President Lauren Patterson Discusses 'I Love New Canaan' Campaign in NC Sentinel
Since taking on the role of President & CEO of the New Canaan Community Foundation in 2016, I have witnessed firsthand the importance of civic engagement in this beautiful town. New Canaan’s heart beats with the spirit of generosity. Our community genuinely cares, gives back and puts in the effort to understand important issues and where we can make an impact. As part of the community fabric, NCCF strives to drive change for various causes, and to do it in a way that is sustainable, efficient, and effective. The "I Love New Canaan" Annual Appeal campaign this year embodies the foundation’s vision: a town that comes together to meet the needs of its residents and neighbors, creating a healthier and more vibrant community.
NCCF’s Touch a Life Fund is one way that New Canaan comes together to support its residents. This fund provides emergency financial assistance for locals who need help paying for utility expenses, rent or mortgages, essential home repairs, and food. Most recently, we are proud to support a partnership between this fund and New Canaan Public Schools (NCPS), with grant funding to ensure students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunches can purchase additional food at school. Dr. Bryan Luizzi, Superintendent of NCPS, echoes our mission, sharing at our Annual Meeting that "before the assistance of NCCF, these students had a very limited menu of choices. They were very self-conscious about that compared to their friends and peers. Thanks to the help of NCCF, those students can now get the same thing their friends are getting. And it may seem like a small thing, but it’s an enormously significant thing for children as they learn to become the people they will be. It shows them that we value everyone equally in our schools.”
While some of our initiatives address pressing needs in our community, NCCF also continues to nurture the town's cultural and educational environment, benefiting New Canaan as a whole.
This year, we enabled the first installment of a $50,000 multi-year grant to support the New Canaan Town Players and their home, the Powerhouse Performing Arts Center. This grant will help expand the theater’s lobby and create a new space for performing arts programming. We are also thrilled to continue supporting the New Canaan Library with a second installment of the $150,000 multi-year grant to support its growth and development. NCCF’S support for these projects showcases our commitment to enriching the lives of all residents, and is only possible because of the long-time, consistent giving of our donors – banding together to have an outsized impact.
NCCF also works to lead our community on critical issues over time. Most recently, through our Community Behavioral Health Fund, we are tackling the local mental health crisis by breaking down stigmas and barriers. Over the past four years, NCCF has invested nearly $400,000 in dedicated behavioral health grants, including $50,000 to the New Canaan Urgent Assessment Program at Silver Hill Hospital through the new fund. This trailblazing program provides town residents with the opportunity to obtain urgent and free psychiatric assessment and tailored referral for ongoing care. It is core to NCCF’s work to address community-wide issues and collaborate with all sectors to create comprehensive approaches on hard issues.
Our goal to build a healthier and more vibrant community is fortified by close partnerships with human service organizations that address critical challenges including domestic violence, food insecurity, and workforce issues.
We’re proud to support organizations like Building One Community, which empowers immigrants by offering English language and job skill programs, as well as academic and social-emotional support for their school-aged children. We have partnered with the Domestic Violence Crisis Centre in their expansion of the Youth and Family Counseling program, fostering a difficult healing process for families in crisis. Additionally, we are honored to support New Covenant Center’s mission to reduce food insecurity among the neediest in the greater Stamford area through essential services like their Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry.
Ultimately, our donors are the heart and soul of NCCF. They embody the spirit of the "I Love New Canaan" campaign, and align their generosity with our town's values.
Holly Donaldson Casella, NCCF’s Appeal Committee Chair, donor and volunteer discusses how NCCF ensures every donation has a clear impact. “The community foundation does a great job of being a leader who can connect organizations who are experiencing certain issues and get to the solution. Not just plugging holes and putting bandaids on issues, but really being able to cultivate that thought leadership behind it to solve problems.” Speaking to our annual appeal, she explains, “One annual donation [to NCCF] comes with the research, backing and vetting of a community foundation, and the reach and impact of being able to support nearly 100 organizations every year.”
Change begins with understanding, and at NCCF listening is key to our work. Every year we see a bird’s eye view of all the different local nonprofit organizations in New Canaan and our surrounding communities, along with their missions and their funding needs. Our annual grant review process engages more than 100 volunteers who work diligently to understand our community’s needs and distribute funds effectively.
Local donor Dede Bartlett speaks to our efforts in a recently-released video saying, “We are impressed with the strategic, forward thinking of the Foundation. It’s not just for today, it’s for tomorrow and the next day. This foundation is strategic, responsible, careful, and proactive. They are changemakers. My husband and I invest in changemakers because these are the people who will lead us forward. That is what the Foundation is.”
The "I Love New Canaan" campaign is a testament to the boundless energy and compassion that defines New Canaan and, with your involvement, we can continue to nurture it. We invite you to learn more about NCCF’s initiatives and join us in our mission. Together, we can make a profound impact on the lives of our fellow residents and neighbors.