When Policies Change, Lives Change

Dear Friend,

How much would it cost to solve child poverty in Fairfield County? To ensure every family has access to safe, affordable housing? To fully eliminate food insecurity?

The answer: far more than all our region’s foundations combined could ever invest.

This reality drives our work at Fairfield County’s Community Foundation. While we are proud to support hundreds of local nonprofits doing life-changing work every day, we know the systemic challenges facing our community — from housing instability to food insecurity to limited economic opportunity — cannot be solved by philanthropy alone.

That’s why advocacy has become a cornerstone of our strategy.

Real, lasting change requires effective public policy. When state policy shifts — whether through establishing a Child Tax Credit, ending scholarship displacement, or protecting families from no-fault evictions — the impact reaches thousands more people than even the most significant grant ever could.

And this year presents critical opportunity.

Connecticut’s legislative session, which runs through May 6, offers meaningful pathways to advance policies that can transform lives across Fairfield County.

As lawmakers convene in Hartford, we are helping advance several priorities aligned with our mission:

• Expanding civic engagement through no-excuse absentee ballots
• Supporting economic mobility through a permanent Connecticut Child Tax Credit benefiting 550,000 children statewide
• Ending scholarship displacement so students fully benefit from their earned awards
• Providing no-cost healthy school meals for all students
• Expanding just cause eviction protections to strengthen housing stability
• Increasing funding for youth employment programs

These are not abstract policy goals. They are tangible pathways to a more inclusive Fairfield County — one where every resident has a fair chance to reach their full potential.

They also reflect our longstanding commitment to support the advocacy leadership of local organizations advancing this work. In fact, we recently crossed a significant milestone: more than $1 million in grantmaking to Fairfield County nonprofits engaged in statewide advocacy since the 2022 launch of our strategic plan.

This investment is about addressing root causes — not just symptoms.

When we pair strategic grantmaking with direct advocacy, we multiply impact. We support organizations on the ground while advancing policy changes that make their work more effective and more scalable.

This is what it means to be a community foundation in 2026.

We don’t just write checks — we help change systems.

The legislative session ahead will require engagement from all of us. Whether you contact your state legislator, share your story with policymakers, or join our Allies Advocacy Community, your voice matters.

Because ultimately, the question isn’t whether we can afford to invest in advocacy.

It’s whether we can afford not to.

Together, we can ensure government plays its essential role in building a Fairfield County where everyone can thrive.

In Community,

Mendi Blue Paca
PRESIDENT & CEO
FAIRFIELD COUNTY’S COMMUNITY FOUNDATION