At the end of March, the Board of the Connecting Hearts Foundation came together for its semi-annual meeting to review the funding applications received over the past months.
It was a meaningful moment for us to see how many people and organizations, across very different contexts, are working with care and commitment to support children of incarcerated parents. The applications came from four continents and more than 10 countries, each reflecting a specific local reality and a deep understanding of the children and families they serve.
Following this review, we are pleased to share the projects that the Connecting Hearts Foundation will support in this funding round:
• Mentoring Program, Prison Fellowship, Czech Republic
• Let’s Get Loud, notmycrime, Niederlande
• Education & Trauma Awareness Program, Expertisecentrum KIND, The Netherlands
• Digilab, Aproximar, Portugal
• I Read for You, Hoppenbank e. V., Germany
• Kind Gate Initiative, Prison Fellowship, Czech Republic
• Parenting Program, SHINE for Kids, Australia
• Watoto Wa Nest, The Nest, Kenya
Together, these projects reflect different ways of supporting children and families affected by parental imprisonment — from mentoring, parenting support and education to advocacy, digital learning, reading initiatives and community-based care.
What connects them is their closeness to the children and families they work with. Each project is rooted in a specific local context, while contributing to a shared goal: making sure that children of incarcerated parents are seen, supported and not left alone with their experience.
We are grateful to all applicants for sharing their work with us. Reading about these initiatives was a reminder of how much dedicated work is being done, often quietly, to support children and families in difficult circumstances.
Applications for the 2027 funding round must be submitted between 1 December 2026 and 31 January 2027. The project application form will be published shortly before this submission period opens.
We look forward to following the funded projects and sharing more about their work in the months ahead.
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