[Excerpt from Patch article by Michael Lemanski, 7/16/25]
HARTFORD, CT — A Hartford-based benevolence foundation recently donated several grants to support organizations advocating for LGBTQ causes.
According to the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, eight area organizations received a total of $200,000 in grants from the foundation’s Equality Fund.
Separately in 2018, donor Joel Roskin established a donor-advised fund supporting organizations serving Greater Hartford that empower people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.
Combined, the two funds made the 2025 Equality Fund grantmaking possible.
The foundation commissioned a LGBTQIA+ Resident Wellbeing study in partnership with DataHaven in late 2023 to illustrate the current state of the LGBTQIA+ community’s quality of life in Greater Hartford.
Findings provided in this report were designed to assist organizations and funders in understanding conditions that affect LGBTQIA+ residents’ health and well-being.
While the study identified Connecticut as a national leader in LGBTQIA+ protections and resources, the report also highlighted some recommendations about ways to strengthen the LGBTQIA+ community.
Grants awarded through the Equality Fund were considered for Greater Hartford organizations with missions that support the LGBTQIA+ community or have programs designed specifically to address the unique needs of the LGBTQIA+ community.
As an example, Anchor Health is a leading health center for the LGBTQIA+ community in Connecticut.
With offices in Hamden and Stamford, the organization provides racially inclusive, gender-affirming, and sex-positive medical, mental health, and pharmacy care.
As a result, Anchor Health received a $43,000 grant from the Equality Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, to support the launch of a nine-month LGBTQIA+ pop-up clinic at The Health Collective East in Manchester, providing primary care, gender-affirming medicine, HIV prevention/treatment, and mental health services to 300 patients from Manchester, East Hartford, Vernon, Tolland, and surrounding towns.
“We are honored and grateful to receive support from the Hartford Foundation’s new Equality Fund,” said Bethany Cinque, Director of Donor Engagement at Anchor Health. “At a time when LGBTQ+ communities face growing barriers to healthcare and rising threats to their safety and well-being, this funding is a powerful commitment to health equity."
Link:
https://patch.com/connecticut/hartford/pro-lgbtq-groups-aided-hartford-foundation
