2026 Grant Recipients

The International Association of New Haven awards Grants for 2026/2027!

The International Association of New Haven, which celebrated its 75^th anniversary in 2025, is pleased to announce the 2026/2027 grant recipients.  A total of $92,616 was awarded to seven organizations.  Non-profit groups received grants ranging from $3,150 - $20,000, after competing in a process that involved 34 groups submitting initial short proposals and 12 being invited to submit full applications.  

Arts Council

In partnership with immigrant- and refugee-centered service organizations, the Arts Council will commission art from (or in collaboration with) immigrants and refugees in our region to advance intercultural understanding by placing a spotlight on the immigrant experience and experience of surviving political persecution.   Participants will be compensated for either a) creating art that reflects their personal immigrant experiences, or b) partnering with an artist-in solidarity to bring their story to life.  Activists and grassroots organizers can then use these pieces of media as tools in legislative sessions and within communities for the purpose of coalition-building and policy advocacy. 

Collective for Refugee and Immigrant Women

The Collective for Refugee and Immigrant Women (CRIW) will lead two community-driven initiatives that honor self-determination and promote well-being:   (1) Threads of Hope Craft Collective, which will engage mostly preliterate Afghan women through sewing projects that preserve cultural traditions, spark creative connections, and offer storytelling beyond words. The program will create opportunities to sell handmade crafts, foster pride in heritage, and promote economic independence. (2) The Healing Pen: Writing as Witness, Memory, and Connection, which will highlight the power of writing to foster expression and bridge cultures. Centered on Afghan youth and women, and guided by award-winning Afghan writer and advocate Homeira Qaderi, the program will invite participants to share stories as acts of witness, remembrance, and connection. 

New Haven Chinese Cultural Cooperative

The New Haven Chinese Cultural Cooperative (NHCCC), a culturally diverse community ensemble working to advance cultural awareness through Chinese and Taiwanese music, will use its grant from IANH to partially fund two seasonal concerts free for the public.  Besides Chinese music, the unique interactive programing weaves in personal stories, folk tales, and history, making the experience relevant and engaging to audiences of all backgrounds. 

The New Haven Free Public Library Foundation

The New Haven Free Public Library (NHFPL) will use its grant to support an oral history and cultural programming project that advances multicultural understanding, fosters self-reflection, and encourages personal expression through the preservation of diverse stories.
It will also use grant funds to acquire oral history equipment to create mobile kits for the storage of these collected stories.  This project will bring visitors together through programs that include Juneteenth Day of Learning, Arts-ucation’s “Africa is Me!” workshops, and 30 Days/30 Stories: Latine Voices in New Haven during Hispanic Heritage Month. Each program features stories, music, and discussions that encourage participants to learn from their neighbors, build connections and share their own narratives. These contributions will be preserved in the New Haven Free Public Library’s collection to ensure that today’s voices and experiences remain an accessible learning resource for future generations and ongoing cultural engagement opportunities across Greater New Haven.

Vivan Las Autonomas 

Vivan Las Autonomas will use its grant to continue addressing its mission to support families impacted by a loss because of gender-based domestic violence and femicide in CT.  It will continue monthly art therapy circles and the annual Day of Dead Festival begun in 2025.  These programs create opportunities for cross-cultural learning and build solidarity through collaborative art-making projects involving talk and healing.  On March 8, 2027, VLA will also host a survivor-led, multicultural International Women’s Day (IWD) Festival in New Haven. This event will unite hundreds of people across generations, ethnicities, and identities to honor global struggles against gender-based violence and celebrate resilience through art, performance, and storytelling. 

Nou La Nou Pare 

Nou La Nou Pare (“We Are Here We Are Ready”) will continue to expand its Ayisyen Cultural Heritage Initiative, a series of programs and public events designed to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of Haiti and change perceptions about Haitian culture.  It will develop its digital archive of stories and information about the linked history of Haiti and the United States in partnership with a Southern Connecticut State University Social Justice Collaborative group and will produce Nou La Nou Pare: Havana, a short film that explores Haitian heritage across the diaspora. 

Yale-China

Yale-China, which sponsors a Lunar New Year Parade each year, will expand its reach with the creation and dissemination of Yale-China/Eli Whitney Museum Lunar New Year take-and-make kits to all New Haven library branches.  These will also include educational booklets.  As part of its Encounters with Chinese Culture Across New Haven programming in 2026 and 2027, these Lunar New Year kits help to promote greater understanding and awareness of Chinese culture across all New Haven neighborhoods.