Alaska

The Juneau Community Foundation has named Sioux Douglas as its Philanthropist of the Year. Douglas, who serves as chair of the KTOO Legacy Foundation, a donor advisor to the Douglas-Dornan Foundation Fund and the Senior Services Fund, and campaign committee chair for the Teal Street Center, a social services hub that will open in 2022, was recognized for her commitment to community.

Connecticut

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving has announced a three-year, $1.29 million grant to LISC Connecticut to provide a system of supports to organizations engaged in development work, such as lending, capacity building, technical assistance, planning, advocacy, and convening. LISC's work includes the Hartford Neighborhood Support Collaborative, which provides technical and financial support to three of Hartford's community development corporations, including Sheldon Oak Central, Mutual Housing Association of Greater Hartford, and Northside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance. HNSC also provides a convening function for the many nonprofit developers in the city to engage with one another, funders, and other key stakeholders.

Iowa

The Omaha Foundation has announced that its Audubon County Community Foundation affiliate has awarded $50,400 to Audubon County nonprofit organizations and community projects during its fall 2021 grant cycle. Recipients include the Audubon Recreation Foundation, Brayton Community Club, Exira Public Library, and the Children's Nest.

Maine

Western Foothills Land Trust has bought three parcels of the former Chadbourne Tree Farm property, part of an effort by several nonprofits to conserve the 15,408-acre area, Turner Publishing reports. Funding for WFLT's purchase and long-term stewardship of the Oxford tract was provided by the Maine Community Foundation's Land Protection Grant program, Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program, and the Conservation Fund.

Michigan

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, in partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, has announced grants totaling $1.2 million in support of ten theatre organizations in Detroit through Staging Change Detroit, which provides support for efforts to innovate, reach new audiences, and enrich the arts and culture community. Recipients include the Hinterlands, Shakespeare in Detroit, Black and Brown Theatre, and Planet Ant.

Montana

The Park County Community Foundation has announced that the Park County Housing Coalition — a collaborative project of the foundation, and Human Resource Development Council of District IX (HRDC) — has produced the 2021 Park County Housing Needs Assessment to compile the best information available about this community-wide challenge. The assessment has found that since December 2019, the median price of a single-family home has increased more than 50 percent, to $425,250 from $282,753. While the average estimated rent was $1,565, the average renter could afford monthly rent of $665. According to Wake Up Montana, HRDC, the foundation, and other developers have also completed several affordable housing projects and created a housing action group, which will draft a housing action plan in the coming weeks.

New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation has named Kate Knox as the winner of its 2021 Piscataqua Region Artist Advancement Grant. According to the foundation, the $25,000 award is one of the largest unrestricted grants awarded to a single artist in the country. Other 2021 finalists were Bianca Mireles; Shaina Gates; and Matt Gunn, who will each receive $1,000.

New Jersey

The Princeton Area Community Foundation has announced that its Fund for Women and Girls awarded a record $325,000 in grants to local nonprofit organizations in 2021. The largest grant cycle in the fund's more than twenty-year history includes the inaugural Liz Gray Erickson Memorial Grant, a three-year grant given in memory of the Princeton resident who served as the chair of the fund from 2012 to 2014. Other recipients include the Children's Home Society, KinderSmile, Arm in Arm, and the Princeton Nursery School.

New Mexico

In honor of their fortieth anniversaries, the Albuquerque Community Foundation and Santa Fe Community Foundation have announced a joint grant of $40,000 to the New Mexico Economic Relief Working Group, a cohort of community immigrant organizations. The unrestricted grant represents a collaborative effort between the foundations, which were both founded in 1981, to support inclusive COVID-19 recovery across the state. The working group is made up of five community-based and advocacy organizations: New Mexico Voices for Children, El CENTRO de Igualdad y Derecho, Partnership for Community Action, Comunidades en Acción y de Fe (NM CAFé), and Somos Un Pueblo Unido. Together, the organizations research, design, and implement government-sponsored emergency assistance programs for those who were excluded from federal COVID-19 relief efforts, including undocumented residents and those from mixed immigration-status families.

New York

The Brooklyn Community Foundation has named Jocelynne Rainey as its new president and CEO, effective December 6. She succeeds Cecilia Clarke, who stepped down in July after eight years at the helm. Rainey most recently served as president and CEO of Getting Out & Staying Out and also has served as executive vice president and chief administrative officer of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. Her previous experience with BCF includes serving on the Spark Prize Committee, attending and contributing to numerous annual events, and establishing a donor-advised scholarship fund administered by the foundation.

Rhode Island

The Rhode Island Foundation has announced that it has raised nearly $1.5 million for its Refugee Relief Fund to help provide basic needs for children and adults arriving from Afghanistan as a result of the humanitarian crisis there. All gifts to the fund will be distributed to support evacuees via the two official refugee resettlement agencies in the State of Rhode Island — Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island and Catholic Social Services, part of the Diocese of Providence. It is expected that approximately sixty Afghan families will arrive in Rhode Island over the next several months.