A philanthropic organization that plans to build a $35 million headquarters in Connecticut— a project that would solidify the gateway between a downtown and a city’s northern neighborhoods — is making another major change come next year.
The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is shedding the name it has carried for the last century in favor of “Greater Hartford Gives Foundation” — a change, the organization said, that will convey a more welcoming image and one that better conveys the foundation’s regional focus. The foundation makes grants to nonprofits in Hartford and 28 surrounding communities.
The name change, which will take effect in January, will be accompanied by a new logo and branding campaign and comes as the foundation celebrates its centennial anniversary.
Jay Williams, president and chief executive of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, stands on an empty lot at Albany Avenue and Main Street in Hartford with a view of downtown where the foundation expect to build a new, $35 million headquarters. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
“As we began planning for our centennial anniversary, we asked ourselves if there is a name for this century-old organization that more effectively communicates what is at the core of who we are and what we do,” said Jay Williams, the foundation’s president and chief executive. “This question has been debated on and off within the foundation for more than 30 years. As a result, we engaged in this rebranding effort to better reflect our commitment to the region.”
The foundation, launched in 1925, said the name change and branding campaign also is intended to clear up just what the foundation is. In the past, there have been misconceptions that the foundation is a government agency or even the philanthropic arm of insurance giant The Hartford — both of which are not true.
The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving will change its century-old name to “Greater Hartford Gives Foundation” and adopt this new logo. (Hartford Foundation for Public Giving)
“The new name is also action-oriented, bi-directional and inclusive, inviting everyone to see themselves as part of a community that gives in many ways — through volunteerism, monetary support, bold ideas and collective care,” said Mark Overmyer-Velázquez, the chair of the foundation’s board of directors and dean of the downtown Hartford campus of the University of Connecticut.
The new logo is designed with a bold, standalone monogram that elevates Hartford — the center of the region that Hartford serves— with a striking “H” drawn from structural bridge elements, meant to convey connection, strength and intention. The colors reinforce a look that “is both inviting and reflecting the organization’s clear and forward-thinking vision,” the foundation said. The blue colors were chosen to evoke the Connecticut River, which runs through the region.
A new tagline, “A strong foundation for all” emphasizes a broad-based generosity and the organization’s role as a reliable maker of grants and an agent for change.
The foundation hired a New York-based creative company, Big Duck, a worker-owned cooperative whose clients are exclusively nonprofit to develop the new brand.
Since its founding a century ago, the foundation’s philanthropy has aimed at dismantling structural racism and achieving equity in social and economic mobility. Each year, the foundation awards tens of millions of dollars in grants to nonprofits, with a priority placed on communities of color.
This is a conceptual rendering of the new, $35 million headquarters for the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving at the intersection of Main Street and Albany Avenue in Hartford (JCJ Architecture/Hartford Foundation for Public Giving)
In 2024, the foundation awarded nearly 2,500 grants totaling $55 million to nonprofits in greater Hartford. The total includes $1.45 million awarded through 440 scholarships.
Construction of the foundation’s new, two-story headquarters at the intersection of Main Street and Albany Avenue in Hartford is expected to begin this spring and run up to 24 months. The roughly 35,000-square-foot structure could open in early 2028.
Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.
