Hartford Foundation Awards Nearly $240,000 in Grants for Greater Hartford Voter Engagement Efforts
/The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving has awarded nearly $240,000 in grants to fourteen nonprofit organizations to support nonpartisan voter engagement activities leading up to the general election in November.
The Arc Connecticut in collaboration with CT State Independent Living Council (CSILC) received a $10,000 grant to support extensive civic engagement for persons with disabilities through a series of GOTV activities statewide.
Activities will include a voter registration event at the Hartford Latino Festival and a candidates’ forum on disability issues which will include voter education, registration and a demonstration of how to vote using the accessible voting machines. The Arc is also working with the Connecticut Family Support Network to engage with members of the Spanish-speaking disability community as part of this advocacy effort. The goal of the program is to engage at least 1,000 people through hosting ten separate events and register 300 new voters.
"This grant will allow us to ensure that the disability vote does count,” said Carol Scully, director of advocacy at The Arc. “Far too often people with disabilities have felt marginalized and unwelcome at the polls. Having the opportunity to engage with candidates and discuss the issues that impact this community is crucial to ensuring issues such as access to day programs and basic human needs such as food, and housing, including rental assistance are addressed by policymakers. People with disabilities, including our Spanish speaking residents, can and should have their voices heard and be a part of the decision-making process.”
The Asian Pacific American Coalition of Connecticut (APAC) has received a $25,000 grant to support its efforts to increase civic related knowledge amongst local Asian populations in an effort to increase voter participation among the APA community. Activities include voter registration, translations of voter education materials into eight APA languages that are most commonly spoken in Greater Hartford. APAC hopes to register at least 1000 Greater Hartford residents through their campaign, prioritizing community outreach in several Greater Hartford municipalities with large Asian populations including Hartford, Manchester, Rocky Hill, South Windsor, and West Hartford.
“This grant will allow APAC to expand its community engagement work by focusing on voter engagement where there has been a gap in support,” said Dr. Quan Tran, Co-Chair of APAC’s Board of Directors. “The API community is one of the more diverse and rapidly growing population of citizens in Connecticut. By encouraging more API citizens to prioritize exercising their right to vote, we can ensure that their voices are heard, and their needs are addressed at the state and federal level.”
Over the past five years, the Foundation has provided support for nonpartisan voter engagement. This year, nonprofits were invited to submit proposals to engage in nonpartisan voter education and mobilization activities in Greater Hartford including, but not limited to, the following:
Nonpartisan voter guides
Voter registration
Strategies that educate voters on the voting process
Providing supports to remove barriers to voting on Election Day (e.g., transportation to polling locations)
Assisting voters with disabilities, language barriers, or in need of special assistance
Publicizing a voter information line or website to answer questions about early voting or polling
Sponsoring nonpartisan candidate forums or debates for all the candidates running for a particular office
Other related civic education efforts that promote civic engagement
In addition to The Arc Connecticut and Asian Pacific American Coalition of Connecticut, the following organizations received Hartford Foundation voter engagement grants:
Hartford Next, Inc. ($25,000)
Hartford Patent University, Inc ($20,000)
Goodwin University ($20,000)
San Juan Center, Inc. ($20,000)
Trinity College ($20,000)
Hartford Public Library ($17,000)
West Indian Social Club of Hartford ($16,300)
Center for Latino Progress ($16,000)
Enfield Key Initiatives for Early Education ($15,000)
FaithActs for Education ($15,000)
League of Women Voters of Greater Hartford ($15,000)
Joe Young Entertainment ($5,000)
This Spring, Hartford Votes ~Hartford Vota Coalition was awarded $50,000 over one year to serve as the backbone organization for collaborative civic engagement efforts. The Coalition is a 20-year-old collaborative group which convenes 21 member organizations to support collaborative civic engagement and get-out-the-vote efforts.
The Coalition works to increase voter engagement in Hartford, especially among underrepresented or disengaged populations. The Foundation’s grant supports additional convenings in 2024 to develop collaborative efforts among various organizations during the 2024 presidential election cycle.
“We are in a critical election year, and our goal is to encourage residents in Hartford to be civically engaged because there are many issues at stake that have a direct impact on our communities,” said Hartford Foundation Community Impact Officer Cynthia Wills. “The Foundation hopes to build on the positive trend of increased voter engagement by supporting local organizations’ efforts to address a range of factors that have historically discouraged and disempowered residents from participating in local and national elections, particularly among residents ages 18 – 29 and people of color."
The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for Hartford and 28 surrounding towns. Through partnerships, the Foundation seeks to strengthen communities in Greater Hartford by putting philanthropy in action to dismantle structural racism and achieve equity in social and economic mobility. Made possible by the gifts of generous individuals, families and organizations, the Foundation has awarded grants of more than $998 million since its founding in 1925. For more information, visit www.hfpg.org .
