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Fairfield County's Community Foundation Inc

Annual Giving
$24.5M
Grant Range
$5K - $0.1M
Decision Time
5mo

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $24.5 million (2023)
  • Total Assets: $267 million (2023)
  • Decision Time: 4-5 months from LOI to decision
  • Grant Range: $5,000 - $50,000
  • Strategic Grants: $4.1 million awarded to 154 nonprofits (FY24)
  • Geographic Focus: 23 towns and cities of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Contact Details

Address: 40 Richards Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06854
Phone: (203) 750-3200
Fax: (203) 750-3232
Website: fccfoundation.org

Grant Inquiries: Sharon Jones, Grants Associate
Email: SJones@FCCFoundation.org
Phone: (203) 750-3200

Center for Nonprofit Excellence: Rebecca Cordero, CNE Manager
Email: RCordero@FCCFoundation.org
Phone: (203) 750-3238

Overview

Fairfield County's Community Foundation was established in 1992 through the merger of five local foundations: the Five Town Foundation (Westport, Wilton, Weston, Norwalk, and Darien), Danbury Community Endowment, Fairfield County Cooperative Foundation, Greenwich Foundation for Public Giving, and Stamford Foundation. The foundation later merged with The Greater Bridgeport Area Foundation in 2008. Now one of Connecticut's largest community foundations, FCCF manages more than $267 million in assets and distributes over $20 million annually in grants. The foundation's "Fairfield County Forward" strategic approach focuses on creating a county where every person has an equitable opportunity to thrive, with particular emphasis on addressing systemic racism and racial disparities across four key result areas: education, health, housing, and income & asset building. Since its founding, FCCF has awarded more than $390 million in grants to nonprofits throughout Fairfield County and beyond.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Strategic Grants (Program Support: $10,000-$15,000; General Operating: up to $50,000)

  • Letter of Interest submission: July 15 – August 15
  • Invitations to apply: Early September
  • Full applications due: End of September
  • Decisions announced: Early January
  • Grant term: January 1 – December 31
  • Note: Beginning in Fall 2025, the foundation will transition to only a fall cycle

Capacity Building Grants (up to $10,000)

  • Accepted on a rolling basis as long as funding is available
  • Organizations can apply for capacity building support even if they have another open grant with FCCF
  • Supports organizational effectiveness: leadership development, strategic planning, technology improvements, impact measurement, staff training, self-care initiatives

Small Grants (up to $5,000)

  • Available for organizations still growing and not yet qualifying for larger grants
  • Focus on equity-based projects in Fairfield County

Priority Areas

The foundation's "Fairfield County Forward" strategy centers on addressing systemic racism and focuses on four key result areas:

Education & Youth Development

  • Closing the achievement gap in Fairfield County
  • After-school and summer learning programs
  • Youth careers and pathways programs

Health Equity

  • Equitable access to high-quality, culturally-competent physical and behavioral health services
  • Women's and Girls' Health Equity initiatives
  • Addressing health disparities for underserved populations

Housing Opportunity

  • Safe, stable, and affordable housing in communities of opportunity
  • Housing access programs

Economic Opportunity & Income/Asset Building

  • Income support programs
  • Support for entrepreneurs of color
  • Career pathways for young people (ages 16-25)
  • Workforce development and employment skill-building opportunities

Cross-Cutting Priorities

  • Immigration support
  • Nonprofit capacity building
  • Empowerment of women and girls
  • Civic engagement and voter participation

Target Populations: Black, Indigenous & People of Color; Youth ages 16-25; Women & Girls

What They Don't Fund

  • Religious proselytizing (persuading people to join/support a specific religion)
  • Political campaigns or candidates
  • Capital campaigns or projects (e.g., major building repairs or construction)
  • Multi-year grants (though they may fund the same organization year-by-year over multiple years)
  • Organizations that have not completed previous FCCF-funded work and submitted final reports

Governance and Leadership

President & CEO: Mendi Blue Paca
Mendi Blue Paca joined the foundation in 2018 as Chief Community Impact Officer and VP of Community Impact before being named President & CEO. Under her leadership, the foundation has emphasized equity-centered organizational practices and systems change approaches.

Blue Paca has stated: "It's critical that we're challenging our organizations to use our power differently and be guided by those most impacted by inequity." She describes her work as "the chance to address the extreme racial disparities that we see in our county and throughout many communities."

On organizational transformation: "We're now at a place where we want to be an equity-centered organization, but the implication of that is there is a really critical learning journey that I think you have to commit to across all dimensions of equity," including "institutional policy and procedures commitment to equity."

Key Staff:

  • Tara Berlingo, Chief of Staff: Joined in 2017; responsible for liaising with the CEO and Board of Directors to drive organizational effectiveness, align strategic priorities with operational execution, and foster positive workplace culture, with a focus on human resources

  • Christina Rose, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships: Joined in 2025; oversees legacy and planned giving through the Future Society, manages the Philanthropic Advisory Council (PAC), and cultivates funding partnerships with families, corporate and private foundations, and government entities

  • Sharon Jones, Grants Associate: Primary contact for strategic grant process inquiries

  • Rebecca Cordero, Center for Nonprofit Excellence Manager: Oversees CNE programming and nonprofit support services

Board of Directors (2024):

  • Dr. Maya Reddi - Board Chair (elected 2024)
  • Chris Whitney - Board Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee; CFO of Liberation Programs
  • Amanda Castellano - Vice President and Wealth Advisor at Bernstein Private Wealth Management (joined 2024)
  • Laura Farrelly - Private Wealth Senior Relationship Manager with the Erdmann Group within Merrill Private Wealth Management (joined 2024)
  • Katharine Sachs Lumby - Brings knowledge of local nonprofit community through involvement with Impact Fairfield County (joined 2024)
  • Nathaniel Yordon - CPA and Partner at Capossela Cohen, LLC in Southport, CT (joined 2024)
  • Jon Fraade - Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase and COO of its Retirement Plan Investment Group
  • Marie Rocha - Visionary founder of Realist Ventures, a Connecticut-based venture fund for biotech and software startups
  • Pastor Bennett - Serves as Co-Chair of Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut

The Board establishes policy, sets priorities, and makes final decisions to authorize grants. All trustees serve without pay for three-year terms.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Strategic Grants: The first step is submitting an online Letter of Interest (LOI) during the annual submission window (July 15 – August 15). The LOI asks for simple information about your organization, explanation of your grant request, and description of how your work aligns with one or more of FCCF's result areas. Nonprofits can only submit one LOI per cycle.

Selected organizations receive invitations to submit full applications in early September. Full applications are due at the end of September, with decisions announced in early January.

Capacity Building Grants: Applications accepted on a rolling basis through the foundation's online portal as long as funding is available.

Eligibility Requirements:

  • Must be recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or 509(a) public charity, or working under a fiscal sponsor that is a registered 501(c)(3)
  • Must use funding to serve people who live in Fairfield County
  • Organization must be located within Fairfield County or directly benefit Fairfield County residents
  • If previously funded by FCCF, the supported work must be completed and final report submitted before applying again

Decision Timeline

Strategic Grants Timeline:

  • July 15 – August 15: Letter of Interest submission period
  • Early September: Invitations to apply sent to selected organizations
  • End of September: Full applications due
  • Early January: Grant decisions announced
  • January 1 – December 31: Grant term

Total time from LOI to decision: Approximately 4-5 months

Capacity Building Grants: Applications reviewed within 4-6 weeks of submission on a rolling basis.

Success Rates

In FY24 (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024), the foundation awarded more than $4.1 million in strategic grants to 154 nonprofit organizations. Specific acceptance rates for applications are not publicly disclosed.

Reapplication Policy

Organizations can only submit one LOI per grant cycle. Organizations that have received a grant must complete the funded work and submit a final report before submitting a new application. The foundation does not make multi-year grants but may fund the same organization on a year-by-year basis over multiple years. Specific reapplication timelines for unsuccessful applicants are not publicly stated; contact the grants team for clarification.

Application Success Factors

The foundation explicitly prioritizes requests from organizations that are:

  • Centered in systems change: "The foundation looks for opportunities that have the potential to meaningfully change unfair systems and structures that cause disparate outcomes"
  • Results-oriented: Demonstrate capacity to measure and evaluate impact
  • Highly aligned with strategic priorities: General operating grants should only be pursued by organizations highly aligned with FCCF's systems-change priorities

For General Operating Grants, successful organizations must:

  • Be critical to the achievement of one or more key result areas
  • Center systems-change work that addresses root causes of inequity
  • Have a proven track record of effectiveness and impact
  • Previously funded organizations are recommended to apply for general operating support

Key Success Factors:

  1. Equity-centered approach: Demonstrate commitment to addressing racial disparities and systemic inequity in Fairfield County

  2. Systems change focus: Show how your work changes underlying structures rather than just providing services

  3. Clear alignment: Explicitly connect your proposal to one of the foundation's four result areas (education, health, housing, or income & asset building)

  4. Measurement capacity: Demonstrate ability to measure and evaluate impact using evidence-based data and establish measurable results of intended outcomes

  5. Target population alignment: Clearly serve Black, Indigenous & People of Color; Youth ages 16-25; and/or Women & Girls

  6. Community collaboration: Show broad partnerships and collaborative approaches

  7. Financial sustainability: Demonstrate broad base of financial support and reasonable project budget relative to operating expenses

Examples of Recent Grantees: Association of Religious Communities, Building Neighborhoods Together, Central Connecticut Coast YMCA, Connecticut Legal Services Inc, Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County, Inspirica Inc, and Southwestern CT Agency on Aging

Relationship Building: The foundation emphasizes being approachable. In addition to the formal LOI process, FCCF gets to know grantseekers through events and workshops held by its Center for Nonprofit Excellence. The foundation recommends reaching out to relevant staff members via email with questions and ideas.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Systems change is paramount: FCCF has evolved from traditional service-provision funding to prioritizing organizations that address root causes of inequity and change unfair systems. Your proposal must articulate systems-level change, not just service delivery.

  • Equity must be central: This foundation requires explicit focus on addressing racial disparities. Generic diversity language won't suffice—demonstrate deep commitment to equity and centering those most impacted by inequity.

  • Build relationships before applying: Attend Center for Nonprofit Excellence events, workshops, and networking opportunities. FCCF explicitly states they get to know grantseekers through these channels, making them valuable for relationship building.

  • Choose the right grant type: Organizations new to FCCF should generally apply for program support ($10,000-$15,000), while previously funded organizations with strong alignment should consider general operating support (up to $50,000).

  • One chance per cycle: You can only submit one LOI per cycle, so make it count. Ensure strong alignment with one of the four result areas before applying.

  • Measurement matters: Be prepared to demonstrate capacity for rigorous evaluation. FCCF prioritizes results-oriented organizations with proven ability to measure impact.

  • Rolling capacity building funding: Don't overlook the rolling capacity building grants (up to $10,000) for organizational strengthening—these can be pursued even while you have another open grant with FCCF.

References

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