The Branford Community Foundation (BCF) is thrilled to announce that we have awarded $45,000 to 17 organizations through our annual competitive grant award process.

This year’s process saw an increase of 20% in the number of applications. While we wish we could have funded them all, we are pleased with the variety of projects and needs we were able to address with our available resources.

Thanks to Branford’s generous donors, volunteers, and Board, BCF was able to award $45,000 to a variety of organizations serving Branford. The full list of awardees, the amount, and the purpose of the grant follows:

• Branford Compassion Club: $700 to assist with neutering feral cats in Branford.
• Branford Early Learning Center: $5,000 to support enrichment programs for students at no additional cost to the families.
• Branford High School Robotics Team: $2,000 to support the new Robotics Team for Walsh Middle School and Branford High School.
• Camp Hazen: $1,000 for financial aid for Branford campers.
• Clifford Beers: $3,500 for case management and care coordination services for Branford children and their families.
• Community Dining Room: $2,500 to support nutritious meal programs, including daily lunch, Saturday breakfast, Tuesday family dinner (including Tuesday night dinners on the Branford Green in the summer), and Wednesday & Friday take-out dinner.
• Feed Branford Kids: $5,000 to increase the number of backpacks full of food to take home on the weekends for needy students.
• Legacy Theatre: $5,000 for a professional production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream to be performed on the Branford Green in July in celebration of Branford’s 375th anniversary.
• Literacy Volunteers of Greater New Haven: $3,000 to train and support 12 volunteer tutors to teach 130 Branford adult learners in ESL in partnership with ERACE.
• Orchard House: $4,000 for “Lest We Forget,” an oral history program designed to capture the stories and memories of aging adults experiencing memory loss.
• Project Graduation: $1,200 to support additional activities for a fun and substance-free celebration for newly graduated Branford High School seniors.
• Read to Grow: $2,000 to purchase books for children in Branford to promote literacy.
• Special Olympics CT: $1,000 to purchase new equipment for the addition of new sports (and replace outdated/broken equipment) as well as cover the cost of certifying (new) and re-certifying (existing) coaches in the 10 sports currently offered by this program.
• Tabor Arts Branford: $2,500 to help replace the main stage curtains and purchase wireless microphones to enhance production quality.
• Tail to Paw Animal Support: $1,100 for emergency assistance to low-income residents struggling to maintain healthy pets.
• VNA Community Healthcare: $2,000 to enhance Hospice services that are not covered by Medicare to Branford patients and families.
• Women and Family Life Center: $3,500 to support the expansion of a financial one-on-one consultation program in Branford.

BCF is honored to support these critical services to Branford! We couldn’t do it without you! For more information about our grant making process, or how you can make a difference, please visit our website at www.branfordcommunityfoundation.org.