Second Major Nonprofit Merger in Two Years Aims to Bring the State Together

For the second consecutive year, a pair of leading Connecticut non-profit organizations have merged, determining that splitting the relatively small state into two geographic regions was no longer the most efficient way to operate.

This year, it is Big Brothers, Big Sisters. Same time last year, Connecticut’s two leading food banks, split by geography, came together. Both hope - and expect - they’ll live happier ever after, that one is better than two.

The Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters, which had blanketed most of the state, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Connecticut have merged into one organization, expanding the mentoring group’s reach and impact statewide.  The organization’s mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.

The new organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut, will operate as a statewide organization, affiliated with the national Big Brothers, Big Sisters organization. Prior to the merger, Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters served Hartford, Tolland, Windham, Middlesex, New London, Litchfield and upper New Haven counties. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Connecticut’s service area encompassed all of Fairfield County, Greater New Haven and the lower Naugatuck Valley.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut’s central office is at 30 Laurel St., Hartford, and satellite offices are located at 2470 Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport and 66 Franklin St., Norwich.

The combined organization’s president and CEO will be Andy Fleischmann, a former state legislator who has been CEO of Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters since 2011. Ellen Tracy, the executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Connecticut since 2002, will be the new organization’s director of advancement.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut offers community-based, site-based and foster grandparent programs, serving more than 1,000 children annually.  Big Brothers Big Sisters currently operates in all 50 states—and in 12 countries around the world.

A year ago, the boards of directors of Foodshare and the Connecticut Food Bank voted to approve their combination, which became effective Jan. 30, 2021.  Foodshare had operated throughout the Hartford region, Connecticut Food Bank was based in the southern part of the state.  It was described as one of the largest nonprofit industry mergers in the state in recent years.

By September, there was a new name – Connecticut Foodshare - accompanied by a new tagline (“Our Community. Our Food Bank”) and a new multicolored logo representing all eight Connecticut counties gathering around a table.

“In the seven months since we announced the joining of these two incredible organizations, we have accomplished so much more than I could have ever imagined,” said CEO Jason Jakubowski at that time. “The need continues to be great - but we are both proud and ready to serve the entire state as Connecticut Foodshare. This truly is our community… and our food bank.”

During the pandemic, through September, Connecticut's food insecurity increased by an estimated 14%, to more than 490,000 people, including 131,000 children. As a combined food bank, Connecticut Foodshare distributed food for nearly 47 million meals in the prior year, increasing 26% over the previous year.

Connecticut Foodshare headquarters are in Wallingford at the former Connecticut Food Bank warehouse at 2 Research Parkway. In addition, the combined food bank continues to operate a Hartford-area satellite (currently 450 Woodland Avenue in Bloomfield) and a satellite location in Bridgeport (at 229 Mountain Grove Street).  The organization has 8,000 volunteers across the state, in addition to just over 100 staff members.