Branford Community Foundation 2012

Reaching Out
A REPORT FROM THE BRANFORD COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, 2013
BRANFORD
COMMUNITY
FOUNDATION
The Impact of the Branford
Community Foundation
Meeting
Community
Needs
The Branford Community Foundation
(BCF) started in 1979 with a small boy
and a swing set. Five-year-old Darin
Etzel was ill with a rare blood disease and
needed a bone marrow transplant. “At
that time,” says Darin’s father, Dave Etzel,
“there were only three hospitals in the
country that did that procedure.” So Darin
and his parents went to Sloan Kettering
in New York City. Dave and his wife,
Mary Margaret, took an apartment in the
city to be with Darin, and friends from
Branford traveled to New York to donate
blood and offer support. These friends
wanted Darin to have something
We are more determined
special to look forward, so they
than ever to bring our raised $770 to buy him a swing
community partners together set. “The swing set,” says Dave,
to find innovative and effective “was hope for the future.” Sadly,
solutions to some of our most Darin developed complications
challenging social problems. and died on January 1, 1980. In
his memory, his family wanted
to carry into the greater community the
“hope for the future” that their friends
had wanted for them. The Branford
Community Foundation began with the
$770 raised for Darin’s swing set.
“The Branford Community Foundation
works every day to help address
the most pressing issues facing our
community, including emergency fuel
and food assistance, youth development,
environmental education and preservation,
and the arts. Community foundations
impact lives, solve problems, and improve
futures,” said Eunice Lasala, BCF
President. “In a down economy, with
limited resources and a growing need
for services to help families in need, we
are more determined than ever to bring
our community partners together to find
innovative and effective solutions to some
of our most challenging social problems.”
The mission of the BCF is to connect people
who care with causes that matter for the
purpose of preserving and promoting the
quality of life in the Branford community,
now and for generations to come. The BCF is
governed by a board of directors selected for
knowledge of the education, cultural, civic,
moral, public, and other charitable needs of
the Branford community and serves without
compensation.
• In 2010, BCF provided $25,000 in seed
funding for the construction of the new
Soundview Family YMCA.
Thanks to the generous support of donors
and careful financial investment, BCF
maintains over one million dollars in
endowed funds and invests over $50,000
in the community each year. BCF likes
to share real stories about how the
organization works with private and public
community leaders and organizations to
keep “hope for the future” strong in our
town. Some recent examples are:
• In 2011, BCF supported free
performances of “Emergency Used
Candles,” at Evergreen Woods and the
Blackstone Memorial Library.
Continued on page 5.
TREASURER’S REPORT:
2010-2011 Financial Information
Statement of Financial Position
December 31, 2011 and 2010
2011
2010
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash
$138,667
Accrued interest income
2,770
_______
Total current assets
141,437
$217,815
2,599
_______
220,414
ASSETS:
BRANFORD
COMMUNITY
FOUNDATION
Meeting Community
Needs
P.O. Box 462
Branford, CT 06405
(203) 488-6063
Eunice Lasala,
President
Stephanie Farber,
Vice President
John E. Donegan,
Secretary
Christian P. Edmonds,
Treasurer
LONG-TERM ASSETS:
Investments
1,259,669 1,233,473
_______
_______
Total Assets
$1,401,106 $1,453,887
LIABILITIES:
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Grants payable
$0
_______
$0
_______
NET ASSETS:
Permanently restricted
for High School
Scholarships
$156,336
$168,248
Temporarily restricted
8,605
Unrestricted:
Unappropriated
833,576
902,986
Appropriated - by Board
for scholarships
411,194
374,048
_______
_______
Total Net Assets $1,401,106 $1,453,887
_______
_______
Total Liabilities
& Net Assets
$1,401,106 $1,453,887
Statement of Activity
& Changes in Net Assets
Year Ended December 31, 2011 and 2010
2011
REVENUES, GAINS
& OTHER SUPPORT:
Contributions
$83,427
Function income, net
Income on long-term
investments
23,366
Net gain on long-term
investments
(72,137)
_______
Total revenues, gains,
and other support
$34,656
EXPENSES:
Charitable giving:
Grants
Scholarships
Total giving
Administrative:
Professional fees
Postage
Dues
Advertising
Printing
Website expenses
Administrative
Fidelity bond
Total administrative
Total expenses
Change in net assets
Net assets at
beginning of year
Net assets at
end of year
2010
$162,348
(327)
21,815
123,367
_______
$307,203
$64,481
16,000
_______
80,481
$46,000
15,300
_______
61,300
4,578
—
500
500
330
64
126
858
_______
$6,956
_______
$87,437
3,369
848
—
124
2,993
705
81
—
_______
$8,120
_______
$69,420
$(52,781)
$237,783
1,453,887
_______
1,216,104
_______
$1,401,106
1,453,887
Victor J. Cassella,
Assistant Treasurer
DIRECTORS
Patricia Bloomquist
Robert Gill
Suzanne Lendler-Marsh
Laura Massey
James Perito
Janet Ryan
The 2010 and 2011 financials are available
on the Foundation website. Please visit:
branfordcommunityfoundation.org
Logo design by Martha Link
Walsh; Newsletter design by
Words by Jen.
2
Branford Community Foundation
OUR FUNDS*
FUND FOCUS: Mailhouse Fund
General Fund ($517,407)
Robert “Pat” Mailhouse is
a New Haven native and
graduated from Hillhouse
High School. Pat entered
Colorado College, but
his college career was
interrupted by World War
II. Pat served in the 9th
Army Air Corps, 409th
Bomb Group operating
in England and France.
He completed his degree
at Colorado College after
which he taught high school
in Colorado. Pat worked in
California for a short time
and then moved to Branford
in the early 1950s.
H. Allen Carol Fund
($13,557)
Pat was newly married and with his wife raised his three children in Branford. Pat’s
business career was with the family-owned Plymouth Electric Company headquartered in
North Haven, Connecticut. The company was the distributor in Connecticut and Western
Massachusetts for Zenith Radio and Television, Kitchen Aid and Amana products.
William and Barbara Lyons
Fund ($108,629)
Pat’s past community involvement included many years in the Rotary Club, the Branford
Economic Development Commission, and sponsoring New Haven’s American Legion
baseball teams for over 40 years.
Robert J Massey, Sr.
Family Fund ($11,609)
For several years, Pat and his wife Joyce, have thought about starting a fund with the
Branford Community Foundation, inspired by others who have been so generous. They
wanted to enhance a community which they both love and enjoy. In 2011, the Pat and
Joyce Mailhouse Fund was established. Through this fund, Pat and Joyce hope to promote
athletics and the arts in the Branford community, two areas that are so crucial but often
overlooked with the crush of requests for funding life-threatening issues. Their inspiration
is found within their own family and in the many great sports teams in Branford and the
interest their children and grandchildren have in fine arts, music, and drama.
The Branford Community Foundation is indebted to Joyce and Pat Mailhouse for their
generous donation in establishing a fund which will improve the Branford community for
years to come.
Andriole Family Fund
($24,490)
Clark Family Fund ($7,002)
A. Peter and Fae Delfini
Memorial Fund ($8,845)
John E. Donegan Fund
($742)
Robert Dow Scholarship
Fund ($9,638)
Darin G. Etzel Fund
($91,116)
Ellen McDonnell Ferguson
Fund ($57,562)
PJ Ferriolo Memorial Fund
($26,987)
Vincent S. Giordano, Sr.
Construction Ind. Memorial
Scholarship ($34,526)
Donald W. Grigley Memorial
Fund ($14,891)
Harry and Abbey Johnson
Fund ($4,635)
Joyce & Robert Mailhouse
Fund ($49,961)
Kendra Martin Scholarship
Fund ($7,378)
Mobeck Family Fund
($9,981)
John and Carol Moss Fund
($7,642)
D. William Owens, Jr. and
Robert M. Owens Scholarship
($11,313)
Carol D. Redden Scholarship
Fund ($42,190)
Mari-Ellen Reed Fund
($14,821)
Austin Ryer Fund ($8,695)
William Schwanfelder Fund
($108,962)
Selectmans Fund ($1,865)
John B. Sliney ($9,323)
Eleanor Taylor Fund ($5,533)
Donald and Mary Lou Welch
Fund ($7,497)
Linda Edsall Winward
Scholarship Fund ($18,178)
Linda Edsall and Walter
Winward Fund ($9,795)
*2011 Year End Totals
www.branfordcommunityfoundation.org
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Branford Community Foundation Contributors
Dr. & Mrs. Truett Allison
Charles Andriole
Patricia C. Andriole
Joan Armstrong
Mr. & Mrs. Anthony J. Arpino
Irene N. Ayres
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Babcock
Mr. & Mrs. Paul E. Barrett
Sanja Benak
Claire Bennitt
Susan Bennitt
Robert I. Berdon
Brian S. Borgerson
Margaret M. Boyer
Patricia M. Brady
Mr. & Mrs. Charles Brainerd
Elaine Brainerd
Mr. & Mrs. William R. Briggs
Carole Brown
Helen E. Bulger
Melanie M. Cameron
Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey J. Canavan
Mr. & Mrs. Victor J. Cassella
John Casso & Mark Serchuck
Thomas Casso
Henry Castellon, Jr.
Phoebe G. Chandler
Jeffrey Clark
Jonathan D. Clark &
Andrea Schieckel
David B. Colbourn
Richard L. Cretella
Salvatore L. DeFelice
Dorothy G. Desi
Elizabeth M. Dock
Mr. & Mrs. John E. Donegan
Connie M. Drysdale
Christian P. Edmonds, Esquire
Richard Edsall
Mr. & Mrs. David S.
Engstrom
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Etzel
Drs. Leonard & Stephanie Farber
Niall Ferguson
Raymond F. Ferguson
Mr. & Mrs. Peter M. Ferriolo
Lois Flesche
Sibyl K. Ford
Mr. & Mrs. Albert L.
Fordiani, Jr.
Karen J. Freedman
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Gagliardi
Nancy Gaylord
Janice M. Geier
Branford Counseling Center
The Branford Counseling Center has seen a huge
increase in requests for Basic Needs and Mental
Health Services. The Center is grateful to the Branford
Community Foundation for its generous grant and
participation in Foundations Fuel Families. The money
supplemented Town funds, and the Center was able to
assist many more people, including families during the
holiday season.
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Carol Gesner
Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Gill
Josephine Giordano
Mr. & Mrs. Michael F.
Giordano
Mr. & Mrs. Malcolm D. Goering
Dr. Laurence B. Gormley
Mr. & Mrs. Jon Grossman
Perry Grossman
Mr. & Mrs. F. Herbert
Gruendel
Elizabeth Haas
Mr. & Mrs. Donald M. Herzog
William C. Horne &
Lea Brilmayer
Peter Hugret & Kathy Higgins
Mr. & Mrs. Creighton Hooker
David K. Hyatt
Jeanne Hyatt
Winnifred Judge
Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth P.
Kaminsky, Sr.
Frank Kenna
Mr. & Mrs. John J. Kennedy
Mr. & Mrs. Stuart T. Klarman
Mr. & Mrs. Alexander P. Klutch
Thelma Kmetzo
Dr. Arthur H. Knowlton
Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Lasala
Mr. & Mrs. James Laske
Bruce R. Lively & Ann P.
Rutherford
Robert Mailhouse
Kendra L. Martin
Jerry Mashaw & Anne
MacClintock
Carol F. Masotta
Robert J. Massey Sr. Family
Foundation, Inc.
Martin R. McDonald
Mr. & Mrs. John M. McGuire
Mr. & Mrs. Andrew McKirdy
Dr. & Mrs. James Mendillo
Mr. & Mrs. D. William Owens, Jr.
Mr. & Mrs. Arnold Peterson
Joseph Polka
Mr. & Mrs. George E.
Prokupek
Shirley Rasmussen
Mr. & Mrs. Stanton Robison
Joyce L. Schaffer
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Schmidt
Mr. & Mrs. Richard B.
Schreiber
Branford Festival Father
of the Year Award
Each year the Branford Festival offers a Father of the
Year Essay Contest. In 2011, winner Erin Salmon
wrote about her father, Brian Salmon, pictured above.
The Branford Community Foundation donated a
bicycle and helmet from Zane’s Cycles to the essay
winner. Photo by Rosemary Rubsam Media.
Branford Community Foundation
The Impact of the Branford Community Foundation, continued
Helen Ahern Schwab
Dr. & Mrs. Enzo J. Sella
Mark Simon & Penelope I.
Bellamy
Melissa B. Smith
Arlene F. Steinlauf
Mr. & Mrs. Timothy M.
Stevens
Robert Taylor, Jr.
Roberta Temple
Rosemary Tobin
Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Torello
Betty Ann Trapasso
Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Vailette, Sr.
Robert A. Valley, Sr.
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Vancisin
Robert Wheeler
Carl Wies & Margot
Hardenbergh
Lorraine K. Young
Mr. & Mrs. Stephen J. Zack
Mr. & Mrs. Jeremy
Zimmermann
Mr. & Mrs. Marvin
Zimmermann
• In 2012, BCF provided financial
assistance for ten Branford children and
teens to attend Camp Hazen YMCA
summer programs.
While BCF was pleased to support
these important community efforts, the
Foundation’s work is more than just
about responding to grants. Last winter
when the community faced a fuel crisis,
BCF—working in collaboration with the
Community Foundations in Guilford and
Madison—spearheaded a fundraising effort
to address the shortfall. Using a challenge
grant that would match every dollar up
to $10,000, BCF maximized its donation
to the Branford Counseling Center to
distribute to Branford families in need.
BCF works hard to respond to community
needs and continually looks for ways to
improve the process of the Foundation’s
giving. To that end, the organization
recently implemented new policy and
procedures to make BCF grant-making
more effective. The application form has
been modified and the review process for
grant request has been streamlined; grant
requests will now be evaluated quarterly
(03/31; 06/30; 09/30 and 12/31). The
modifications to the application now
adhere to national and Connecticut state
standards and capture more meaningful
data. The new application form can be
downloaded at the Foundation’s website,
www.branfordcommunityfoundation.org.
The Branford Community Foundation
is proud to make a difference in the
community. These efforts are only possible
through the gracious giving of the people
who care about our mission and who have
supported us. On behalf of the board and
all those that have benefited from our
supporters, a heartfelt “thank you.” If you
would like more information, including
how to initiate a grant or how to give to
the Foundation, please visit our website or
contact Eunice Lasala, Board President, at
(203) 488-6063.
Branford Food Pantry
Branford High School Performing Arts
The Branford Food Pantry serves about 155 families
per month, providing non-perishable items, meats,
bread, eggs, fruits and vegetables, cheese, pastry
items, and school snacks. The Food Pantry is a 100%
volunteer organization. Thanks to the generous
donations from the Branford Community Foundation
and others, it is able provide better nutrition for those
in need in the town of Branford.
In 2011, Branford High School Performing Arts was
granted newly-released rights to produce The Phantom
of the Opera. Funding was generated from individual
and community contributions. The support of the
Branford Community Foundation played an important
role in helping more than 150 cast and crew members
experience an excellent production that brought the
community together. Photo by Pam Johnson.
www.branfordcommunityfoundation.org
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GRANT FOCUS: Shoreline Trolley Museum
2011 GRANTS
The Foundation’s
continuing commitment
to our community was
reflected by the number
and size of our grants in
2010 which supported:
• Branford Counseling
Center
• Branford Food Pantry
• Branford High School
Performing Arts
• Branford Land Trust
• Camp Hazen YMCA
• Community Dining
Room
• Community Mediation
• Fractured Atlas
Productions
• “Roll Over Beethoven”
Over the past two years, flooding at the Shore Line
Trolley Museum—from Hurricane Sandy and Tropical
Storm Irene—has been worse than any other time in the
Museum’s 65-year history. The Museum has seen all of its
nearly 100 trolleys flooded by corrosive salt water and its
line, the oldest continuously operating suburban trolley
line in the country, has been damaged. But the Shore
Line Trolley Museum has faced this devastation head on
and its Elevating the Collection Campaign to protect and
preserve its collection of invaluable antique trolleys ended
2012 having raised nearly $1.7 million, including support
from the Branford Community Foundation. With these
funds the Museum is beginning the first phase of the
project—erecting the two buildings that will house our
collection and keep it safe from rising waters. Bids have
been submitted, and it is expected that a contractor will
be selected shortly. Construction may begin this spring. If
you are interested in offering continuing support to the
Campaign to ensure that we can install the track to carry the trolleys to their new home
before the next hurricane season please contact Bob Serow, Campaign Counsel at rlserow@
optonline.net or 203-215-8569.
• Shoreline Arts Alliance
• Shoreline Trolley
Museum
• Soundview Family
YMCA
• Walsh Intermediate
School, The Music Man
In addition, $16,000
from memorial funds the
Branford Community
Foundation holds and
manages was distributed
to high school seniors in
the form of scholarships
for their education.
Foundations Fuel Families
The Federal and State budget cuts to fuel assistance in 2012 sent a message that our communities would receive half of the dollars received the prior year to help people who could not
pay for heat. The funding for 2011 was not enough to meet the needs of our citizens, and in
2012 there were many more residents asking for assistance. Recognizing the devastating impact
this would have on our neighbors, the Community Foundations in Branford, Guilford, and
Madison worked together, spearheading fundraising efforts in their communities.
The goal of Foundations Fuel Families was to raise private funding within each community
to meet the funding gap for fuel assistance. Each of the Community Foundations pledged a
challenge grant of up to $10,000 that would match every dollar raised in that town. All dollars
raised in a town stayed in that town. In Branford, the Branford Counseling Center received
every dollar raised to put towards their emergency fuel programming.
The three Foundations worked with the community churches and civic organizations. Our
Branford citizens became much more informed of the great need in our town and responded
generously. With the most compassionate assistance of the Branford Rotary Club as well as
private donations from many residents, the Branford Community Foundation was fortunate
to give the Counseling Center over $26,000 to be used for fuel assistance.
6
Branford Community Foundation
Branford Cares
Branford Cares is a grass-roots response to the growing number of people in our town who
struggle to afford one or more of life’s basic needs. Branford Cares creates the opportunity for
neighbors to help each other. The summer of 2012 was filled with fund (and fun) raising events
created by individuals who were moved by the plight of others; block parties, lemonade stands,
bake sales, dinner parties, birthday parties, large events and small, raised over $58,000. The
funds were distributed to the Branford Counseling Center’s Basic Needs Fund, the Branford
Food Pantry, the Community Dining Room, the Clothing Bank, Orchard House Senior Day
Care, and Canoe Brook Senior Center’s Fuel Assistance Fund.
The mission of Branford Cares is to strengthen community awareness and compassion for those
who struggle to afford the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, medical care, transportation
and utilities; to encourage and support the people of Branford in creative acts of generosity;
and to promote intra-community dialogue for the benefit of all.
Our vision for Branford is a more aware, compassionate, and integrated community in which
our citizens embrace a collective responsibility to one another, particularly those who are less
fortunate. We imagine a town in which it is deemed a privilege to make sacrifices for the good
of others.
The Branford Cares Summit brought together Branford’s safety net organizations along with
the Board of Education, Branford Police Department, and the political leadership of the town
to discuss the basic needs crisis. Activities included the Summer Fund Raising Campaign,
Branford Cares Dental Initiative, and the upcoming 2013 Service Providers Roundtable.
Branford Land Trust
Camp Hazen
In 2010, the Branford Land Trust set out on an
ambitious campaign to protect Pieper Woodland and
Johnson Farm. In 2011, the campaign was successfully
completed thanks to contributions from many sources
including the Branford Community Foundation. In
the end, sixty-one acres of forest and farmland in the
Pisgah Brook/Supply Ponds watershed were preserved
for future generations.
Founded in 1920 in Chester, Camp Hazen YMCA
offers year-round camping experiences. One father
said, “The camperships could not have come at a better
time for my girls. Their mother’s health is failing and
life at home is not as easy. Thank you from the bottom
of my heart!” Camp Hazen transforms young lives in
so many ways, thanks to the help of partners like the
Branford Community Foundation.
www.branfordcommunityfoundation.org
7
8
Community Dining Room
Community Mediation
The Community Dining Room has been serving the
Branford community since 1985, offering a hot meal
every day of the year. Programs include daily lunch,
family dinner, Saturday breakfast, home delivery, and
educational programs addressing nutrition, exercise
and good health. Thanks to community support, CDR
programs serve nearly 175 different households. These
families are able to stretch household budgets with
dinners from the CDR each week. Good health and
quality of life are improved with CDR food support.
The Branford Community Foundation can be viewed
as an innovator in their support of an initiative by
Community Mediation, Inc, a non-profit agency
that has provided mediation, facilitation and training
services for over 30 years in order to create a more
peaceful community. Thanks to their enthusiasm,
a comprehensive conflict management partnership
was created between Community Mediation and the
Branford Police Department to assist with officer
training and neighborhood dispute resolution.
Shoreline Arts Alliance
Walsh Intermediate School Musical
With the generous support of the Branford
Community Foundation, the Shoreline Arts Alliance
was able to present two performance readings of
an original script, Emergency Used Candles, written
and performed by the author in September of 2011
at Evergreen Woods Retirement Community and
Blackstone Memorial Library. More than 100 attendees
enjoyed the presentation by actress and playwright,
Chiara Montalto. Photo by Judy Barbosa.
Because of the help from the Branford Community
Foundation, Walsh Intermediate School’s production
of The Music Man was a spectacular success. The show
was instrumental in allowing students to showcase their
talents, acquire poise and self-confidence, and learn
how to work as a team. Most importantly, the musicals
have given students with special needs the opportunity
to excel. In many cases, participating in the plays has
resulted in a life changing experience.
Branford Community Foundation