Living Wage for All: One Job Should Be Enough
by Grace-Oriana Andre, Impact Investment Analyst
Black History Month Reflection by Dr. Gislaine Ngounou
As we honor Black History Month, and quite frankly celebrate Black history and achievement all year, I dream of the world I want to be true for my 1-year-old Black son and the generations to come. A world where they get to be free and thrive as exactly who they are—safe and basking in their collective genius and […]
End-of-Year Message
An End-of-Year Message from our CEO, Dr. Gislaine Ngounou Hello, beautiful people! Wow, what a year it’s been. 2025 showed up—and showed out. We’ve weathered extraordinary challenges, and yet, we’ve also seen incredible courage and resilience in our communities. As I reflect on this past year—my first as CEO—I’m reminded that a year can hold so much change, and […]
Authoritarianism Has No Place in Connecticut or Anywhere
The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund believes deeply that all children, and all people, deserve security, safety, human rights, and freedom. Together with our partners, we are working to create a vision of a future that is just, thriving, and liberated for all. However, every day, we are experiencing shocking expansions of authoritarianism, both nationally and internationally. This is lethal […]
A Post Election Message from Gislaine Ngounou & Lisa Graustein
As we continue to process the news of the election results, Gislaine, our CEO, and Lisa, our Board Chairperson, share a message of hope and solidarity.
The Graustein Memorial Fund’s Statement on the Supreme Court’s Decision on Affirmative Action
The Supreme Court ruling finding race-conscious admissions to higher learning unconstitutional is a devastating blow on our nation’s ability to achieve equity in education. The path to higher education is paved by many resources inequitably distributed, or entirely out of reach, for an overwhelming number of Black and Brown youth due to centuries of systemic […]
Introducing the Funders for Family Leadership
Memorial Fund team member Margarita Alvarez is part of the team that created the Funders for Family Leadership’s Philanthropic Self-Reflection Tool for Equitable Parent Partnership. FFL is a learning community dedicated to transforming philanthropic practice to equitably partner with and center family leaders so that systems change is led by their expertise and lived experiences. In […]