Hartford Foundation invests $2.5M in foundations aimed at Black, Hispanic communities

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    Hartford, CT (Hartford Business Journal) — The Hartford Foundation is spending $2.5 million to form two foundations aimed at boosting opportunities and improving life for people in Greater Hartford’s Black and Hispanic communities.

The foundation will spend $1 million each in founding the Prosperity Foundation, a Black-led philanthropic organization, and the Hispanic Federation – Connecticut, a Hispanic-led organization. It will also establish two five-year, $250,000 flex-funds.

The Prosperity Foundation and the Hispanic Federation – Connecticut will write grants aimed at capacity building in the Hartford region, according to the Hartford Foundation. Those serving on the group’s boards will work to connect stakeholders in communities of color to resources for projects aimed at ending systemic racism and other issues.

“These investments are intended to galvanize our Black and Latinx communities and give them the agency and power to determine where resources should be spent,” Hartford Foundation President Jay Williams said.

Both foundations will come online in 2021, Williams said.

Incoming Prosperity Foundation Board Chair Howard K. Hill said the organization’s focus will be on reversing historic trends that have left Black people behind.

“This $1 million investment into TPF is an important first step needed to bridge a 225-year wealth-gap when it comes to our whole health, education, economic development and overall sustainability for a people badly in need of the opportunity,” Hill said.

Incoming Hispanic Federation – Connecticut President Frankie Miranda said the Hartford Foundation’s $1 million grant can grant Hispanic communities in Greater Hartford with some relief from the health and economic damage the COVID-19 pandemic has caused.

“As Latinos have been disproportionately impacted by the current health pandemic due to historical inequities, we commend this unprecedented investment of $1 million to advance the social and economic vitality of the region’s Latinx communities,” Miranda said.

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