Hartford Business Journal

November 13, 2018 — Giving Guide

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www.HartfordBusiness.com • November 13, 2018 • GIVING GUIDE • Hartford Business Journal 7 The Gift of Listening M uch has been written about the decline of civic engagement, nationally and here in Greater Hartford. Sometimes blame is placed on social media, other times it is increasing busyness or generational differences. But before we can expect people to be engaged, we need to listen, what Dr. Steven Covey described as "listening to understand." In order to understand my new home of Greater Hartford, I've committed much of my time to listening. Through our Listening Tour, stakeholder surveys and personal interviews, I've learned a lot from you. • The key to strengthening our communities is collaboration — bringing together people, organizations, private and public sectors. • You asked for help in breaking down silos: bridging generations, connecting towns and coordinating nonprofits. • We need to take more (and smarter) risks. • We share concerns around creating opportunities for youth, improving public education, strengthening employment, addressing the challenges of poverty and inequality and protecting our environment. • Volunteers are an endangered species. Organizations that rely on volunteers are desperately in need of more help to provide their valuable services. My team and I have embraced your gift of feedback and applied it to our work. For example, we are reaching out to underrepresented voters and the nonprofits that serve them. Our new subsidiary, HFPG Impact! Greater Hartford, makes non-traditional investments to generate measurable community benefit. And in November we will announce a new program empowering each of our 29 towns. Don't get me wrong. Listening is hard. (Just ask my wife how well I really do!) But listening to understand is the key to building trust, empowering individuals and creating change. Listening is just one of the gifts we can give this season. This ninth annual Giving Guide is filled with many others. As we approach a new year, I look forward to listening to you again. Jay Williams President Hartford Foundation for Public Giving #UnitedForALICE U nited Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut's mission is to bring people and resources together to ensure that every child and every family has opportunities to succeed. As a community, we've made progress. With all of us working together, we can do more. Four out of 10 households in our region are struggling to make ends meet. They're making tough choices about child care, food, housing and health care. They're working hard, but not keeping up with the cost of living. These are ALICE households, a United Way-coined acronym that stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. On September 2, Connecticut United Ways released its third ALICE report. While fewer households are living in poverty, more are above that threshold but below financial security. The report also highlights ways in which the public and private sector can work together in assisting ALICE households in becoming financially secure. To learn about ALICE, please go to alice.ctunitedway.org for the report and related information. And, I hope you join me in taking action: • Give — United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut created the ALICE Fund to ensure that affordable, quality child care is available, in addition to healthy food, job training programs, financial coaching and income supports. You can give through your workplace campaign or by going to our website: unitedwayinc.org. • Advocate — ALICE makes tough choices every day. Visit MakingToughChoices.org for an ALICE experience. Share what you learn with family, friends and on social media. (Be sure to tag us @unitedwayinc.) • Volunteer — Host a financial workshop or become a tax preparer for the annual Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and help ALICE receive the tax credits and refunds that have been earned. (For information, contact mcook@unitedwayinc.org.) Together, we'll tackle the critical issues and create lasting change for local children and families in central Connecticut. Thank you to the Hartford Business Journal for continuing to provide a platform for nonprofit organizations throughout the Greater Hartford Region. Paula S. Gilberto President and CEO United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut From Our Founding Sponsors United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut

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