Collaborate With and Convene Local Funders

June 2024 - Published in: 2023 Annual Report - Main Street Community Foundation is only one of many local funders, and we recognize that working together makes our communities stronger. The impact of shared thought and shared dollars is great, and for that reason MSCF regularly collaborates with and convenes local funders.

The Stocker Foundation, located in Elyria, Ohio, is one such funder. The Stocker Foundation serves Hartford County and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been invested in the greater Bristol community especially in the areas of early childhood literacy and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math). MSCF has partnered with The Stocker Foundation on grant opportunities, but in 2023, MSCF assembled all of The Stocker Foundation’s local grantees together. Twenty organizations were represented to engage in robust conversation not only about the work they are doing, but about the needs they are seeing.

Listening to grantee organizations can better inform funding decisions and priorities. The Stocker Foundation, as well as other local funders who attended the gathering, collected this essential information that will make a difference in local communities.