Investing in Women
Aurora Women and Girls Foundation makes a difference with grants, support and more
By Tracey Weiss
Editor
When Shamya Douglas graduated from Manchester Community College in 2025, the help she needed came from a source she now sees as part of her community: The Aurora Women and Girls Foundation.
She was working, going to school and raising her son as a single mother. It was a lot to juggle.
“I got an email about joining the YWCA program,” she said, “and I thought, is this a scam?” But it wasn’t, and after she joined the YWCA, information about the Aurora Foundation caught her attention. “I went to some of the events and met Jenny. I heard her speak and I thought, ‘this woman is amazing.’”
The “Jenny” Douglas is referring to is Jennifer Steadman, the executive Director of the Aurora Foundation.
“They helped me with books and financial stability,” Douglas said. “They helped me with rent. It allowed me to focus on studying.” She graduated in 2025.
Now, Douglas is a respiration therapist at Yale New Haven Hospital. “I love my job,” she said. “I love what I do. And now I’m training to eventually be part of the Critical Care Team that does transports of sick babies.
“Aurora has opened so many doors for me. People now call me to ask me to speak. I really enjoy public speaking.”
There are many more success stories and new doors opening for a lot of women who join the Aurora community.
According to Steadman, “it is the only freestanding women’s organization in Connecticut. There are others that are part of other organizations. “We’re a great community to be a part of, helping to build opportunities that make a difference.
Aurora was established in 2000. The mission is simple: “The Aurora Women and Girls Foundation galvanizes resources to increase economic security, educational attainment, and leadership for women and girls in the Greater Hartford region.
“Since Aurora’s founding, we’ve invested over $3 million into the community. In 2025, we invested just over $500,000 (which included the Enhanced College Success program).”
How they fulfill that mission is through several buckets, Steadman said.
“We have targeted grantmaking around education and career opportunities,” she added. “It’s more important than ever: “Three percent of all charitable giving went to girls (in 2000); now it’s less than two percent,” Steadman continued. “Twenty percent of black women who start college don’t finish. We get them through.” Grantees receive assistance throughout the process. They offer women, especially low-income, women of color, and first-generation students, one-on-one counseling and advising, mentoring, the chance to meet role models, build self-advocacy skills, and more.
In 2023, the foundation received its biggest gift ever, a four-year, $1 million gift to start an Enhanced College Success Program. The grant, from the Charlotte and Hy Goode Family Fund Supporting Women’s Potential at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, tripled Aurora’s annual grant making.
Aurora-funded College Success programs give women, especially low-income, women of color, and first-generation students the tools they need to navigate and advance in higher education.
Aurora offers one-on-one counseling and advising, mentoring and introducing women to role models, building self-advocacy skills, and addressing basic needs such as childcare and transportation.
Research is another piece of the Aurora Foundation’s pie, and it is the backbone of everything the organization stands for. Research is collected annually and made available through the Women and Girls Data Platform, which offers information on health, education and workforce participation and leadership on women and girls in Connecticut. It’s available for all to read on the Aurora website.
Each year, the Aurora Foundation, in collaboration with their research partners, releases a report based on their research and partnerships. This year’s, “Advancing Women’s Leadership: Evidence and Insights,” is co-authored by Demographic Perspectives, University of Saint Joseph, and the Women’s Leadership Center. It offers, among other information, data behind women in management, insight from some of the state’s women leaders, and key recommendations.
“We pull in people who do policy work. We are all just so excited to be in a room together,” Steadman said.
Reports from previous years are available to read on the website. “This is our 14th research project since 2014,” Steadman added. Indeed, at the time, it was “the first report of its kind offering groundbreaking research on the status of women and girls in Greater Hartford,” according to the website. Another report of significance was during the pandemic.
In 2021, we did an essential equity study,” Steadman said. “It was the first time real study of the impact on girls of color.” According to Aurora, “the report revealed the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on women and girls in CT.”
Another bucket at Aurora Foundation is the Women’s Giving Circle. This member-based group is open to all women who would like to be part of a group making decisions on where to award grant money to a local non-profit. As a member of this group, you can give whatever amount you would like to the Giving Circle, and membership includes attending four sessions where you discuss issues affecting women, hear from community organizations and discuss how the money will make the greatest impact. Topics are based on the research Aurora has done. This year, the focus was on supporting human trafficking survivors, and the grant recipients included The Underground New England ($6,000), CIRI Project Rescue ($15,000) and Love146 ($15,000).
“It was amazing the way they showed up,” Steadman said of the Giving Circle. “We all feel overwhelmed. The news is horrible. This becomes something concrete, that you can pour resources into and be on the ground, providing support.”
An offshoot of the Giving Circle is a yearly event with men. The 100 Men Campaign was created in 2016 as a way for men to support the community by donating $100 each. This year, the group raised $27,150.
The Aurora Foundation is also a partner in the Young Women’s Initiative, which is also supported by the New Britain YWCA in New Britain and the National Philanthropic Collaborative of Young Women’s Initiatives (The Collaborative), which is a consortium of 15 women’s funds across the country.
The focus for the young women who meet at the House of Teens at the New Britain YWCA after school is to offer them support in education, career, civic responsibilities and financial skills. They girls meet with community leaders, professionals and other experts in each of those fields.
Aurora’s biggest fundraiser of the year is the annual Luminary Celebration. This year, it’s on October 14 at the Bushnell’s Belding Theater and features keynote speaker Jennifer Rizzotti. Rizzotti is a member of the legendary UConn Huskies basketball team, and is the president of the Connecticut Sun WNBA.
The event honors the “brilliant Luminaries,” the women and girls who are in the Aurora community as well as those who support it.
“We pull in 500-700 women a year,” Steadman said. “They’re longtime Aurora supporters to people who see what the topic is and friends of members.”
They’ll also be holding a Women’s Leadership Forum at the Capitol in Hartford on November 12. It’s a panel of leaders and students offering invaluable information and addressing all sorts of topics.
As Aurora’s work continues, those in the know, like Douglas, encourage others to seek out their advice and help. “This is so great for any woman, young or older, trying to do a second go round,” Douglas said, “You need to reach out. There are so many resources, if you are willing to do the work. Jenny is amazing. The faculty is amazing. It’s a family you will have forever. Never would have I would be in the place I am now.
Her advice for a young woman looking for help. “Don’t give up. Your today is not your tomorrow. You’ll get further than you thought you would.”
For Steadman, seeing the successes that come out of Aurora’s support system makes everything worthwhile. “I adore these women. They are the hardest working women, but most of all, they’re generous, and lovely and smart. Families transform—this makes it possible.” WHL
For more information about the Aurora Foundation for Women and Girls or the Luminary Celebration, go to www.aurorafoundation.org.
