Building Equitable Opportunity Grant

The Building Equitable Opportunity Grant by the Connecticut Community Foundation aims to address systemic disparities affecting low-income communities in Waterbury. By combining various grant areas, the initiative focuses on creating equitable pathways to economic mobility through education, advocacy, and job development. The program targets BIPOC families and emphasizes culturally responsive education, community collaboration, and support for underserved populations, fostering long-term economic resilience and systemic change.

Building Equitable Opportunity (BEO) aims to provide vital supports for long-term success, such as educational equity, youth development, job training, economic security, and affordable housing. This grant area seeks to explore solutions across generations and systems, helping to create favorable conditions for residents of our communities to thrive. The Foundation’s focus on equitable opportunity is based upon research into the deep educational and economic disparities that exist in our region.*
The average Building Equitable Opportunity grant award is between $5,000 and $15,000. Grants for larger amounts can be considered. However, for those, please contact our staff to discuss the project in advance of submission.
Supporting programs, advocacy, and system change efforts that build equitable pathways out of poverty and to economic mobilityPromoting access to quality culturally responsive education, especially focused on Waterbury where there are significant disparities by race and incomeSupporting the development of jobs and career pathways with livable wagesPromoting opportunities to build assets for families that have been left behind in traditional banking systems. Targeting education interventions that support marginalized students and include youth and parent voice in decision-making.
Interventions that address disparities for marginalized student communities (including underserved students, low-income students, children with disabilities, justice-involved individuals, and others).
Programs that substantially build the long-term assets and economic resiliency/mobility of area residents (such as financial education and planning, adult literacy, job and skills training, etc.).
Efforts addressing systems and policy affecting critical issues such as education, access to quality childcare, career pathways, availability of affordable housing, etc.
We encourage requests that:

• Provide services or support to the communities located within our 21-town service area
• Support system change and advocacy efforts
• Include support for core nonprofit operations such as staff time, overhead and evaluation
• Support organizations led by Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC)
• Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

Eligibility

In order to apply for funding, an organization must:Be a not-for-profit organization recognized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a municipal entity seeking a grant for public purposes. Organizations may also have a nonprofit fiscal sponsor, if they do not have their own nonprofit status.Have a board, representative of the community, of which a majority is neither employees nor relatives of employees.Possess a Nonprofit Registration to Solicit Funds (or exemption, if appropriate) from the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. This registration must be renewed annually. Learn more, confirm registration or file for an exemption.

Ineligibility

We do not fund:Requests for political or religious purposesRequests for capital expenditures on buildings not owned by a nonprofit