The Community Foundation Celebrates Partnership, Highlights New Strategies
The Community Foundation's 2014 Annual Meeting was a celebration of partnerships and an announcement of strategies for future work in our community.
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven held its 2014 Annual Meeting on November 5, celebrating community partnerships and announcing strategies to support organizations addressing immigration integration, the reentry of formerly incarcerated individuals into the community and the undercapitalization of the arts in our region.
The Community Foundation President & CEO William W. Ginsberg said, "Our Town is about the enduring truth of how in Grover's Corners a century ago – just as in Greater New Haven today – our lives are shaped by our connections to our hometowns, to our families and neighbors, and to the generations that have come before."
The Community Foundation is the community sponsor of Long Wharf Theatre's 50th Anniversary season, an example of the commitment to supporting arts organizations in our region, which The Foundation intends to build on as part of the strategy to address undercapitalization of local arts organizations. Read more about that here.
"We are grateful for The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven's historic support of our organization and for this 50th anniversary sponsorship, which helps make this celebration even more meaningful within the community," said Joshua Borenstein, Managing Director at Long Wharf Theatre.
In his remarks at the Annual Meeting, Ginsberg explained The Community Foundation's motivation to take on a more prominent leadership role in Greater New Haven regarding the integration of new immigrants to our region.
"Our own history tells us unequivocally that successfully integrating immigrants into our community life will enrich our culture, reinvigorate our economy, rebuild our neighborhoods and redefine our sense of ourselves for the better," Ginsberg said. "The Foundation has made the decision to devote particular effort and resources to the challenges and potentials of immigration, and in particular to how we can promote and assist efforts to integrate our new arrivals – including undocumented immigrants – as fully as possible into the mainstream of life in our community."
Read more about The Community Foundation's strategy for Immigration Integration here.
Similarly, The Community Foundation has already taken steps to build a strategy that improves the lives of recently incarcerated individual and their families in the Greater New Haven region.
"This is a formidable challenge, particularly in New Haven, and yet it is a compelling one that tests the depth of our community's commitment to assist those among us facing very steep challenges," Ginsberg explained. Read more about the strategy for Ensuring Successful Community Reentry here.
In addition to these emerging strategies, Ginsberg stressed that the central work of The Foundation happens through the day-to-day connections with donors, with professional advisors and with nonprofit organizations. Overall, total Foundation grantmaking from 900 funds with a value of $460M will exceed $20 million in 2014.
Read the complete remarks from Mr. Ginsberg at the Annual Meeting.
