The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc
The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc is a private foundation based in Hartford, Connecticut. It supports nonprofit organizations and collaborations working to help children in its region develop academic and social skills, with an emphasis on effective practices and measurable outcomes.
The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc at a glance
In short: The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc gave $720K across 21 grants in 2025 (avg $34K), mostly in Connecticut. 5% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $720,450
- +9.9% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 21
- -43.2% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $34,307
- +93.6% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $30,000
- Total assets
- $21,052,350
- +9.1% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 5% first-time grantees (1 of 21, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Connecticut (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc
- How to Apply
-
The Fund accepts applications during open online cycles. Its website describes online application cycles for the Letter of Intent and Trauma-Informed Practice Fund opportunities; submissions must be made through the grant-management system while a cycle is open. The filing names Kimberly Russo as the contact for how to apply.
- Review Cycle
- For 2026, Letter of Intent Cycle 1 is due March 11 by 4 p.m. and Cycle 2 is due August 19 by 4 p.m. Trauma-Informed Practice Fund Cycle 1 is due April 15 by 4 p.m. and Cycle 2 is due October 21 by 4 p.m. The Fund says applicants must choose one grant cycle, except that an organization may also apply for Trauma-Informed Practice training funds.
- Deadline
- For 2026, Letter of Intent Cycle 1 is due March 11 by 4 p.m.
- Contact
Application contact: Kimberly Russo
Mailing address: 141 Weston Street 4219, Hartford, CT 06147
Phone: (860) 232-3113
Email: krusso@fundforgreaterhartford.org
Website: https://fundforgreaterhartford.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
2 open opportunities from The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc
Who The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Connecticut Network for Children ($160K). Together the top 10 received $565K.
Grant Size Distribution
143 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 127 grants of 143 (89%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The Fund’s website says the program for which an applicant seeks funding must take place within its geographic boundaries, which it enforces strictly. The Letter of Intent program description identifies Hartford, New Britain, and Middletown as communities served. In 2025, all reported grant dollars went to Connecticut recipients.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 21 itemized grants.
Cities
Is The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc open to new grantees?
5%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 1 of 21 grantees (5%) were first-time recipients. With only 21 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. First grants averaged $100; repeat grants $36K. How we count
Medians: $100 first-time, $33K repeat.
- 86% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 23% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 108% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $585K (2022) to $1.1M (2020). In 2025 it made 21 grants totaling $720K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut Network for Children Hartford, CT | Education | $160,000 |
| School District of New Britain New Britain, CT | Education | $75,350 |
| CT Council for Philanthropy Hartford, CT | Education | $50,000 |
| Womens Business Development Corp Stamford, CT | Education | $50,000 |
| YWCA New Britain New Britain, CT | Education | $45,000 |
| Read to Grow INC Branford, CT | Education | $40,000 |
| The Village for Families and Childr Hartford, CT | Education | $40,000 |
| Camp Courant Farmington, CT | Education | $35,000 |
| Odd Fellows Playhouse Middletown, CT | Education | $35,000 |
| Prudence Crandall Center New Britain, CT | Education | $35,000 |
Ready to take the next step with The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $21,052,350 | $1,086,273 | $1,073,007 | $720,450 | 21 | $958,600 | $1,030,487 | $888,826 |
| 2024 | $19,293,488 | $873,348 | $954,174 | $655,800 | 37 | $997,773 | $836,521 | $939,040 |
| 2023 | $18,427,256 | $630,058 | $1,216,267 | $900,400 | 33 | $926,693 | $585,624 | $850,928 |
| 2022 | $16,718,643 | $908,653 | $866,515 | $584,500 | 22 | $811,310 | $865,478 | $896,478 |
| 2021 | $20,511,849 | $2,351,383 | $816,726 | $728,100 | 30 | $924,260 | $2,301,257 | $944,240 |
| 2020 | $18,722,629 | $608,153 | $1,331,131 | $1,099,000 | 24 | — | $567,016 | $885,948 |
| 2019 | $17,575,605 | $982,868 | $819,746 | $585,972 | 25 | — | $940,643 | $802,476 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc reported a distributable amount of $889K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The Fund believes every child deserves a strong foundation for growth and development. It highlights age-appropriate developmental milestones as important to kindergarten readiness and emphasizes reading on grade level through third grade.
Funding is available to nonprofits, collaboratives, and partnerships whose work supports the Fund’s vision and uses best practices, creative and cost-effective approaches, and measurable outcomes. Its 2025 grants included organizations with a range of child- and family-related missions. For example, Read to Grow says it promotes children’s language skills and literacy from birth and supports families as children’s first teachers. Camp Courant describes its work as providing a camp and youth-development experience for city children. The Bridge Family Center says it helps children and families meet life’s challenges, while Prudence Crandall Center says it provides care, advocacy, support, and education to help people live free of domestic violence.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the Fund made 21 grants totaling $720,450. Awards ranged from $100 to $160,000, with a median of $30,000. Its largest grants included $160,000 to Connecticut Network for Children, $75,350 to the School District of New Britain, and $50,000 each to CT Council for Philanthropy and Womens Business Development Corp. All 2025 grant dollars went to recipients in Connecticut.
The Fund describes two grant opportunities: a Letter of Intent process and a Trauma-Informed Practice Fund. The Letter of Intent opportunity offers grants of up to $25,000. The Trauma-Informed Practice Fund offers up to $5,000 for training-related expenses for organizations working directly with children; the program description says up to two grants may be awarded per applicant per calendar year. The Fund’s website says applicants must submit through its grant-management system during an open cycle and that it does not accept submissions by email or mail. It also says proposals are not confidential and may be discussed with other funders and appropriate people in the community.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The Fund’s website says its Board of Trustees has thirteen members and exercises fiduciary and governance oversight. The 2025 filing lists Glenn Cassis as President, Amber Tucker as Vice President, Jerry Bellizzi as Treasurer, and Kimberly Russo as Executive Director/Secretary. Trustees listed on that filing are Jennifer Necci, Toral Maher, Jesse White, Diane Cantello, Sherry Manetta, Inez M Diaz Galloza, Leslie Robertson, and Erica Frank.
The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc is led by Glenn Cassis, President since 2024 (on filings since 2019); 1 of 14 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Glenn Cassis
President
Treasurer → Vice President, 2023
Vice President → President, 2024
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Carl Ficks Jr.
Trustee
President → Vice President, 2024
Vice President → Trustee, 2025
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Diane Cantello
Trustee
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Erica Frank
Trustee
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Leslie Robertson
Trustee
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Maria Sanchez
Trustee
President → Vice President, 2022
Vice President → Trustee, 2023
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Inez M Diaz Galloza
Trustee
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Sherry Manetta
Trustee
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Toral Maher
Trustee
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jesse White
Trustee
On filings since 2022
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jennifer Necci
Trustee
On filings since 2023
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Kimberly Russo
Execdir & Secretary
Executive Director → Secretary & Executive Director, 2023
Secretary & Executive Director → Execdir & Secretary, 2024
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$130K (2022) → $163K (2025)
Amber Tucker
Vice President
Trustee → Treasurer, 2023
Treasurer → Vice President, 2025
On filings since 2021
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Jerry Bellizzi
Treasurer
Trustee → Treasurer, 2025
On filings since 2024
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (9)
- Former: Janel S. Simpson (2019–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Carmen R. Cid PhD (2019–2023) — Trustee
- Former: Judge Raheem Mullins (2019–2022) — Trustee
- Former: Christopher Aroh (2019–2021) — Trustee
- Former: Judge Nina Elgo (2019–2021) — Trustee
- Former: Kim Russo (2019–2021) — Executive Di
- Former: Lorenzo Marshall (2019–2021) — Trustee
- Former: Nelson Rodriguez (2019–2020) — Trustee
- Former: Jan-Gee McCollam (2019) — Trustee
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $163K, to Kimberly Russo (ExecDir/Secy).
Frequently asked questions about The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc
How much does The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc give each year?
The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc gave $720K across 21 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $656K across 37 grants.
What is The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc's typical grant size?
The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc's median grant in 2025 was $30,000, and its average grant was $34,307, across 21 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc that year got $100 on average.
Where does The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc give grants?
The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc gives mostly in Connecticut: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Hartford, CT (6 grants), New Britain, CT (3 grants), Middletown, CT (3 grants) and West Hartford, CT (2 grants).
Does The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 21 grants with a stated purpose on The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Education" (19 grants).
Who are The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc's largest grantees?
The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc's largest 2025 grantees include Connecticut Network for Children ($160,000), School District of New Britain ($75,350) and CT Council for Philanthropy ($50,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 40% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc?
The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc reported $21.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $959K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $889K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc fund?
The Fund believes every child deserves a strong foundation for growth and development. It highlights age-appropriate developmental milestones as important to kindergarten readiness and emphasizes reading on grade level through third grade. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc?
The Fund accepts applications during open online cycles. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc's EIN?
The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 06-0759107. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(3)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 15, 2020)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 14, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-fund-for-greater-hartford-inc-morg_dcee9df66be1436197e825fe7b9bad41
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_060759107_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-fund-for-greater-hartford-inc-morg_dcee9df66be1436197e825fe7b9bad41},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-11. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from The Fund for Greater Hartford Inc's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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