numbers.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Systems change is mandatory: Direct service proposals will be rejected unless they include piloting new models, researching sustainability, or evaluating effectiveness for potential scale-up
  • Health equity for people of color is central: Every proposal must clearly articulate how it advances this mission; generic health improvement projects won't align
  • Align with one of four strategic goals: Coverage expansion, community health worker funding, maternal health equity, or infrastructure for health equity—proposals outside these areas are unlikely to succeed
  • Four-month timeline requires planning: For program grants, submit well in advance of when funding is needed; consider discretionary grants for more time-sensitive needs
  • Start with the eligibility quiz: Before investing time in a full application, use the foundation's tools to assess fit and reach out to grants@cthealth.org with questions
  • Emphasize broader impact: Show how your project could influence policy, create replicable models, or generate knowledge that advances the field beyond your single organization
  • Connecticut-focused only: Out-of-state organizations are welcome, but the work must specifically benefit Connecticut residents—national projects won't qualify

References

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