Hartford Business Journal

18 Hartford Business Journal • July 9, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com The Aurora Women and Girls Foundation, which works to promote women and girls in Greater Hartford, will award grants in 2018 totaling $110,000 to five organizations in Greater Hartford including: • Asnuntuck Community College for a tuition-free leadership development program for female students; • Goodwin College for proactive academic advising, financial aid and tailored student services for young women at risk of dropping out of college; • Grace Academy for support of graduates enrolling in college; • Manchester Community College for a program serving young women interested in pursuing STEM degrees and careers; • YWCA Hartford Region for a program providing comprehensive services to assist women attending Capital Community College with obtaining a college degree and a career in the field of health care. The Connecticut Building Congress Scholarship Fund presented renewable scholarships to five of Connecticut's graduating high school seniors at its 22nd annual project team awards banquet. Three $2,000 and two $3,000 scholarships were awarded at the event held at the Bond Ballroom in Hartford. The Wilson-Gray YMCA Youth and Family Center received a $25,000 grant from the United Bank Foundation to support its Teen Incentive Program. The grant helps support the program's ongoing success in benefitting underserved, at-risk teenagers from Hartford's Clay-Arsenal and Upper Albany neighborhoods. The Connecticut Health & Educational Facilities Authority honored 19 nonprofits with grants in the amount of $1 million. Grant recipients are from the education, healthcare, cultural and childcare sectors, CHEFA's core priority funding areas. Nonprofit Notebook NONPROFIT PROFILE Greater Hartford Arts Council 100 Pearl Street, Hartford | letsgoarts.org Mission: To inspire all people to participate and invest in the arts. Top Executive: Catherine Malloy, CEO Services: Financial and organizational resources for the arts and cultural sector. FY 2016 SUMMARY 2015 2016 Total Employees 14 14 Total Assets $2,385,379 $1,844,928 Total Liabilities $1,275,248 $713,651 REVENUES Contributions & Grants $2,843,163 $2,474,539 Program Service Revenue $0 $0 Investment Income $1,273 $4,791 Other $38,362 $11,572 Total $2,882,798 $2,490,902 EXPENSES Grants $1,515,227 $995,740 Member Benefits $0 $0 Salaries/Employee Benefits $893,312 $927,166 Fundraising Fees $0 $0 Other $576,645 $446,750 Total $2,985,184 $2,369,656 Margin $(102,386) $121,246 TOP PAID EXECUTIVES (FY 2017) Base salary Comp. & Benef. Catherine Malloy, CEO $165,000 $165,720 Brett Thompson, COO $85,000 $96,891 Source: Guidestar IRS 990 Tax Form than any other single religion, ac- cording to Pew Research Center data. Although funeral directors in years past simply made arrangements for a cookie-cutter religious service, their roles have expanded, especially in the past decade or so, Sheehy said. "I see that we then take a more ac- tive role in guiding our families for the different options for the service," Sheehy said. "We're taking a lot more of an active role in guiding them … emotionally, financially, on timing." That's a trend also noticed by Diana Duksa Kurz, co-owner of Newington Memorial Funeral Home, and a past president of the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association. "We also see a lot more creativity, personalization surrounding a funeral," Duksa Kurz said. "Families work with us, we help them craft a funeral that is meaningful to them." And individu- alized service is easier to do without a corpo- rate structure and broad policies dic- tating a funeral director's ap- proach to custom- ers, Wasley said. Families that recently suffered a loss often need help understand- ing what their memorial-service choices are, rather than someone who will take their initial requests at face value, Wasley said. "With cremation on the rise, funeral directors sometimes ... let the family dictate what they want," Wasley said. "Families don't really know what they want or what they need." Wasley added that her position as a visible member of the community — in- cluding serving on the local Rotary Club, Plainville Community Fund and Parent Teacher Organizations — can set her apart from Bailey, which is one of the most established businesses in town. Early support Less than a year passed from the time Wasley bought the vacant lot on Broad Street from Our Lady of Mercy to when she opened the 5,000-square- foot facility, financed through a loan from Simsbury Bank, she said. In that time, she said, the venture has elicited strong support from locals, who booked 10 services at Plainville Funeral Home in its first few weeks. Ideally, Wasley would like to capture 100 percent of the local market share, she said. But, for now, her goal is to become the preferred funeral home in Plainville. "To see people kind of pumped up about a new funeral home in town was kind of entertaining at times, but also very heartwarm- ing," Wasley said. "I think it's about supporting a small local business." Duksa Kurz isn't familiar with the particulars of Plainville Funeral Home's opening, but she thinks there's probably enough room in town for Wasley's home, and Bailey. "Just like any business there is always competition. There can be six funeral homes in one community," Kurz said. "The bottom line is: We're all serving families." CT's Funeral Homes and Services Industry 1997 2002 2007 2012 Number of funeral homes 235 221 222 209 Revenue $149M $164M $189M $189M Annual payroll $42M $46M $53M $53M Total employment 1,207 1,308 1,468 1,451 Source: U.S. Census Bureau Plainville Funeral Home on 81 Broad St. in Plainville opened in May. "They're not choosing things based on the religion they're associated with. They're choosing to handle the death in their own way." Edward J. Sheehy Jr. , president of the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association, on Connecticut families choosing cremation over burial. >> Startup Venture continued

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