History & Founders

• Honored by the Middlesex County Chapter of the NAACP with the Civic and Community Engagement award.
• Surpassed $10 million in total grants awarded since CFMC was established 25 years ago.

GSB joins our grant making partnerships, with CFMC managing GSB’s annual investment through grants in Middlesex County.

Recognized by the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce as the Nonprofit Business of the Year.

Thanks to the generosity of Rich and Joan Tomc and their daughters Jamie and Dana, CFMC received a new “home,” the Caleb Fuller House at 49 Main Street, Middletown.

• Received its largest bequest to date, $8 million, establishing the Mary Janvrin and Natalie Janvrin Weeks Fund for Birds, Other Animals, and Nature.
• Middlesex United Way named CFMC the 2016 Tocqueville Society Philanthropy Award recipient. The honor is given to organizations or individuals who inspire philanthropy. The recognition coincided with CFMC’s 20th anniversary.

Honored by the Middletown Commission on the Arts with the Arts Advocacy Award.

Celebrated 15 years of Helping Good People Do Great Things in Middlesex County, including launching a new website, logo, and a new name – Community Foundation of Middlesex County, Inc.

Recognized as “Connecticut’s Outstanding Foundation of the Year” by the Association of Fundraising Professions, CT Chapter.

In response to the economic downturn and to continue developing a broad array of resources to help our nonprofits thrive, CFMC launched the Nonprofit Resource Center, offering access to free and low-cost professional development training for nonprofits, and the Live Local Give Local Fund, an unrestricted pass-through grant making fund to support our competitive application process and meet the ever-changing needs in our region.

Surpassed $1 million in total grants awarded since its establishment, proving that Philanthropy Matters and Philanthropy Works in Middlesex County.

Achieved compliance with and accreditation through the Council on Foundations’ National Standards for Community Foundations. CFMC was the fourth community foundation in Connecticut to achieve this “best practices” certification, and continues to be accredited through this program.

Sari A. Rosenbaum, one of CFMC’s founding Board members, rallied 60 friends and colleagues to establish the Fund for Women & Girls, later renamed the Sari A. Rosenbaum Fund for Women & Girls in honor of and tribute to Sari’s years of commitment to our community and the Community Foundation.

River View Cemetery, Inc. became the Community Foundation’s first grant making partner in our competitive process, providing annual support to the pool of funds supporting our nonprofits.

Received our first bequest gift, thanks to the generosity and legacy of Elizabeth Swaim, establishing three Funds, two designated to support organizations and programs she cherished and one to support general grant making in perpetuity.

The Community Foundation of Middlesex County is unique. It began as a grass roots effort with multiple donations from countless caring donors. That tradition continues as friends, neighbors, businesses, and organizations continue to work together, pooling their gifts, and making a positive impact in our community through the Community Foundation.