Community - Ashforth

Building Better Communities…Together

Ashforth and our divisions strongly believe that investment and civic responsibility go hand in hand. Focusing our philanthropic efforts on education and healthcare, we are committed to making an impact on our communities through corporate citizenship, civic involvement, and volunteerism. Collectively, our financial contributions, our in-kind contributions and employee volunteer hours have helped to advance many worthy community organizations where we live and work. Our goal is to build stronger communities, together.

Ashforth Employees’ Volunteer Support and Additional In-Kind Support

Volunteerism is vital to building better communities together. Ashforth has a priority to encourage and facilitate employee volunteerism. With a long and respected history of providing financial and in-kind service to numerous nonprofit organizations, we understand helping our nonprofits, whether with dollars or just a helping hand, makes our communities stronger, and that benefits everyone personally. Our employees generously give their time, expertise and dollars by volunteering in numerous ways including participating in Ashforth’s employee volunteer program initiatives and community-benefiting events held at our buildings, as well as volunteering in their own home towns. In addition, our employees volunteer 1,600 hours participating on nonprofit boards and committees. We are proud of our employees’ commitment, dedication and time to support many local organizations in need.

Our employees help our local community in many ways:

Walking and fundraising for Stamford Health’s Bennett Cancer Center Hope in Motion Walk & Run
Handling the Peppa Pig balloon for the Stamford Downtown Special Services District’s annual Thanksgiving Parade Spectacular
Collecting gifts, dresswear, and accessories for the Handled with Care boutique and Gift of Giving drive, benefitting Kids Helping Kids
Collecting food for nonprofit organizations to feed the hungry, benefitting The Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County
Collecting new toys to support the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program
and much more…

Community Support at Ashforth’s Owned & Managed Properties

We encourage volunteerism to nearly 5,000 employees in 300 companies at our owned and managed buildings by organizing numerous community-oriented events that benefit local nonprofits including food, clothing, book, and gift drives.

Key Community Partnerships

Stamford Health & Bennett Cancer Center

Ashforth is the founding & presenting sponsor of Stamford Health’s Bennett Cancer Center Hope in Motion Walk, Connecticut’s longest-running and largest participatory charitable event. It has raised over $17.6 million over 28 years. In 2023, the event raised $517,987.
Ashforth’s team raised $5,891 for the event in 2023 and over the past 28 years the team raised $310,133.
In 2023, Ashforth donated marketing services valued at $5,000. Total value of these services over the past 27 years is $390,000.
Since 1996, Ashforth’s total contribution, including our annual corporate donation, in-kind marketing, and team donation, has exceeded $1.4 million.
Ashforth’s Co-Chair of the Board has served as chairman of the hospital and co-chairman of the Stamford Hospital Foundation Board. Our VP and Director of Marketing & Communications has been on the event’s executive committee the past 28 years.

Boys & Girls Club of Stamford

Ashforth annually supports various Boys & Girls Club events throughout the year. In 2023, a total of $437,100 was raised from these events.
In addition to financial support, in 2023 Ashforth provided marketing services. Total value of these services over the past 14 years is $74,250.
Ashforth has been a supporter of the Boys & Girls Club for over 30 years. Our Executive Assistant to Ashforth’s Co-Chair of the Board is the President of the Board and has been a member of the board for over 20 years.

Impact Fairfield County

Ashforth joined Impact Fairfield County as one of its inaugural corporate partners in 2022. Founded in 2015, Impact FFC is a collective giving circle of diverse women, living or working in Fairfield County, CT, dedicated to making impactful change in the community by providing significant and transformational philanthropic investments to local nonprofits. Since the initial grant year in 2016, Impact FFC has provided nearly $1.8 million in grant funding to local exceptional nonprofits, including 14 $100,000 Impact FFC Grants and significant general operating support.
In 2023, Impact FFC had 264 members and provided $264,000 in grant funding. Two $100,000 grants awarded to: Catholic Academy of Bridgeport and The Center for Empowerment and Education in Danbury, CT. Impact also awarded three $20,000 unrestricted general operating grants to Mid-Fairfield Community Care Center (Norwalk), Mill River Collaborative (Stamford), and The Shehan Center (Bridgeport).
Based on a positive experience, Ashforth increased its 2023 corporate partnership level. Seven Ashforth women employees participated on one of the Grant Review committees.

Future 5

In 2023, Future 5 worked with 424 Students (200 High Schools, 147 Colleges, and 72 F5 Alumni). 98% of their high school seniors landed with a plan. College Prep seniors received 289 acceptances to 92 colleges and the students received more than $2.4 million in merit-based scholarships, of which $250,000 was awarded by Future 5. Their Future 5’s College Success Program students held a 97% college persistence rate year 1 to 2.
Since 2010, Ashforth’s total contribution, which includes financial and in-kind marketing support, has exceeded $252,000 and Future 5 has helped over 925 students.
Ashforth’s VP and Director of Marketing & Communications is a member of Future 5’s Advisory Board and past board member. Ashforth’s Co-Chair of the Board was a past board member.

Fairfield County Business Collaborative for Education Equity

Since 2021, Ashforth has been a member of the Fairfield County Business Collaborative for Education Equity, a partnership with Fairfield County’s Community Foundation that capitalizes on the combined input of the region’s corporate sector to help reduce and eliminate educational disparities among underprivileged pre-K-12+ students, and their families and educators.
The Collaborative has invested $1.1 million in youth-serving nonprofits since it launched in 2020. In the Fall 2023 Grant Cycle, the Collaborative awarded $347,500 in grants to six Fairfield County nonprofits. The funded partnerships include:
- Stamford Cradle to Career in partnership with Building One Community
- Today’s Students Tomorrow’s Teachers in partnerships with Norwalk Public Schools
- The Carver in collaboration with Serving All Vessels Equally
BCEE also supported three nonprofits that launched pilot programs:
- Stamford Public Education Fund (SPEF) will launch a pilot program to tutor math and English.
- SoundWaters will pilot a program to introduce high school students to key trade skills for marine trade jobs.
- Bridgeport Public Education Fund will start The Learning Labs initiative, which is designed to provide in-depth, personalized learning and support for Bridgeport Public School seniors who are on track to graduate early.
In 2023, the Collaborative held an event to share the findings of their commissioned study and whitepaper Building Tomorrow’s Workforce: Equitable Education and Career Pathways for Opportunity Youth (OY) in Fairfield County. The results helped identify more efficient ways to address the specific and systemic barriers OY and the business community face in strengthening the workforce system. OY are those ages 14-24 who don’t currently have a high school diploma or postsecondary degree. Currently, there are 40,000 OY in Connecticut – including approximately 9,600 in Fairfield County.