The Community Fund for Women & Girls - Greater New Haven

The Community Fund for Women & Girls - Greater New Haven The Community Fund for Women & Girls is Greater New Haven's only endowment dedicated to promoting the social and economic advancement of women and girls.

Established in 1995 as a permanent endowed fund of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.

"When we were talking about our future today, that stuck out to me, because that’s what I’m really worried about right n...
05/28/2026

"When we were talking about our future today, that stuck out to me, because that’s what I’m really worried about right now in my life," said Sheemica after the Second Annual Girls R.I.S.E. Symposium. "That's what I came here for."

She joined more than two dozen young women at Albertus Magnus College for a day of deepening self-esteem, setting personal goals and making new connections. Read more here: https://www.cfgnh.org/events/girls-r-i-s-e-symposium-2026

May 2: Join us for Girls R.I.S.E. Symposium, an inspiring day of interactive workshops for girls ages 12-18. Girls R.I....
04/16/2026

May 2: Join us for Girls R.I.S.E. Symposium, an inspiring day of interactive workshops for girls ages 12-18. Girls R.I.S.E. (Radiate, Inspire, Strengthen, Empower) is all about empowering young women to reach new heights.
Expect fun activities, great speakers, and a chance to connect with amazing people. Don’t miss out on this awesome event designed just for you!
LEARN MORE + REGISTER:
https://ow.ly/xuWy50YK9xH

Presented by the Girls of Color Mentoring Network, a program of the The Community Fund for Women & Girls - Greater New Haven at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.

This Women’s History Month, the Vineyard Project is celebrating Black women who are making history today: Dawn Ragsdale ...
03/30/2026

This Women’s History Month, the Vineyard Project is celebrating Black women who are making history today: Dawn Ragsdale is the inaugural executive director of the Center for Inclusive Growth, a partnership between the City of New Haven and Yale University working to ensure the city’s economic growth benefits all of its residents.

Ragsdale previously served as the executive director of entrepreneurship incubator Collab, where she led projects that continue to uplift local women entrepreneurs, including the Collab Women’s Initiative and the Collab Funding Intensive. In her appearance on a September 2025 episode of Connecticut Public's Disrupted, Ragsdale said when she talks with community members about who she is and the work that the Center is doing to foster inclusive economic growth in New Haven, "I would love in five years for people to say, 'Oh, she was serious. She meant what she said when she came here.'"

You can support women like Ragsdale and the work she does by opening a named charitable fund with The Vineyard Project in New Haven. Begin today at CFGNH.org/VineyardProject

03/30/2026

This Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating local luminaries whose achievements light the way for women and girls in Greater New Haven.

Last November, more than 300 supporters and partners of the Community Fund for Women & Girls came together to celebrate thirty years of driving systems change, and to envision the next 30 years and beyond. A diverse crowd of longtime friends and first-time attendees connected while celebrating the Fund’s achievements. Author and movement builder Vanessa Priya Daniel delivered an electrifying keynote, emphasizing the importance of working in solidarity across differences and offering suggestions on being better, more effective organizers, fundraisers, community members and people.

This is just one example of the convenings and community-building led by the Fund, which include a keynote from author Anna Quindlen in 2005, and at the Fund’s 2018 annual meeting, movement founder Tarana Burke spoke.

This March, the Community Fund for Women & Girls is also celebrating its own history of three decades. To highlight the power of women philanthropists, we’re reopening the 30th Anniversary Honor Roll. Dozens joined the Honor Roll in 2025, and you can too!

By joining the Honor Roll, you help uplift and ignite the next generation of leaders in Greater New Haven — today and in perpetuity. Gifts of $300 or more can be broken down into 12 monthly installments, and every gift means so much. When you give, choose your level of giving, and whether you wish to donate to current-use grantmaking in 2026, or to build the endowment over time — or a combination of both! Learn more at ManyVoicesOneVision.org

This Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating local luminaries whose achievements light the way for women and girls in G...
03/27/2026

This Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating local luminaries whose achievements light the way for women and girls in Greater New Haven.

Leah Secondo graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in 1984, and began her broadcasting career as the first female sportscaster in Western Massachusetts at WGGB in Springfield. Soon after in 1990, Secondo became Connecticut’s first female sportscaster when she moved to WTNH in New Haven.

Since then, she has been inducted into three Halls of Fame, Patch reported: the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996, the New Agenda Northeast Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2018, she received the President's Award from the Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance at the 77th Gold Key Dinner.

This March, the Community Fund for Women & Girls is also celebrating its own history of three decades. To highlight the power of women philanthropists, we’re reopening the 30th Anniversary Honor Roll. Dozens joined the Honor Roll in 2025, and you can too!

By joining the Honor Roll, you help uplift and ignite the next generation of leaders in Greater New Haven — today and in perpetuity. Gifts of $300 or more can be broken down into 12 monthly installments, and every gift means so much. When you give, choose your level of giving, and whether you wish to donate to current-use grantmaking in 2026, or to build the endowment over time — or a combination of both! Learn more at ManyVoicesOneVision.org

“My mother was the first person I was aware was a feminist,” says Nan Birdwhistell. “She was a 4-foot-11, petite, ball o...
03/25/2026

“My mother was the first person I was aware was a feminist,” says Nan Birdwhistell. “She was a 4-foot-11, petite, ball of fire.” Nan says the 20th Anniversary celebration of the Community Fund for Women & Girls featuring Gloria Steinem was an appropriate time to memorialize her mother, who died 7 years earlier – just short of age 90.

Funds like this one can be established with a gift today or through estate planning. Let CFGNH help you build a fund to honor who or what you love by visiting CFGNH.org/Giving

This Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating local luminaries whose achievements light the way for women and girls in G...
03/23/2026

This Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating local luminaries whose achievements light the way for women and girls in Greater New Haven. Yexendra Diaz was named the second New Haven Poet Laureate in October 2025, and the first woman to hold the title. Diaz is an award-winning poet, and as the Arts Paper reports, “a fixture in the city’s spoken word scene.” Diaz is also the development manager at the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, a doula and an artistic director of The Word, a nonprofit that offers spoken word programs for young people in New Haven.

Diaz told the Arts Paper, “My ultimate goal as Poet Laureate is to elevate visibility both for poetry and for the city itself. Connecticut is known for its culture & tourism and New Haven is undeniably an arts hub.” Read more here: https://www.newhavenarts.org/arts-paper/articles/citys-second-poet-laureate-has-a-vision-for-youth

This March, the Community Fund for Women & Girls is also celebrating its own history of three decades. To highlight the power of women philanthropists, we’re reopening the 30th Anniversary Honor Roll. Dozens joined the Honor Roll in 2025, and you can too!

By joining the Honor Roll, you help uplift and ignite the next generation of leaders in Greater New Haven — today and in perpetuity. Gifts of $300 or more can be broken down into 12 monthly installments, and every gift means so much. When you give, choose your level of giving, and whether you wish to donate to current-use grantmaking in 2026, or to build the endowment over time — or a combination of both! Learn more at ManyVoicesOneVision.org

📣 Funding opportunity: The Community Fund for Women & Girls - Greater New Haven is providing grants (up to $15,000) to n...
03/19/2026

📣 Funding opportunity: The Community Fund for Women & Girls - Greater New Haven is providing grants (up to $15,000) to nonprofits engaged in direct service, advocacy, and/or community organizing activities that are gender-specific and support Greater women and girls through the following pathways:
✅ Economic Autonomy
✅ Leadership
✅ Education
✅ Health & Wellness

⏰ Learn more & apply by March 23, 2026: http://ow.ly/xyaE50NaeS6

Eugénie and Brad Gentry are longtime supporters of the Community Fund for Women & Girls. In 2016, Eugénie remembers, “I ...
03/18/2026

Eugénie and Brad Gentry are longtime supporters of the Community Fund for Women & Girls. In 2016, Eugénie remembers, “I asked myself what steps I needed to take in my own life to make a difference in a meaningful way. Establishing a fund to benefit the Fund for Women & Girls struck me as an important and necessary first step." The Push Fund honors Eugénie's mother Patricia C. Isbrandtsen. Nicknamed "Push," she was a successful business woman and volunteer, and a remarkable role model for her seven children, six of whom were girls.

To establish The Push Fund, Eugénie used appreciated stock that had a low cost basis, which allowed her to establish the fund without incurring capital gains, taxes or dipping into cash reserves. "It was far and away the most effective, efficient way for us to make the gift.”

What inspires you? Establish a fund with a gift today or through estate planning. Let CFGNH help you build a fund to honor who or what you love by visiting CFGNH.org/Giving

This Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating local luminaries whose achievements light the way for women and girls in G...
03/17/2026

This Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating local luminaries whose achievements light the way for women and girls in Greater New Haven. Sarah Lee Brown Fleming was featured in an exhibit at the New Haven Free Public Library about women in history in Greater New Haven:

“Fleming was born in 1876 in South Carolina and raised in Brooklyn becoming the first African-American teacher in the Brooklyn public school system. After marrying Richard Stedman Fleming they moved to New Haven, where he became Connecticut’s first Black dentist. Fleming was a champion of civil rights and women’s suffrage. She was the founder of the Women’s Civic League and Connecticut State Union of Women’s Clubs. She also founded the Phillis Wheatley Home for Girls which supported young Black women seeking employment in New Haven. An active participant in the Harlem Renaissance, Fleming also made her mark with works such as the novel ‘Hope’s Highway’ and the poetry collection ‘Clouds and Sunshine.’ In 1952 she became Connecticut’s first African American Mother of the Year. In 1955 she was recognized in Congress for her recent award of the Sojourner Truth Scroll along with her many lifetime achievements.”

This March, the Community Fund for Women & Girls is also celebrating its own history of three decades. To highlight the power of women philanthropists, we’re reopening the 30th Anniversary Honor Roll. Dozens joined the Honor Roll in 2025, and you can too!

By joining the Honor Roll, you help uplift and ignite the next generation of leaders in Greater New Haven — today and in perpetuity. Gifts of $300 or more can be broken down into 12 monthly installments, and every gift means so much. Learn more at ManyVoicesOneVision.org

Address

70 Audubon Street
New Haven, CT
06510

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

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+12037772386

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