Arizona

The Arizona Community Foundation (ACF) has announced the additions of Sarah Liguori and Nicolas de la Fuente to its program and community engagement team. Liguori, who started October 11 as senior director of impact investing, most recently served as state representative for Legislative District 28 (now LD 5) in the Arizona House of Representatives. She also serves on the boards of and/or volunteers with Local First Arizona, Phoenix Art Museum, Women’s Metropolitan Art Council, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the Salvation Army. De la Fuente joined ACF on September 26 as a community program officer, specializing in place-based initiatives. In 2021, he established Neuro Strategies, a consultancy that works with nonprofits, school districts, and small businesses to help them connect with natural environments.

Colorado

The Community First Foundation in Arvada has announced a $500,000 grant in support of free school meals for all students in Jefferson County public schools, enabling the district to provide meals to more than 1,000 students for the remainder of the 2022-23 school year. When students first returned to in-school education during the coronavirus pandemic, meals were federally funded at no cost to all students, regardless of income level, and the county saw a 30 percent increase in students accessing free school meals during this time. With the start of the 2022-23 school year, however, the COVID meal waivers expired, leaving more than 60,000 Colorado students unable to afford school meals and not meeting eligibility requirements for free and reduced-price lunch. Twenty-eight percent of the district’s 70,000 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

Connecticut

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving has announced a second round of housing advocacy grants, including support for administrative, state legislative, and/or municipal advocacy efforts aimed at addressing homelessness and creating access to more affordable, stable, and higher-quality housing for residents of color, low-income residents, and/or residents experiencing unique housing barriers (such as returning citizens). Nine nonprofit organizations have been awarded grants totaling $210,000, including several that were awarded funds to continue work from the first round of advocacy grants. Recipients include the Arc of Connecticut, the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, Rocky Hill Congregational Church, and Sustainable CT.

Illinois

The Chicago Community Trust has unveiled a dashboard featuring data that show how the State of Illinois, City of Chicago, and Cook County are leveraging federal COVID recovery dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriation Act (CRRSAA), and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to work toward an equitable and inclusive recovery in the region. With the aim of holding local leaders accountable for a more equitable and inclusive economic recovery, the Federal Recovery Funds Dashboard gives the public a view into how the combined total of $11.5 billion in federal dollars is allocated in support of community investment, housing, workforce development, household investment, and community safety—all vital to narrowing the wealth gap.

Indiana

The Indianapolis Foundation, an affiliate of the Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), has announced a second round of funding totaling more than $8.6 million from the Elevation Grant Program. Previously known as the Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program, the initiative has committed to investing $45 million in neighborhoods over the next three years to address root causes of violent crime in Indianapolis. Grants from the final round for the year were awarded to organizations focused on supporting the areas of thriving neighborhoods, empowered youth, restoration and resilience, and intervention and violence reduction. Recipients include Blue Umbrella, Soul Food Project, We Bloom, and the Domestic Violence Network.

The Community Foundation of Pulaski County in Winamac has announced its final 2022 grant opportunity for local organizations. Field-of-interest grants provide support for particular areas of focus, such as adult education or wildlife conservation. Small project grants are available to organizations seeking funds of up to $1,500. Community grants also are available for projects and initiatives seeking larger amounts of funding. The deadline to apply is November 1.

Massachusetts

The Cambridge Community Foundation has announced the five recipients of its fourth annual Imagined in Cambridge! Social Innovation Award, which invests in grassroots solutions to big social problems in Cambridge, with a $5,000 grant going to each winner. Three of the winners—CommuniTEA, Everybody Gotta Eat, and Space for Black Exuberance—will address the divides that come with growing income inequality, changing demographics, and gentrification in Cambridge, as reflected by the data in the foundation’s 2020 research report, Equity & Innovation Cities: The Case of Cambridge. The other two winners—Historically Black Colleges and Universities Tour and Expo and the Mental Health Access Program—are building pipelines and relationships for Cambridge youth of color, guiding them in positive directions.

Michigan

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (CFSEM) has approved more than $14.5 million of grants in support of nonprofit organizations working to make a positive, permanent impact in the Detroit region and announced the creation of the Allan D. Gilmour Award for Community Leadership during its third-quarter board meeting. Grant recipients include Allied Media Projects, the Faith in Action Network, Friends of the Rouge, and the Henry Ford Health System. The Gilmour Award will recognize a board member for exemplary volunteerism and philanthropy, both at the foundation and within the broader community. A permanent endowment fund will be established at the foundation in support of grantmaking associated with the award. A current CFSEM board member, Gilmour is the founder and president of the Gilmour-Jirgens Fund, a director of the DMC Foundation and the Foundation for Detroit’s Future, and a longstanding member of the Investment Committee. Gilmour also led The HOPE Fund Committee at CFSEM for the past 25 years.

New Hampshire

As New Hampshire’s high school Class of 2021 prepared for graduation, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Foundation for New Hampshire Community Colleges offered every member of that class an early graduation gift in May, 2021: one free class at any of New Hampshire’s seven community colleges in the fall of 2021. The gift focused on community colleges because they are most accessible geographically and economically to the greatest number of New Hampshire residents, because community college programs provide a wide range of efficient pathways to high-demand careers in New Hampshire, and because community college credits can be transferred toward four-year degrees at schools in the state’s university system. By September 2021, more than 1,200 graduates had enrolled in their free course.

Ohio

The Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) has announced that it is partnering with BLINK and other organizations to bring the largest mural in Ohio to Cincinnati, marking the city’s deep-rooted commitment to public art and preserving history. Tristan Eaton, an iconic multidisciplinary artist, is creating the mural, which will depict some of the city’s richest history. Eaton will be taking his signature collaging and layering style to new heights—literally—weaving minute details into the image to create a comprehensive tableau.

Oklahoma

The Oklahoma City Community Foundation has announced the creation of a memorial fund to recognize the life and contributions of Donna Harless, who served on the foundation’s accounting team for 15 years. Harless passed away in early October.