The Children's Fund of Connecticut (CFC), a public charitable foundation, was established in 1992 with an initial endowment of $21 million from a broad coalition that included hospitals and the business community, including $15 million from Newington Children’s Hospital when the hospital dissolved and the assets were transferred to build Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. CFC was tasked with advancing pediatric and primary health care services that would promote health and prevent illness and hospitalization. To maximize the endowment’s impact, the Children’s Fund board chose to focus its efforts on improving the systems that address children’s health.
The Children’s Fund created CHDI to serve as its operating arm, forming a partnership among Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and Connecticut’s two universities with medical schools: Yale and the University of Connecticut. CHDI’s role was to bring the collective resources of these institutions to bear on improving the health and well-being for children in the state. The Children’s Fund served as a financial catalyst and as its primary beneficiary CHDI translated the Fund’s mission into action from 1999-2021. The Children's Fund also provided grants to other organizations to advance innovations and best practices that resulted in sustainable improvements to children’s health and mental health systems, policies, and practice in Connecticut.
Examples of organizations and past work supported by CHDI and the Children's Fund of Connecticut that advanced sustainable change benefitting families today, include:
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