CBIA BizCast: Giving Back to Greater Hartford

2026 is an important year for the Greater Hartford Gives Foundation.

After celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2025, the former Hartford Foundation for Public Giving kicked off the year with a major rebranding and plans for a new headquarters in Hartford’s North End.

Foundation president and CEO Jay Williams joined the CBIA BizCast to highlight the nonprofit’s mission and new chapter.

“We wanted a name that was actionable and modern,” he said.

“‘Greater Hartford Gives Foundation’ speaks to the breadth of our reach and the fact that giving is bidirectional—the community and donors give to us, and we give back to the community.”

Williams said the name change was decades in the making.

Core Mission

“We found memos in the archives of the foundation dating back 30, 40 years about conversations around our name,” he said, adding that the rebranding goes to the core of the organization’s mission.

The foundation partners with donors and nonprofits to support residents in 29 communities that make up Greater Hartford.

“The mission is about putting philanthropy into action.”

Greater Hartford Gives’ Jay Williams

Williams said their focus is to “dismantle structural racism and help build equitable opportunities” in areas including basic human needs, employment and education, thriving neighborhoods, civic and resident engagement, and the arts. 

“There is no one in Greater Hartford that wouldn’t benefit from fewer disparities, from greater opportunity,” he said.

“The mission is about putting philanthropy into action to create lasting solutions, to help add vibrancy to all the 29 towns that we serve.”

Priorities in Practice

Williams said their centennial year showcased those priorities in practice.

The foundation recapitalized local funds in each of its 29 towns with $100,000 for volunteer-led grantmaking, launched the Greater Future Scholarship in partnership with Hartford Promise—providing up to $100,000 in financial assistance plus a decade of wraparound supports—and announced $6 million in investments for artists and arts organizations across the region.

The nonprofit also partnered with the Connecticut Forum for an event with President Barack Obama in Hartford.

“The entire year was about just trying to convey to the community how deeply appreciative we were, and continue to be of their generosity, and to also demonstrate that we are here for good—we are here for the next 100 years,” Williams said.

Williams says the foundation’s new building will be “more than just a headquarters.”

The foundation closed the year by unveiling the new name and a plan to break ground on a community-centered headquarters in the city’s North End.

The building will serve as a community hub, convening donors and nonprofits.

It will also offer a no-cost space for neighborhood groups and community organizations.

Williams said the goal for the building is to be “more than just a headquarters.”

“We want to assist the small businesses in that Albany Avenue, Main Street corridor. We want the citizens and the neighborhood groups to have access,” he said.

Community Service

Williams’ path to the foundation began in Youngstown, Ohio, a city he said has a similar blue-collar grit and perseverance to Hartford.

After starting his career in banking, he moved into public service as the city’s director of community development.

He was elected mayor in 2005, becoming the youngest and first Black mayor in the city’s history.

“When your secretary calls and says, ‘The White House is on the phone,’ you’ve got to take that call.”

Williams

His focus on economic revival eventually led him to Washington, D.C., where he joined the Obama administration in 2005 with roles focused on community and economic development.

Williams said he never sought out the position in the administration, but felt humbled by the opportunity.

“When your secretary calls and says, ‘The White House is on the phone,’ you’ve got to take that call,” he said.

Making an Impact

Williams joined the foundation in 2017.

“The board was looking for someone with some community economic development background,” he said.

“To me, I was like, this is the perfect combination. If someone said, ‘write your next perfect job,’ this would have been it.”

“If you focus on relevance and impact, success will follow.”

Williams

Reflecting on his career, Williams said each chapter has reinforced the same lesson:

“It’s more important to be impactful than it is to be successful,” he said.

“If you focus on relevance and impact, success will follow.”

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