photo credit: RDNE Stock Project / Pexels

Key Takeaways

• Hometown Foundation connects fundraising events to defined charitable pillars rather than treating events as standalone activities.
• Birdies & Horsepower demonstrates how an engaging community event can be tied directly to medical and family needs.
• Clear charitable focus areas can make it easier for donors to understand where their participation is intended to create impact.
• Business partnerships give companies multiple ways to support community programs beyond simply writing a check.
• Paul “Paolo” Mozzicato’s Birdies & Horsepower fundraiser illustrates how business leadership and philanthropy can work together around specific community needs.

Paul “Paolo” Mozzicato is a Connecticut business leader who serves as a commercial risk advisor and principal at Smith Brothers Insurance in Glastonbury, where he has helped clients identify, evaluate, and address complex business risks since 2018. He also serves as principal and project manager at Mozzicato Real Estate, which manages apartment communities and retail centers across the Greater Hartford area. A founding member of the South Hartford Business Alliance, he has earned recognition including the Hartford Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 and 50 Most Influential People honors. He holds a master’s degree in economics from Trinity College and a real estate degree from the University of Hartford.

Beyond his business ventures, Mozzicato founded and chairs the Annual Birdies & Horsepower fundraiser, which has helped raise more than $2 million to support the Hometown Foundation’s Major Illness & Those In Need pillar – the same charitable network profiled for how it connects fundraising to specific community needs.

A charity event can look like a golf outing, dinner, auction, or community gathering from the outside. Those details show how people participate, but they do not by themselves explain the charity’s mission, goals, progress, or other information donors may want to review before giving.

Hometown Foundation organizes its fundraising activities around named charitable pillars and specific programs, which helps show the kinds of community needs those activities are intended to support.

That connection starts with the foundation’s broader charitable role. The nonprofit charitable organization was established in 2002 and works with Bozzuto’s, its family of retailers, and community business partners. Its fundraising supports a broad range of programs that meet community needs.

That mission gives its events a purpose beyond the gathering itself.

The foundation organizes its community support into five named focus areas. That structure is useful because donors are encouraged to review a charity’s mission, goals, progress, and available records before giving.

The named pillars also help place individual programs and fundraising events within the foundation’s broader charitable work.

The five focus areas are Animal Welfare, Emergency Response Personnel, Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities, Major Illness or Those in Need, and the Military. Hometown Foundation describes these as its key program areas or pillars of charitable focus.

Organizing its work this way helps distinguish the different kinds of community support associated with its programs.

The foundation’s Hardship Continuity of Care Program adds a practical example of need. The program helps eligible applicants, based on verified need and available funding, maintain continuity of essential medical care.

Applicants must show a recent loss of employment or significant reduction in income and provide verification of COBRA premiums or outstanding medical costs related to loss of coverage.

Birdies & Horsepower shows how one event connects to that pillar. The fundraiser has raised more than $2 million since inception to support Major Illness & Those In Need. Its format includes a golf portion and an evening program, which places the event within a named charitable category rather than leaving it as a standalone gathering.

The event itself combines several forms of participation. It begins with a morning round of golf at Lionheart Country Club and ends with an outdoor evening event at The Farmington Polo Club.

The evening includes a luxury car show, polo match, cocktail party, live auction, dinner, and entertainment. Those activities give the fundraiser more than one setting for participation.

Business involvement also fits within Hometown Foundation’s fundraising structure. Businesses can participate through retailer fundraising programs, hosted fundraisers, event sponsorships, and program sponsorships.

Specific options include customer hang-tags, rounding up purchases at checkout, fundraisers at restaurants or retail locations, and cross-promotion with the foundation.

Defined needs also matter after an event ends.

A named charitable pillar provides Hometown Foundation with a practical basis for explaining the need the fundraiser supported and how the event fits within its broader charitable work. Donors can review the mission, goals, progress, transparency, and available records that support it.

The lasting question is not only whether an event attracts participation, but whether the public can trace participation to a stated community need.

FAQs

What is Hometown Foundation?

Hometown Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 2002 that supports community programs across five primary areas. Its pillars include animal welfare, emergency response personnel, individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, major illness or those in need, and the military.

What is Birdies & Horsepower?

Birdies & Horsepower is a Hometown Foundation fundraising event combining golf with an evening program featuring cars, polo, dinner, auctions, and entertainment. The foundation says the event has raised more than $2 million for its Major Illness & Those In Need pillar since its inception.

How does Hometown Foundation connect events to specific needs?

The foundation organizes its charitable work around named pillars and programs, allowing individual events to support a particular area rather than simply raising money for a broad charitable purpose. Birdies & Horsepower, for example, is specifically connected to the Major Illness & Those In Need pillar.

How can businesses support Hometown Foundation?

Businesses can participate through retailer fundraising programs, hosted fundraisers, event sponsorships, and program sponsorships. The foundation also offers opportunities such as checkout-rounding programs and fundraising events at restaurants or retail locations.

Who is Paul “Paolo” Mozzicato?

Paul “Paolo” Mozzicato is a Connecticut business leader, commercial risk advisor, real estate professional, and founder and chair of the Birdies & Horsepower fundraiser. His business and philanthropic activities connect entrepreneurship, community involvement, and fundraising around specific local needs.

About Paul “Paolo” Mozzicato

Paul “Paolo” Mozzicato is a Connecticut business leader who serves as a commercial risk advisor and principal at Smith Brothers Insurance in Glastonbury. He also leads Mozzicato Real Estate, managing apartment communities and retail centers across the Greater Hartford area, and previously spent nearly two decades as principal of Mozzicato Bakery. A founding member of the South Hartford Business Alliance, he holds a master’s degree in economics from Trinity College and a real estate degree from the University of Hartford.