First Niagara Donates $20K In Recent Community Nonprofit Grants

July 8, 2016 | Reprints | Unlock Link | Print

First Niagara Bank’s charitable arm has announced a pair of $10,000 grants to aid  Hartford and New Haven communities.

The first $10,000 will go to Hartford’s new Youth Service Corps, an organization that provides unemployed young people ages 16-24 with part-time employment completing community service-based projects.

The Corps focuses on serving those who have been involved with the criminal justice system. The program aims to impact four areas: public safety, economic opportunity, neighborhood revitalization and civic engagement.

“At First Niagara, youth mentoring is one of the cornerstones of our charitable giving philosophy,” Jeff Hubbard, First Niagara’s New England regional president, said in a statement. “We are proud to support an organization like Youth Service Corps and their important mission to improve the employment skillset and quality of life for so many young people.”

The University of New Haven (UNH) will also receive $10,000 from the First Niagara Foundation in support of the University’s new Nonprofit Institute and its Shared Live Client Experience (SLiCE) program.

The Nonprofit Institute and the SLiCE program will connect UNH students, faculty and supporters with local nonprofits to help them develop more efficient and sustainable programs, according to Brian Kench, dean of the UNH College of Business.

First Niagara’s grant will be used to build and populate a database of local nonprofits for the institute and the SLiCE program and to provide students with internship and job opportunities in the nonprofit sector. First Niagara’s grant will also be used to host a series of roundtable discussions with nonprofit leaders, students and faculty to develop or enhance relationships and to discuss ways to improve programs.

“Thanks to First Niagara’s grant, residents of Greater New Haven who depend on these nonprofits will be able to benefit from stronger, more successful programs,” Kench said in a statement. “We are proud of the great work our students and faculty have accomplished and look forward to enhancing our work.”