New Canaan's Grace Farms Foundation Awards Space Grants

NEW CANAAN, Conn. -- Grace Farms has announced its first round of "space grants" awarded to 42 nonprofits, including 10 national and 32 state and local organizations.

Grace Farms Foundation has awarding "space grants" to a few dozen nonprofits. Grants of space are offered within the River building and the West Barn, and on the 80-acre grounds. Photo Credit: *contributed*

Rachel Martin

03/03/2016 5:00 a.m.

"The Foundation offers space grants instead of monetary grants to support existing organizations that can leverage the physical structure, staff and grounds of Grace Farms to succeed in meaningful work," the grant application notes.

Grace Farms is a 80-acre property of mostly open space, but also with facilities that are integrated into that space. Part of Grace Farms Foundation's mission is to support nonprofits whose work aligns with any combination of the Foundation's five initiatives: nature, arts, community, justice and faith.

"Since we opened to the public in October of last year, Grace Farms has already welcomed more than 50,000 visitors and partnered with 25 not-for-profit organizations," said foundation president Sharon Prince. "(W)e are delighted to partner with these additional organizations. This two-way relationship will help advance the missions of the grantees and provide greater opportunity for Grace Farms visitors to get involved and give back to the community."

Grantees and the programs they will host at Grace Farms include:

Voices of September 11th -- a 15th-anniversary gathering focused on resiliency, on September 12, 2016
Arts for Healing -- bi-weekly, special needs music and art therapy
Future Five -- a pilot math intervention program for low-income high school students
STAR, Inc. Lighting the Way -- a weekly book club for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families
Discovery Center of Ridgefield and other local nature centers -- ongoing educational nature program
Full Court Peace - a three-month weekly basketball program to unite, educate and strengthen youth from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.

Organizations will hold board meetings, galas and retreats that will lay the foundation for potential programming at Grace Farms. For full list of space grant recipients, click here.

Application for space grants are available here. Deadlines are once a year for larger events and twice a year for smaller grants. The next deadline is May 15. For more information about Grace Farms, visit its website.

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