By Ellyn Stewart
First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, aka the Fish Church, celebrated its second year of the Fish Church Micro-Grants program, continuing its dedication to funding “new missions, new ministries, new programs, and to grow existing ones” within the community. Since 2023, the program has awarded over $280,000 in grants across four cycles, supporting a wide range of impactful local initiatives. The Second Annual Fish Church Grants Lunch and Learn was held on October 5 and attended by 90 representatives from local organizations as well as church members.
The program saw significant engagement since its inception, with more than 2.5 times the number of grant requests than it had in the previous year. As of 2025, 128 community grants and 12 church grants have been awarded. Priority was given to organizations which serve Stamford, Norwalk, Greenwich and Bridgeport. Grant recipients were selected based upon their demonstrated impact and alignment with the grant criteria: fostering community vitality, ensuring fairness and justice for all people, and eradicating systemic poverty.
“First Presbyterian Church believes that helping people in their time of need is vital to our mission and who we are as a community of faith,” said Transitional Pastor Rev. Dr Pablo Diaz. “We are excited to support new programs and grow existing ones that will change and impact the lives of people from all walks of life in positive ways through acts of compassion, justice, and empowerment.”
The Fish Church has been anchored in the Stamford community since 1853. The diverse and inclusive congregation has a long history of outreach and service to the Stamford community, reflected in its after-school program, Creative Learning, active partnerships with area not-for-profit agencies, and the leadership role of its staff in community service organizations.
This year’s event featured the following speakers:
*Tania Hope of the Stamford Art Association presented about a collaboration with Inspirica
*Dominique Moore of My Architecture Workshops, Inc.
*Elliot Sloyer of Wheel it Forward
*Cody Ludvinsky, an educator at Western Middle School in Greenwich talked about a care closet he set up for students and Socks for Sam
*Three students from the Fish Church confirmation class talked about a grant-funded Little Free Library
Elliot Sloyer is the founder and a Board Member for Wheel It Forward, a durable medical equipment lending library. He commended the Fish Church grants team for their commitment to making collective change in the community.
“What Fish Church did with these grants is the ultimate great idea, because they’re leveraging everybody else’s bright ideas and really making an impact to help tens of thousands of people,” Mr. Sloyer said.
Fish Church Grants History
The Fish Church Grant funds originate from an historic $10 million gift from the estates of Kingsley Gillespie and his son, Kenyon Gillespie. Kingsley Gillespie was a Stamford civic leader, former publisher of The Advocate and Greenwich Times, and a member of Fish Church for 70 years.
First Presbyterian Church of Stamford is located at 1101 Bedford Street, Stamford, CT 06905 and is recognized as a National Historic Landmark. The next round of grants will open in March 2026. Grants are awarded from $250- 5,000.
More information about Fish Church grants can be found at https://fishchurch.org/programs-events/grants/
