Prospective members take a technology tour of the new space.

AWCC to Support Community Nonprofits and Serve as CIL Headquarters

The Corporation for Independent Living (CIL), a Hartford-based nonprofit real estate developer, is moving their headquarters to 57 Charter Oak Avenue, home of the recently opened Atlantic Works Conference Center (AWCC), a shared workspace for tenants of The Atlantic Works office complex. A grant of $31,850 from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving supported the technology upgrades necessary to open the AWCC.  

Previously headquartered at 157 Charter Oak Avenue, the move may just be a few blocks away, but CIL hopes the impact of the move will be big.  

“With the closing of The Connecticut Nonprofit Center, we wanted to be able to provide an alternative space for organizations at the Atlantic Works Campus to be able to use,” explains CIL Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Maria Green. “The more we thought about it, the more it made sense for us to move our office to share that space as well.” CIL is a remote-first organization but has one full-time employee based in the AWCC.

“The hope is to create a cooperative space for members which meets their needs while sharing in the cost of operations,” said CIL President and Chief Executive Officer Kent Schwendy. “We’ve been pleased to see so many organizations embrace the AWCC concept, and we are thankful to the Hartford Foundation for their generous support.” The AWCC currently has more than 15 participating organizations, including Interval House and Connecticut Green Bank.

“As providers of confidential services to victims of domestic violence, we are thrilled to utilize CIL’s innovative conference center for gatherings with colleagues we cannot invite into our own space,” said Amanda Delaura, Director of Advancement at Interval House. “This partnership enables us to collaborate freely with others without compromising the safety of our clients.”

“We want to thank CIL and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving for providing an accessible community place,” states Bryan Garcia, President of the Connecticut Green Bank, an AWCC member.  “Each of our organizations within this community are working hard to make people’s lives better every day and now with the Atlantic Works Conference Center, we can improve our abilities to do that.”

The AWCC is about 5,400 square feet, and offers members the use of seven conference rooms, a copy center and shared kitchen space with tables and seating for 20-30 people, as well as multiple open-office touch down spaces for members to work from.

About CIL

The Corporation for Independent Living is a diverse, nonprofit development organization founded in 1979 to service our communities. We develop and sustain housing and other community resources that provide affordability, accessibility, and independence to those in need. With a variety of public and private financing tools available to us, we offer expertise in the development, financing, design, construction.  

About Hartford Foundation

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for Hartford and 28 surrounding towns. Through partnerships, the Foundation seeks to strengthen communities in Greater Hartford by putting philanthropy in action to dismantle structural racism and achieve equity in social and economic mobility. Made possible by the gifts of generous individuals, families and organizations, the Foundation has awarded grants of more than $948 million since its founding in 1925. For more information, visit www.hfpg.org or call 860-548-1888.

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