Strategic Grants: Women's and Girls' Health

_NOTE:_

• _Beginning in Fall 2025 we will only have a fall cycle. If an existing grantee would not have been eligible to apply for a grant until spring 2026, we are making a one-time exception to apply in Fall 2025._
• _Applications for those invited to apply will be due at the end of September._

Fairfield County's Community Foundation Strategic Grantmaking

Our Strategic Grantmaking is one way in which we partner with organizations that align with our Fairfield County Forward strategic plan goals. These grants aim to help meet the needs of Fairfield County residents who haven’t always been afforded the opportunity to thrive..

The Community Foundation’s competitive grant process has two stages. The first step in the process is an online Letter of intent (LOI). Throughout this process, you will be asked to identify the Result Area and Primary Strategy with which your proposal aligns best.

Women's and Girls' Health

Our Key Result Area addressing Women's and Girls' Health aims to ensure that all Fairfield County residents have equitable access to high-quality, culturally competent\* physical, mental & behavioral health services.

• Reduce barriers to physical & behavioral healthcare access.
• Address social determinants of health.
• Reduce racial disparities in maternal health outcomes.

With your support, our Health Equity Fund invests in collaborative programs that Fuel proven partnerships, design innovative solutions, increase access to quality care, and strengthen community-based.

What to Apply For

Various types of strategic grants are available to Fairfield County nonprofits.

Program Support Grants

Program Support seeks to support specific programs and services that contribute to one of our key result areas, and their corresponding strategies. The Community Foundation prioritizes requests from organizations that are centered in systems change, results-oriented, and have the capacity to measure/evaluate the impact of their work. Reporting will focus on the impact the program has on its primary beneficiaries. We recommend that first-time applicants apply for program support. The average grant size will be $10,000-$15,000.

General Operating Support Grants

General Operating seeks to support highly effective organizations that are critical to the achievement of one or more of our key result areas, center systems-change work that addresses the root causes of inequity, and have a proven track record of effectiveness and impact. Reporting will focus on the organization’s overall impact and effectiveness. We recommend that organizations previously funded by the Foundation apply for general operating support. Only those organizations that are highly aligned with FCCF’s systems-change priority should apply for general operating support. The grant sizes will range up to $50,000.

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

• In addition to matching the goals set in our strategic plan, applicants must use the funding to serve people who live in Fairfield County.
• Organizations must also 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).
• Additionally, if an organization has received a grant from the Community Foundation, the work that was supported by those funds must be completed, and a final report must be submitted to us before we may consider a new grant application.

Ineligibility

• The Community Foundation does not award grants for any of the following purposes:
  • Persuading people to join/support a specific religion, political party, or candidate
  • Capital campaigns or projects (e.g., major building repairs)
  • Covering budget deficits
  • Annual fundraising appeals
  • Hosting a fundraising event
  • Purchasing land as open space
  • For-profit, parochial, charter, private, or individual public schools
  • Nonprofit endowments
  • Helping one specific person