The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic is affecting every aspect of society, and that includes nonprofit organizations. After careful assessment of the changing needs of organizations serving women and girls, Main Street Community Foundation awarded $42,000 in unrestricted operating support grants from the Women & Girls’ Fund to 12 local organizations.

“These grants will help sustain nonprofits providing vital services to women and girls in Bristol, Burlington, Plainville, Plymouth, Southington and Wolcott,” stated Catherine Cassin, Chair of the Women & Girls’ Fund Advisory Board. “We want to ensure that these essential organizations can meet the increased demand for services caused by the effects of the pandemic.”
The following organizations received grants ranging from $750 to $5,000:

• Boys & Girls Club of Bristol
• Bristol Family Resource Centers
• Bristol Youth & Community Services – Parent & Child Center
• Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington
• Environmental Learning Centers of Connecticut
• For Goodness Sake
• Girl Scouts of Connecticut
• Imagine Nation, A Museum Early Learning Center
• Plymouth Community Food Pantry – Diaper Bank
• Prudence Crandall Center
• St. Vincent DePaul Mission of Bristol
• The Children's Law Center, Inc.

“These are some of the most important and impactful grants the Foundation has ever awarded from the Women & Girls’ Fund,” said Susan Sadecki, President & CEO of the Foundation.

Grants are traditionally made possible due to the proceeds from the annual Wonder of Women (WOW) event. Although the WOW event was canceled in April, the local businesses, organizations and individuals who had already committed sponsorships to the event directed their support to the Fund’s grantmaking. It is only due to their generosity – as well as funds from the Women & Girls’ Fund endowment, the Barbara Hackman Franklin Fund for Women and the John & Gloria DiFrancesco Fund for Women and Girls – that the Foundation was able to award these grants.