The mission of the funder is to support healthy communities by fostering civic engagement, community organizing, and the involvement of civic groups. They strive for responsiveness and flexibility in funding initiatives, prioritizing actions and decisions made by individuals and organizations that are intimately acquainted with community issues. A key aspect of their mission is to empower resident leaders and organizers in Waterbury through a funding process that is directly influenced by the community, for the community.
The Women’s Fund grant program supports initiatives that create positive environments and role models for girls and young women, particularly in encouraging the inclusion of underrepresented populations and meaningful youth involvement in program planning and implementation. The program emphasizes projects that promote positive youth development based on the Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets, have clear, achievable goals for participants and an effective progress monitoring system. Initiatives that facilitate collaboration among organizations to enhance goal setting, curriculum development, and evaluation of efforts are also prioritized. Additionally, the program offers planning grants to help organizations explore and prepare for potential projects by covering costs related to feasibility studies, partnership building, and work plan development.