2019 Annual Meeting: Creating a Future of Opportunity

Community Foundation leadership shared a vision for Greater New Haven as a place with the resources, talent and resolve to challenge and change structural inequities and create access to opportunity for everyone.

Held Wednesday, April 24 in the newly opened Canal Dock Boathouse overlooking New Haven Harbor, the event also provided many a first look inside the waterfront facility and the artifacts preserved from the historic George Adee Memorial Boathouse.

The event culminated in the release of The Foundation's 2018-19 Report to Our Community, "Creating a Future of Opportunity, highlighting stories of those among us who are committed to creating a more prosperous and inclusive community.

Foundation Board Chair Khalilah Brown-Dean challenged philanthropy to address systemic inequalities, building on the words of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - "Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary."

Brown-Dean said, "We are committed to developing strategies built upon the shared values of transparency, accountability, and equity." She also shared The Foundation's commitment listening to the voices of communities that are too often underrepresented and under-served.

Full text of Brown-Dean's speech

Foundation President Will Ginsberg urged the community to unify behind a shared vision of a regional economy that is both growing and inclusive.

"We believe that our community of Greater New Haven can be a counterpoint to both the national experience and the Connecticut experience. Our community has the talent, the assets, the amenities and the commitment to show the way to a different future, a future of opportunity for the many, not just for the few," Ginsberg said.

Full text of Ginsberg's speech.

Event Photos

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