United Way Awards $7.8M to 38 Nonprofits
Grants fund 38 nonprofits in Danbury, Norwalk, and Stamford through Connecticut's R2 Community Reinvestment Program over three years.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Philanthropy
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United Way Coastal and Western Connecticut will distribute $7,815,000 in grants to 38 nonprofit organizations over three years. The awards are made in partnership with Connecticut's Social Equity Council through the Reimagine and Revitalize (R2) Community Reinvestment Program.
Why it matters
The R2 Program targets communities disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs and cannabis criminalization, directing statewide investment toward economic development, reentry, and youth initiatives. The grants bring that investment to Danbury, Norwalk, and Stamford.
The $7,815,000 in awards is spread across 38 nonprofits, with individual grants ranging from $75,000 to $300,000 over three years. Stamford receives the most recipients at 16, followed by Norwalk at 14 and Danbury at 8.
The players
United Way Coastal and Western Connecticut
A regional affiliate of the United Way network that coordinates community grantmaking and nonprofit funding across coastal and western Connecticut.
Connecticut Social Equity Council
A state body created to address the harms of cannabis criminalization and direct reinvestment into the communities most affected by the War on Drugs.
The details
United Way coordinates the application, review, award, and oversight of the grants, which were screened and scored using a standardized rubric developed by the Social Equity Council and grant managers. United Way serves as the Council-approved grant manager for Danbury, Norwalk, and Stamford.
Timeline
The grants will be distributed over the next three years.
Philanthropy Context
The grants are a direct implementation of Connecticut's Reimagine and Revitalize (R2) Community Reinvestment Program, a three-year statewide investment funded by the Social Equity Council to address the War on Drugs and cannabis criminalization. Awards are being carried out by local grant managers in Danbury, Norwalk, and Stamford under that framework.
Nonprofits in Danbury, Norwalk, and Stamford will receive multi-year funding for economic development, reentry, and youth programs. Residents in these cities may see these services expand over the three-year grant period.
The takeaway
Multi-year grants give local nonprofits more predictable funding than one-time awards, which can support longer-term programs in the communities the R2 Program targets. Readers interested in the work can track how the funded organizations report progress over the coming years.
Further reading
For more on how nonprofits are funded across the state, see Philanthropy coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Westfair Communications.
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