• The Guilford Foundation Announces March 14 Deadline for Annual Grant Applications

    CommunityPress Release

    The Guilford Foundation (TGF) annual grant application is available, with a submission deadline of March 14, 2025. In 2024, TGF awarded 42 grants ranging from $1,000 to $8,000, with an average award of $2,800. These grants had a profound impact, supporting a range of community programs and services that positively impact the quality of life of Guilford residents.

    Liza Janssen Petra, Executive Director of The Guilford Foundation, emphasized the importance of local giving, “The power of local donations is immense. What may seem like a small grant can have a transformative and lasting impact on our community partners.”

    Petra shared the impact of a few of the Foundation’s 2024 grants:   

    • The Women and Family Life Center serves over 180 Guilford residents, providing essential mental health, financial, and legal support to individuals facing challenging life transitions.
    • Funding awarded to Little Sprouts Learning Center was instrumental in the 2025 reopening of a vital preschool option for families in North Guilford.
    • More than 20 Guilford-based Sound Life Connections participants honed their vocational skills while working at a customized mobile gelato café through grant support.
    • Community Nursery School, GCC Early Education, and GCC Before and After School Care utilized grant funds to offer tuition assistance to numerous Guilford families, ensuring access to quality education
    • Shoreline Village CT increased the number of Guilford residents who joined its community, which is focused on providing services, activities, and resources to empower seniors to age in their homes.
    TGF’s mission is to build and maintain a charitable endowment to make grants that strengthen the community. The Foundation identified the following focus areas:   
    • Animal Welfare 
    • Arts, Culture, and Heritage (music, dance, theater, visual, community performances) 
    • Basic Needs (food, emergency financial assistance, fuel and heat support, shelter) 
    • Civic Engagement (volunteerism, community events and enhancements) 
    • Education (literacy, job training, collegiate scholarships) 
    • Environment (public spaces and land, recycling, animal and wildlife support) 
    • Wellness & Mental Health (mental health services, social services, health education, substance abuse prevention) 
    • Human Services 
    • Children & Youth (access to summer camps, children in need, early childhood education)
    • Seniors 
    Petra added, “We express our heartfelt gratitude to our donors, whose unwavering support is essential to our mission of connecting people with meaningful causes. Their generosity grows our endowment, which increases the impact of our community. Together, we create positive change by addressing current needs while leaving a legacy of giving for future generations.”

    Grant Submission Recommendations
    The Guilford Foundation seeks grants that enhance the quality of life for the community. Applications should align their need with a focus area and demonstrate the potential impact on the organization, project, community, or people served.

    The Online Grants Portal provides information about the grant process. Before beginning the application, organizations should carefully review the grant guidelines. A virtual Grant Application Workshop will be held on Monday, January 27 at 10 a.m.

    Details for accessing the workshop will be emailed to registered participants; RSVP to Amy Paris at aparis@guilfordfoundation.org.  Organizations unable to attend the session should contact Program Director Jennifer Mullett at jmullett@guilfordfoundation.org with questions about the grant guidelines or application process.

    About The Guilford Foundation
    The Guilford Foundation is a trusted philanthropic partner established in 1975 when five friends organized an effort to beautify the area around the town green. To ensure the perpetuity of their vision, the founders established a source for long-term funding. Over the past four decades, this endowment has expanded in scope and impact and now exceeds $6 million, awarding over $1.5 million in grants and scholarships since 2010. Areas of distribution include children and families, basic needs, mental health, youth and education, social services, social justice, seniors, natural environment, and arts and culture. 
     
    The mission of The Guilford Foundation is to enrich the quality of life in the community by connecting people who care with causes that matter, now and for generations to come. TGF is recognized as a responsive, collaborative, and trusted leader that takes the long view toward making a lasting impact in the community.
     
    For more information about The Guilford Foundation, visit guilfordfoundation.org.
     

    The Guilford Foundation Announces March 14 Deadline for Annual Grant Applications

  • Serving the Towns of Guilford, Branford and North Branford