STAMFORD, CT – Impact Fairfield County (Impact FFC) launched its eighth year of grantmaking at an inspiring fall kickoff event attended by nearly 100 women from across Fairfield County.
Impact FFC is a collective women’s giving organization which pools membership funds to provide large, transformational grants to nonprofits across Fairfield County. Since its inception, Impact Fairfield County has awarded nearly $1.6 million to local organizations. Membership in Impact FFC is open to any woman in Fairfield County and members can join for the current grant year through December 31, 2022.
On November 9, current and prospective members joined Impact FFC leadership at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center to connect with other women, to learn about how to get involved with Impact FFC, and to hear from Impact FFC’s 2022 $100,000 grant winners, New Reach and nOURish BRIDGEPORT.
Kellyann Day, CEO of New Reach, updated attendees on the lives being changed through the eviction prevention program expansion that Impact FFC supported, working to keep families together in their homes. Rev. Sara Smith, Founder and CEO of nOURish BRIDGEPORT, shared the progress at their hydroponic urban farm, noting how Impact FFC’s funds are transforming Bridgeport from a food desert to a place where residents can now access fresh, nutritious food for their families. As Smith said, “Since we opened in June, we have grown one ton of produce, and Impact FFC helped make that a reality.”
Katharine Lumby and Jenny San Jose, Co-Presidents of Impact FFC, shared just a few of the ways in which Impact FFC’s $1.6 million has made an impact in Fairfield County, including:
A homeless, pregnant young woman was able to access safe shelter through Supportive Housing Works’s mobile outreach van funded by Impact FFC
The Stamford Public Education Foundation launched a kindergarten readiness program, funded by Impact FFC, which started with 60 students and is now part of the kindergarten registration process, available to every child entering the Stamford Public School system
Funded by Impact FFC, All Our Kin provided critical support, including distributing health supplies and providing valuable coaching skills and workshops, to family childcare providers in Danbury, ensuring these businesses could stay afloat during the pandemic.
A Career Resources, Inc. Entry Point Staffing program, funded by Impact FFC, helped a newly-exonerated man find full-time employment with the City of Bridgeport after serving nearly 30 years in prison for a crime that he didn’t commit
Attendees also heard from current members why they have chosen to support Impact FFC. As member Ronice Latta shared, “[There is] no better feeling than to know that you are making a difference and a transformative impact in this world.”
Said San Jose, “Today we came together to celebrate our achievements in the community thus far, but we know there is so much more to do. We invite women in Fairfield County to join us and share in this joy of giving back, lifting up, and making an impact.”
