Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut

About Us

One of 800+ community foundations nationwide, our vision is a healthy, thriving, sustainable Eastern Connecticut. We put philanthropy into action to address the needs, rights and interests of our community in Eastern Connecticut while fulfilling the passions of our donors.

Our permanent pool of 503 philanthropic funds established by individuals, families, businesses and other organizations makes possible grants and scholarships of $5-6 million annually for the benefit of the residents of 42 towns (New London County, Windham County and six towns in Tolland County). Since our founding in 1983, we have awarded more than $51.1 million in grants and scholarships to advance our four community priorities: empowering youth, promoting basic needs and rights, preserving the environment and advancing animal welfare.


For donors, CFECT offers a complete toolkit for charitable giving, expert assistance in learning more about the causes they care about, and the opportunity to join others with similar interests to learn and give together. For the community at large, CFECT offers a permanent, growing source of grant and scholarship monies, as well as common meeting ground and leadership on important issues in Eastern Connecticut. The Community Foundation convenes groups to consider and propose solutions to community challenges and provides training to strengthen the nonprofit sector.