Why should our community prioritize civic engagement and advocacy?
Although voter turnout has increased in our state, especially among young people and people of color – two groups that were historically less likely to vote – voters of color and those with lower incomes are still less likely to believe they have the power to make change, and to feel like their government is working for them. Yet their voices are essential in advocating for the changes that will truly help Fairfield County thrive.
The State of Civic Life in Fairfield County
How is FCCF bringing people together to fix this problem?
Many people care about the future of Fairfield County. As a community foundation, we are strengthening our relationships with aligned partners and connecting local leaders, lawmakers, businesses and organizations to take action together. With your support, our Civic Engagement & Advocacy Fund invests in programs that:
Amplify Resident Voices
We partner with local nonprofits and the Secretary of State to increase civic engagement, sharing information on how to vote and running nonpartisan Get Out the Vote campaigns.
Raise Support for Equitable Policies
We are helping the public understand our region’s racial history and current challenges and growing support for more equitable policies by writing op eds, hosting community dialogues and learning events, talking with government leaders, and submitting public testimony.
Foster Grassroots Organizing
We are increasing our funding, coaching and training opportunities for local nonprofits and community organizers who are most deeply embedded in our communities and working to empower their stakeholders to engage in advocacy.
Accelerate Solutions & Develop Leaders
The Community Equity Incubator provides money and coaching to help diverse community leaders turn creative ideas into real action for social change.
How can I get involved?
Want to join the journey to move Fairfield County forward? Here are three ways you can strengthen civic engagement, advance equitable policy, and support grassroots organizations in our community.
DONATE
Give to our Civic Engagement & Advocacy Fund to be part of our collaborative work in this area.
STAY INFORMED
Join our email list to receive information on civic engagement and advocacy, and how you can make a difference.
ADVOCATE
Write to lawmakers, speak at public meetings, and talk to friends and neighbors about the issues and policies that impact wellbeing in our community.
To learn more about civic engagement and advocacy in Fairfield County – and how the Community Foundation can help amplify your impact – contact Elaine Mintz, VP of Strategy, Learning and External Relations, at EMintz@FCCFoundation.org or call (203) 750-3200.
DIG DEEPER
Learn more about past & current projects
Learn about projects that have helped the Community Foundation build a strong network of partners, and inform our ongoing work to support civic engagement and advocacy in Fairfield County.
We are influencing public policies to reduce inequities and injustices in our region. For instance, we support the policy agendas of the advocacy organizations we fund by submitting public testimony and sharing their key messages.
During the 2023 Connecticut Legislative Session this included:
• Advocating for Community Health Workers to get fair pay (Senate Bill 10) and in support of a voluntary certification process for doulas to improve health outcomes (Senate Bill 986). Our advocacy contributed to both of these bills being passed by the Legislature in 2023.
• Pushing for all kids to get free meals at school to improve educational and health outcomes (Senate Bill 1216). During the 2023 Legislative Session, $16 million was set aside in the state budget to extend free meals to students whose families make 200 percent or less of the federal poverty line. We will continue advocating for free meals for all kids, no matter how much money their families make.
• Advocating for more funding for affordable housing (Senate Bill 980). This advocacy contributed to policy wins, with the Legislature approving bonding of $200,000 for the Housing Trust Fund and $200,000 for the Flexible Housing Program during the 2023 session.
We are also speaking out about our positions on priority issues by making public statements and writing opinion pieces, such as:
• An op-ed for the CT Post about increasing access to voting in Connecticut, a piece for Hearst CT Media Group on the importance of voting in off-year elections, and an op-ed for the CT Mirror on educational inequity in Fairfield County.
• A statement responding to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
• An op-ed for the Hartford Courant that we co-signed with other community foundations and health organizations, urging the state to take action to help kids in poverty achieve better health, education and lifetime earnings. The piece made the case for giving low-income families cash through programs that are proven to improve outcomes, like a state Child Tax Credit.
These activities build on more than a decade of public policy advocacy, which has included accomplishments like:
• Partnering with the Connecticut Early Childhood Funders Collaborative to advocate for the establishment of the CT Office of Early Childhood.
• Co-hosting the 2023 Community Wellbeing Index release event at the Connecticut State Capitol with DataHaven, the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven and the Hartford Fund for Public Giving, which was attended by 50+ legislators, aides and community partners.
We are investing in advocacy organizations working to increase equity in Fairfield County. In 2023, we awarded $250,000 in grants to nine of these groups: Bridgeport Generation Now, Health Equity Solutions, Partnership for Strong Communities, 50CAN, CONECT, CT Voices, Center for Children’s Advocacy, Faith Acts for Education, and Educators for Excellence.
We’re also providing training through our Center for Nonprofit Excellence to train nonprofit staff on effective advocacy strategies and skills. Since August 2022, 64 nonprofit professionals have joined these workshops.
We’re supporting grassroots groups and community organizers through Supporting Organizing Work CT (SOW CT), as a founding member. This collaborative group seeks to develop a shared strategy and pool resources across 19 grantmaking organizations, with the goal of strengthening the organizing capacity of grassroots groups across Connecticut. This work grows out of the recognition that strong, effective organizing requires capacity and infrastructure that goes beyond the boundary of any single issue, constituency or geographic region. Grants made through SOW CT help fund professional development, employee wellness, staff retreats, and dedicated organizing efforts.
We want to make sure that the people most affected by inequities can advocate for themselves and lead efforts to solve problems in their communities. For example, we’re awarding grants to PT Partners, a resident-led public housing organization, to fund advocacy training and programs to increase civic education and engagement of public housing residents.
In 2022 and 2023, we launched Your Vote = Your Power, a campaign that runs in both English and Spanish to encourage residents in our region who usually don’t vote to register and vote on Election Day. The nonpartisan campaign does not support one party over another, but links readers to a microsite with important information on how to register and vote in Connecticut. In addition to running paid online campaign ads, we also conducted media outreach and shared a voter engagement toolkit with local nonprofit groups to help them talk to voters.
From 2019 through 2021, we granted $140,000 to 24 organizations through our Civic Engagement and Get Out the Vote grants programs, supporting groups that worked to get the community excited and engaged in voting and being part of civic activities. These campaigns reached around 25,000 people and helped more residents register to vote and be involved in their community.
We conducted media outreach and talked to important stakeholders to support a successful 2022 ballot referendum to expand early voting in Connecticut. We also advocated for the state to take quick action to ensure early voting was in place for the 2023 election and beyond, and submitted public testimony during Connecticut’s 2023 Legislative Session to support House Bill 5004, which implemented early voting.
We funded a traveling exhibit, The Practice of Democracy: A View from Connecticut, that was shown at Gateway, Housatonic, and Norwalk Community Colleges. The exhibit and related events explored how fairness, equality, and power show up in the places where we live, offering our community a chance to learn more about fair housing.
We also continue to invest in and share the results of the Fairfield County Community Wellbeing Index, which is released by DataHaven every three years. This report shares a snapshot of how well people are doing across all the communities of our county in areas like housing, education, health, and the economy.
