Vermont Community Foundation 2022 Annual Report

Reasons to Believe

Board of Directors

Our board of directors consists of community leaders from around the state with diverse talents and experience. Visit vermontcf.org/board to see the latest information about our board and governance.

Kathy Austin, Morgan

Laurie Beyranevand, Woodstock

Tim Briglin, Thetford

Kristin Carlson (Secretary), Montpelier

Cindy Char, Montpelier

Nicole Curvin, Middlebury

Lindsay DesLauriers, Richmond

Carolyn Dwyer, Burlington

Mark Foley, Jr. (Vice Chair), Rutland

Dimitri Garder, Bennington

Spencer Knapp (Chair), Shelburne

Allyson Laackman (Treasurer), Out of State

Tammy Newmark, New Haven

John Vogel, Norwich

For a complete list of the Community Foundation staff, please visit: vermontcf.org/staff

Dear Friends,

Early this spring, on one of those April days when you can feel the sun, I loaded my three boys into the car, picked up my mom, and took everyone for a walk at North Branch Nature Center in Montpelier. The afternoon was warm and bright, and the boys reveled in the freedom of shedding their winter jackets and throwing sticks in the river.

As we walked along the riverbank, I overheard a young woman behind us telling her friend that she was completing her first year of Early College at the Community College of Vermont (CCV). She was optimistic that, with another free year at CCV guaranteed through the McClure Free Degree Promise, she would be able to continue on and afford a bachelor’s degree.

And it struck me, despite what sometimes seem to be overwhelming challenges, there are still great reasons to believe that we can make progress —public trails where a family can be in nature on a spring day; a young woman finding her path to a college degree.

The work of philanthropy requires us to deeply understand the challenges Vermont communities face—the housing crisis, the erosion of civil discourse and community, economic inequality, systemic racism. These are complex issues that intersect across Vermont communities and will take time, energy, and intention to unravel. But when we at the Community Foundation pause to look around, we see plenty of reasons to believe in our collective ability to solve those big problems.

The stories in this report provide a glimpse into the work we’ve accomplished together in 2022—a recovery house in Barre that keeps mothers with their children while working toward sobriety, a land purchase in Brattleboro that preserves an ancient Abenaki site, an arts organization in White River Junction that celebrates Black creatives, a group of teens organizing Middlebury’s first Pride Day, and yes, the young woman whose future is meaningfully different because of the McClure Promise.

Vermont is not immune to the problems we see around the country, but I’ll wager that there are few places with such a strong sense of community, of shared values, of neighbors willing to help neighbors. Keeping that alive is not up to someone else. It is up to all of us. Let’s continue to step in and step up for each other. Let’s stay committed to the idea that philanthropy can change lives and build strong communities—the reasons to believe that it does are all around us.

Dan Smith President & CEO

In 2022, thanks to the generosity of our donors and fundholders, we made a substantial and purposeful impact on the lives of Vermonters. As we continue to close the opportunity gap, let us remain fiercely engaged and insatiably curious about the role of philanthropy. Together, we can forge a brighter future for Vermont.

Spencer Knapp, Board Chair

Financial Report for 2022

Liabilities and Net Assets

At Work in the Community

✔ Grants: $34.8 Million

✔ Mission Investments: $18.1 Million

✔ Programmatic Activity: $4.9 Million

$39.0 Million

Grantmaking by Source

■ FUNDHOLDER DIRECTED: $23.1M grants recommended by Community Foundation Fundholders (Donor Advised and Designated Funds)

■ SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: $5M including Let’s Grow Kids, the McClure Foundation, and The Curtis Fund

■ COMMUNITY FOUNDATION DIRECTED: $3M grants from the Foundation’s discretionary funds

■ PEOPLE & PLACES FUNDS: $1.5M informed by community members from around the state, such as Vermont Women’s Fund, the Samara Fund, and others

■ NONPROFIT FUNDS: $2.2M

Grantmaking by Year

$57.8 Million

CHARITABLE FUNDS AND TOOLS DEFINED

Committee Advised Funds, sometimes known as People & Places Funds, empower community members to select grants supporting specific causes, topics, or regions.

Designated Funds provide ongoing support to one or more specific nonprofit organizations in perpetuity.

Discretionary, Field of Interest, or Unrestricted Funds allow donors to select a cause, region, or topic and have Foundation staff select grantees that match that goal.

$34.8 Million

Donor Advised Funds provide the donor with an immediate tax deduction and enable grantmaking by individuals, families, foundations, and businesses to one or more organizations, in flexible amounts, at any time of year.

3,971 Total Grants

1,781 Total Grantees

Mission Investments are designed to generate both financial and social returns and are made in alignment with the Foundation’s mission, values, and areas of focus.

Nonprofit Funds (Endowment & Reserve) are established to take advantage of the Foundation’s investment management services to generate income to support the nonprofit for a period of time or in perpetuity.

Supporting Organizations offer the benefit of a private charitable foundation without the administrative burden. They have their own board of directors and autonomy in grant and investment decisions.

Testamentary Funds are established through a provision in an individual’s will or testament that outlines the distribution of assets for charitable purposes upon the donor’s passing.

The Promise of a Community Foundation

Closing the opportunity gap —the divide that leaves many Vermonters struggling to build bright, secure futures no matter how hard they work—is the cornerstone of our mission.

COVID-19, systemic racism, and growing economic inequity continue to challenge and influence how we think about philanthropy’s role in closing the opportunity gap. In addition to meeting urgent needs, we are working to change the underlying systems that create that need in the first place.

The five impact areas outlined in the graphic show how the Community Foundation is identifying key strategy areas and approaching this important work by remaining grounded in data, connected to communities, and thinking across multiple systems.

IMPACT AREAS

2023-2027

EDUCATION & TRAINING

• Strengthening early childhood education and child care

• Increasing access to afterschool and summer learning opportunities

• Addressing college affordability, access, and persistence

• Providing training and education for the most promising careers

ECONOMIC EQUITY

• Enabling home ownership and affordable housing

• Supporting place-based economic development that capitalizes on a community’s unique assets and potential

• Providing support for entrepreneurs and small business owners

CLIMATE & THE ENVIRONMENT

• Improving land use and the forest economy

• Strengthening farm viability and local/regional food systems

• Protecting climate and environmental justice

• Promoting clean and efficient energy

CLOSING THE OPPORTUNITY GAP

DEMOCRACY, TRUST, & COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

• Engaging Vermonters in decision-making and democracy

• Building trust and connection

• Supporting strong, skilled, representative community leaders

• Exploring new ideas around governance, voting, and elections

HEALTH & WELLBEING

• Helping youth to thrive

• Caring for older Vermonters

• Ensuring health equity

• Supporting mental health and wellness

• Building social cohesion

Systemic change is a lofty aspiration. But in a state like Vermont, that scale of change is possible through coordinated philanthropy that’s informed by data, rooted in equity, and guided by a clear vision. That’s the promise and the potential of a community foundation. So what does systemic change look like in practice? In each of our impact areas–Education & Training, Economic Equity, Health & Wellbeing, Climate & the Environment, and Democracy, Trust, & Community Leadership–we look for opportunities to work alongside our fundholders to:

Lead with insight and vision

As a long-term strategic funder focused on these issues, our commitment to closing the opportunity gap is guided by data and a clear, hopeful vision of what’s possible.

Explore models of change

By funding the development and assessment of promising approaches to closing the opportunity gap, we can pave the way for public funding to take those strategies to scale.

Support beyond the grant check

We help grantees scale and sustain impact by partnering with them to identify and communicate insights—what’s working, what’s not working, and how systems can be better supported.

Invest in capacity and leaders

Trust-based philanthropy means investing in leaders and their decision-making ability. Whether encouraging civic engagement or helping to build capacity at a nonprofit, we are leaning into the deep expertise and knowledge of individuals working in their communities to close the opportunity gap.

Prepare for big opportunities

By coming in early with planning grants, we help nonprofit organizations and communities get ready for big state and federal funding opportunities. With more flexibility than other funders, we can be the spark that makes larger work possible.

Hold onto gains made during COVID-19

Federal dollars that helped Vermont respond to COVID-19 are tapering down. However, many organizations continue to build on important lessons learned from the pandemic. Systemic change means helping those organizations sustain their expanded role in the community.

SYSTEMS CHANGE IS POSSIBLE

A Spotlight on Coordinated Philanthropy and Education

The J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation, Let’s Grow Kids, and The Curtis Fund

Blake, Williamstown High School Class of 2022, is among the first Vermont students to earn a free associate degree from CCV as part of the McClure Foundation’s Free Degree Promise, which is driving record enrollment in Early College among low-income, BIPOC, and first-generation students.

Jesse, a licensed nurse assistant at Central Vermont Medical Center, is among more than 500 Vermonters who obtained a Certificate of Value through a scholarship from The Curtis Fund, leading to increased employment and wage opportunities.

Cara Chigazola-Tobin, owner of Honey Road Restaurant, is a working parent who found it easier to open a restaurant than to find child care. With the passage of the 2023 child care bill championed by Let’s Grow Kids, Cara is hopeful that more high-quality and affordable child care options will follow. Individually, these stories show lives changed through coordinated philanthropy. Behind these stories are education systems that are rapidly evolving to better support students, families, and businesses in Vermont. That evolution has been sparked and guided in part by the Community Foundation and its education-focused supporting organizations, The Curtis Fund, Let’s Grow Kids, and the McClure Foundation. Sitting at the intersection of philanthropy, government, and business, the Community Foundation is well-positioned to understand where the leverage points are and how to scale impact.

Together with our supporting organizations and fundholders, we are proving that systems change is possible:

• Through a three-year partnership, we helped create the conditions for Vermont Afterschool to advance its vision of universal afterschool.

• Driven by an ambitious goal, Let’s Grow Kids is successfully compelling public investment in child care and early learning.

• By making systemic investments that strengthen the public institutions where low-income Vermonters are most likely to enroll, the McClure Foundation is inspiring enrollment at the Community College of Vermont.

• The Curtis Fund is improving the affordability of short-term career training programs as the largest private scholarship provider in Vermont.

• Pooled grant support by the McClure Foundation, the Community Foundation, and fundholders for a pilot program at Northern State Correctional Facility paved the way for federal investment that will scale free community college for incarcerated Vermonters and correctional officers.

OUR FAMILY OF FUNDS AND FOUNDATIONS

The Community Foundation is made up of hundreds of funds and foundations. These are some of them.

Let’s Grow Kids is a statewide organization leading a campaign to solve Vermont’s child care crisis. To learn more about how they harness people power, policy change, and program innovation to advance child care, visit vermontcf.org/LGK.

Envisioning a Vermont where college and career training contribute to greater equity and resilience for individuals, families, and communities. Learn more about the McClure Free Degree Promise at vermontcf.org/McClurePromise.

Northeast Kingdom Fund

For the Kingdom, by the Kingdom. The NEK Fund makes grants to support the people and communities of Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties. The decision-making committee is comprised of youth and adult NEK residents. Read more in the stories section at vermontcf.org/NEK.

Providing scholarships to Vermont students pursuing a postsecondary education, The Curtis Fund aims to level the playing field so that every Vermonter has a chance to obtain the education they need. Meet Krissy—a Curtis Fund scholar traveling nearly 4 hours daily to gain an education in the growing aviation industry in Vermont—at vermontcf.org/Curtis-Scholar-Krissy.

Advancing gender equity for Vermont women and girls. Learn about the Vermont Women’s Fund grantmaking and its groundbreaking initiative This Way UP, which is identifying and quantifying women’s business ownership, at vermontcf.org/VWF-TWU-initiative.

Opportunity Fund for Southshire Youth

The Opportunity Fund for Southshire Youth supports dynamic and innovative teen programs in Bennington, North Bennington, Pownal, Shaftsbury, and Woodford. Learn more about how the fund supported paid work experience, career skills development, and more for Bennington-area teens in 2022 at vermontcf.org/OFSY-2022.

The Samara Fund ensures lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) Vermonters are connected, healthy, appreciated, safe, and empowered. Learn more about how the Samara committee approaches every aspect of its work through an equity lens at vermontcf.org/Samara.

Promoting athletics and healthful behaviors in Addison County by supporting tennis and other health education programs for youth and adults. Learn more at vermontcf.org/ACAF.

the samar a fund Ver mont Community at the Foundation

A Place of Encounter and Learning

Just under the water, where the Kwenitekw (Connecticut) meets the Wantastekw (West) River in what we now call Brattleboro (Wantastegok), lie ancient petroglyphs and, nearby, burial sites sacred to the Abenaki. Submerged since 1909 when the Vernon Dam was built, the petroglyphs are a message that remains relevant today, said Rich Holschuh, spokesperson for the Elnu Abenaki and executive director of the Atowi Project, to “stop, pay attention, and recognize that something important is happening here.”

For years, Holschuh and Abenaki descendants have been working to understand the significance of the place and why it remains important to people who have been here for 12,000 years. “This is a place people wanted to be during their lives, and at the end of their lives,” he said. “It’s a place of spiritual exchange.”

When the owners of the land decided to sell in 2022, it was well understood in the community that the Abenaki wanted to protect the land from development and further disturbance. So they gave the tribe an opportunity to make a bid before it went on the market.

“I began to contact everyone,” said Holschuh, who launched a public fundraising campaign through the Atowi Project, “including

the Vermont Community Foundation. Through all of these concerned community individuals, be they the person next door or somebody far away, or a large nonprofit, philanthropic organization, or a donor advised fund, we were able to raise over $330,000 in six weeks. I was stunned.”

Now under the stewardship of the Elnu Abenaki, Holschuh sees an opportunity for Wantastegok to be a place of encounter and learning. “We don’t, any of us, hold all of the understandings,” he said, “but things are not going well on a grand scale. We’re so used to it, we don’t see it. Patterns of separation and erasure are at the heart of what’s happening all over the planet. It’s incumbent on us to respond locally and choose how we interact with the landscape.”

“We can value traditions and things we have been taught, and we can use those understandings to inform what we do moving forward. We’re not stuck in the past. We’re informed and we’re grounded. Wantastegok is a place where we can be mindful and intentional about doing that.”

Funding to increase public conversation around racial equity is a part of the Community Foundation’s effort to ensure that Vermonters are not held back by their skin color or ethnicity.

THE ATOWI PROJECT

Our extended family is committed to land conservation and supporting our neighbors who have experienced the harm and trauma of poverty and discrimination. We were inspired and moved when we learned from our VCF philanthropic advisor about the Elnu Abenaki tribe’s effort to protect the land.

Last Chance Donor Advised Fund

THE POWER OF COLLECTIVE GIVING

“Petroglyphs in Vermont? I had no idea!” When donor advised fundholder Laura Keanon was growing up in Bennington, she learned little to nothing about the Abenaki in school. “We never talked about people who didn’t look like us,” she said.

Keanon, who now resides in Maryland but maintains strong connections to Vermont, is among seven donor advised fundholders who joined the Foundation and community-led efforts to support the Elnu Abenaki in their bid to purchase two acres of ceremonial land surrounding the ancient Petroglyphs.

“It’s important to me to learn about these opportunities from the VCF. By bringing resources together, we provide an opportunity for something to really develop, for a project to be funded in a way that is not just a one-off.”

Collective giving through the Community Foundation provides fundholders with a way to give together for greater impact. In the case of the Atowi Project, donor advised and discretionary funds contributed more than $200,000 toward the tribe’s goal of $325,000 to purchase the land. Coming to the project for a variety of reasons, from land preservation to racial equity, fundholders joined Abenaki descendants and community members, whose years-long efforts to build relationships and fundraise laid the groundwork for success, to protect the land.

Business for Humanity

MISSION INVESTING WITH THE VCF

Mel and Damaris Hall founded Global Village Foods with a mission to bring healthy, ethnic African cuisine to the U.S., and to do it from Vermont while supporting local farms and creating good jobs. Inspired by her mother, who worked with co-ops in Kenya to empower women through farming, Damaris is building community through ethnic African food made with local ingredients.

Through one of our mission investing partners, the Flexible Capital Fund, the Community Foundation was one of several investors that helped Global Village Foods secure financing in 2022 to prepare for a high level of anticipated growth and expansion.

Mission investing is one of the many tools we use to address the opportunity gap. Investments like these create opportunities for Vermonters, particularly those who are disadvantaged by place, race, or economic background, by creating jobs and fostering economic resilience.

Designed to generate both financial and social returns, mission investing through the Vermont Community Foundation is an innovative way for donors and fundholders to use charitable donations typically reserved for nonprofit grantmaking to invest in for-profit, mission-aligned businesses. By supporting Vermont’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and creating new jobs, mission investing helps to strengthen our economy and build more resilient communities.

The VCF at Hula Fund

In partnership with the Hula coworking space and business incubator in Burlington, VCF at Hula is rooted in a shared commitment to innovation, sustainable growth, and closing the opportunity gap in Vermont. Investment returns from VCF at Hula go back into the charitable funds that participate, potentially increasing those funds’ grantmaking capacity to drive greater impact.

Together, we are fostering innovation and economic development in Vermont by supporting early-stage startups, BIPOC- and women-owned business, and rural entrepreneurs that have a positive impact in Vermont and the world.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO SCALE SOLUTIONS

Among the first donor advised fundholders to invest in the VCF at Hula fund, Lisa Cashdan and Peter Stein see mission investing as a way to address global issues–from climate change to poverty–and engage the next generation of donors.

“Young people understand that the problems we face are gigantic in scale,” said Peter. “Mission investing is an opportunity to take some risk with startups and new ideas that may offer solutions.”

Peter and Lisa were eager to direct a portion of their giving to mission-oriented Vermont startups. “We live in a small state, but it can be hard to know which companies to invest in,” said Peter. “We liked the idea of a collection of earlystage investments through the VCF and Hula.”

“It’s important to us that the VCF reviews the investments before they come to us,” said Lisa. “Emilye, our philanthropic advisor at the Community Foundation, knows us. She does the due diligence and brings us pre-vetted opportunities that she knows will align with our philanthropic goals.”

“VCF at Hula embodied everything we care about,” added Peter. “The Community Foundation’s commitment to Vermont really differentiates it from larger, commercial organizations. They provide knowledge, networks, and connections in the geography we care about.”

Long-time supporters of land conservation and the environment, Peter and Lisa also have a donor advised fund with the Vermont Community Foundation, which they opened after receiving a gift from Peter’s greatgrandmother. Through the Cashdan-Stein GreatGrandmother Fund, the couple has supported nonprofits aligned with their values around conservation, science and education, and access to nature for people who are economically disadvantaged.

The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Soul

JAG PRODUCTIONS

Last summer, over a thousand people flocked to JAG’s Theatre on the Hill at King Arthur Baking Company in Norwich to listen to the funk, gospel, and soul music of Tony Award-winner Britton Smith, the selfidentified Black Gay Mega Pastor, and his funk liberation band, Britton & The Sting.

“I was struck by the diversity of the audience in terms of age, race, gender, and identity,” said Jason Schumacher, managing director at JAG Productions. “At first, they were a little reserved, but by the second or third song, everyone was on their feet and dancing. There were grandmas in the front row swinging their arms.”

And that, he says, is the power of performance. “It taps into something fundamental that brings people together.”

Attracting creatives from all over the country, JAG’s mission is to “catalyze compassion, empathy, love, and community through the lens of the Black experience.” Based in White River Junction, the nonprofit theater offers a sanctuary for Black and Black queer storytellers and creatives.

In addition to performances, JAG hosts artist discussions with local school and community groups. “There are people who don’t see themselves reflected in the community or on stage,” said Jason. “Representation really matters.”

“This type of work is fragile and precious,” said Jason, “and would go away without the robust support of the community. We weathered the pandemic, which is more than many small theaters can say,

but without shows you lose connection with the audience. So that’s what we are working to rebuild.”

Donor advised fundholders and discretionary fund advisors at the Vermont Community Foundation recognize the critical role of the arts in supporting community wellbeing. More than just a source of entertainment, the arts are a means of connection, expression, and healing for individuals and communities during challenging times. Since the start of the pandemic, the Community Foundation and its fundholders—in partnership with the Vermont Arts Council—have supported Vermont’s creative economy through the Arts Endowment Fund.

TESTAMENTARY FUND HELPS LOCAL MUSICIAN LEAVE HIS LEGACY

Edward “Ted” Richards loved singing. “He sang his entire life,” said his wife, Paula Gills. Both professional musicians and English teachers at Norwich University, Ted and Paula sang with the Randolph Singers and the choir at their church. They frequented theater, from Broadway to community plays. For fifteen years, Ted was on the board of Lost Nation Theater, an organization he “adored,” according to his wife.

Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2015, Ted passed in 2020 just a few weeks before the pandemic. More than twenty years prior, he had established a series of interlocking trusts, including a testamentary fund at the VCF, the Richards-Gills Fund for Musical and Theater Arts for Central Vermont. At the time, he hoped the charitable fund would provide support to arts organizations in the community.

“The timing is so meaningful,” said Paula of Ted’s testamentary gift through a Charitable Remainder Trust going into an arts-focused discretionary fund just prior to the pandemic. “Our ardent desire is to help organizations stay solvent, to rebuild, and hopefully get to a position to thrive again. This fund could mean the difference between remaining open or closing for an arts organization in Vermont. It’s incredibly humbling.”

“When you look at a painting or go to a concert, you’re transformed,” said Paula. “You’re just not the same person you were before. It’s an invitation to let your imagination and your inner person explore. I’m so glad Ted set up this fund and that he trusted me to carry it forward.”

More Than Four Walls and a Roof

FOUNDATION HOUSE

“We all need a home,” said Michelle Kersey, director of development at Downstreet Housing & Community Development. “It’s foundational to our lives, to raising a family and finding employment, to our physical and mental health. When people can rely on their homes, they thrive and the community around them benefits.”

Vermont’s housing crisis has been decades in the making, says Kersey, and will take a lot of intentionality to solve. “We need a full range of housing. That includes affordable housing as well as housing for people with specialized needs.”

In partnership with Vermont Foundation for Recovery, and with grant support from the Vermont Women’s Fund and donor advised fundholders at the Vermont Community Foundation, Downstreet opened Foundation House in December 2022. The three-story apartment building in Barre provides safe, stable, and supportive housing for women in recovery and their children.

Thoughtfully restored to support women in recovery without separating them from their children, Foundation House has both communal and individual apartments. The layout includes kitchenettes for late night bottle warming, communal spaces for children, a laundry room, and a “safety net” apartment for women who relapse

to recover without risking eviction or the sobriety of others.

Frequent moves, short stays with friends or family members, or living in homeless shelters all present barriers to a mother’s ability to enroll her children in school, access support services, provide regular meals, and advance her own sobriety.

As Central Vermont’s only recovery house for women, Foundation House offers an example of how nonprofits, donors, and communities can come together to support women along their path to stable housing and help close the opportunity gap for the next generation of Vermonters.

ENDOWMENT GIFT HELPS WOMEN AND GIRLS THRIVE

A well-loved entrepreneur and philanthropist throughout her life, Victoria Buffum established the Courtney and Victoria Buffum Family Foundation in 1997 to support women and children at risk, women and single mothers, persons with brain injuries, children with disabilities, and the arts. The Foundation, named in honor of Victoria and her daughter, Courtney, continues their legacies.

In 2022, the Buffum Foundation established three designated funds at the Vermont Community Foundation and made a $1 million gift to the Vermont Women’s Fund endowment.

“We chose to partner with the VCF to leverage its ability to invest these resources and continue to support the causes we care about,” said Tom Gauntlett, Victoria’s brother and fundholder. “They put our charitable dollars to work in the community to ensure that Courtney and Vicki’s legacy will endure for years to come.”

S.

As the Buffum Foundation’s attorney, the partnership with the VCF provides a seamless and impactful way for the family to fulfill the board’s mission, address needs in our community, and continue to support nonprofits that were important to Victoria.

Craig

Matanle, Esq. McCormick, Fitzpatrick, Kasper, and Burchard

Stock Markets and Safe Spaces

THE TEEN CENTER

At the Teen Center in Middlebury, Penny and Xavier are learning from Hyatt, a Middlebury College senior, to invest in the stock market. Down the hall, a group of teens are discussing bands for the upcoming Pride Day celebration. Across the room, a few friends are hanging out over a pan of macaroni and cheese.

“It’s all part of the program,” said Lindsey Fuentes-George, executive director of the Teen Center. “Teenagers need to be around their friends. We provide a safe, supervised space for them to be together.”

Young people between the ages of 12 and 18 can drop into the Teen Center anytime; they don’t need parents to sign them up for events like Murder Mystery Night, Art Bomb Week, or photography lessons. Supported in part by grants from an anonymous donor advised fund at the Community Foundation, all of the programming is either free or on a “pay-what-you-can” model that ranges from nothing to chipping in a little extra to support others. And, of course, there is food. Lots of it. All the time.

“We want to remove any barriers that would prevent young people from coming in,” said Lindsey. “It’s intentionally inclusive and the teens make sure everyone feels welcome and comfortable. It’s really important to them.”

That sense of belonging led a group of teens to organize Middlebury’s first Pride Day in 2022, a small parade that garnered a crowd of about 75. This year, the teens have organized three different bands, vendors, a short march, and an open-mic free speak out. “It’s going to be a party,” said Lindsey.

“We have a tendency as a society to focus on the individual when a teen is struggling–what they can do differently to better their own circumstance,” she said. “It’s important to think about how communities can step up and make space for those teens to feel confident and safe and grow into the best versions of themselves. The onus should be on the community, not on a fourteen-year-old dealing with their first crush.”

FROM DONOR ADVISED TO DISCRETIONARY FUND

One of the many benefits of giving through a community foundation, as opposed to directly to an organization or cause, is the option of anonymity. Many of the Community Foundation’s donor advised fundholders prefer anonymity for reasons related to privacy, humility, or simply wishing not to receive unwanted solicitations. We work with fundholders to deeply understand their values and giving priorities, and can help continue their legacy as they step back from active grantmaking.

Such is the case with a longstanding fundholder who has anonymously supported organizations that promote health, wellness, and social connection for Vermonters of every age. Whether grants to teen centers that provide safe, developmentally appropriate places for young people to be together, or opportunities for older Vermonters to exercise together, the thread throughout their decades of giving has been building social cohesion and fostering connection in the name of stronger, healthier communities.

In doing so, they are trusting the Community Foundation, leaning into our shared values around social cohesion and closing the opportunity gap. The discretionary fund ensures continued support for the causes they care about most.

Building Better Places

CROWDGRANTING FOR COMMUNITY-LED REVITALIZATION

A crumbling underpass in Royalton was transformed into a vibrant display of public art last September thanks to a communityled initiative to raise $8,000 and unlock a $16,000 Better Places grant.

“Passage,” which brightens the highly visible underpass with photographic images, represents the four seasons, while poetry passages and reflective disks represent the White River. This installment is just one of 24 Better Places projects collectively engaging more than 1,900 Vermonters to donate to vibrant community-space projects around the state.

Designed as a way to support locally conceived projects and build community, the Better Places program requires towns to crowdfund a portion of the project costs. Once met, the group is awarded a grant that is two-times the amount raised.

“The collaboration of local organizations and businesses in the fundraising effort brought us into contact with individuals within the community who may not otherwise be involved,” said Victoria Paquin, town

administrator for Royalton. “This project has brought awareness to the need to create a sense of place, ownership, and pride in our community.” Donations to the SoRo Underpass project, ranging from $10 to $1,000, came from 93 patrons.

As the social, cultural, and economic centers of our rural state, revitalization projects in Vermont’s downtowns, village centers, new town centers, or neighborhood development areas have an outsized influence. They attract tourism and new businesses, and contribute to community pride and identity. The crowdfunding aspect bridges a divide sometimes felt in fundraising by demonstrating that every dollar has an impact—not just the big donations—and all members of the community can participate in making their town a better place, through “crowdgranting”!

In partnership with the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development, the Vermont Department of Health, and Patronicity, the Community Foundation issues grants from the Better Places Fund and provides support to grantees.

Alex Hanson, Royalton

What Passage makes me think about is not my own response to it, but how it might influence the neighborhood kids, including my own, who walk by it and see a piece of their world reshaped by creativity and hard work.

Celebrating Neurodiversity

IMPROVING HEALTH EQUITY

In the midst of the pandemic, while caring for sick patients in the hospital and homeschooling her neurodivergent preschooler, Dr. Melissa Houser had an idea.

What if preschoolers were taught about neurodiversity? What if they learned from an early age that all brains think, learn, play, and communicate differently? Would that understanding help to build a more inclusive community where everyone felt safe and free to be their true selves?

The founder of All Brains Belong VT, Dr. Houser decided to find out. With funding in part from the Health Equity grant program at the Community Foundation, she launched a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating and understanding neurodiversity in health care, education, and community connection.

All Brains Belong is reimagining healthcare delivery and building community. In 2022, the organization served more than 250 patients whose needs were not met by traditional healthcare systems, developed free social connection programs for families, and delivered monthly neurocultural competency / neuro-DEI training to healthcare practices, schools, and employers.

Dr. Houser and All Brains Belong VT were among 30 organizations around the state to receive a Health Equity program grant in 2022. The goal of the grants—for every Vermonter to have access to the health care they need—was supported by multimillion-dollar COVID-19 funding to the state from the Centers for Disease Control to address persistent health disparities.

In partnership with the Community Foundation, the Vermont Department of Health has distributed more than $4 million to improve health equity in Vermont.

Health and wellbeing are foundational to every individual’s life. The pandemic revealed that many of the health systems we rely on every day contribute to inequitable health outcomes, especially for historically marginalized groups. Forging new, more inclusive health systems helps to close the opportunity gap by allowing more Vermonters to live a full life and achieve their own potential.

“One size fits all” does not work for all. Neurodivergent Vermonters are all too commonly struggling to have their needs met by the defaults of society— in health care, education, employment, and society at large. This grant has allowed us to expand our capacity to serve 25% more patients.

Dr. Melissa Houser

3 Court Street Middlebury, VT 05753 vermontcf.org

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS

All Brains Belong VT - Page 21

Todd Balfour - Page 18

Lars Blackmore and Britton & The Sting - Cover, Page 14

Buffum Foundation - Page 17 Community College of VermontPage 7

Rich Holschuh, Atowi ProjectCover, Page 10

Erica Housekeeper, courtesy of Vermont Sustainable Jobs FundPages 12, 13

John Lazenby - Page 13

Jake McBride, courtesy of Out in the Open - Page 9 King Street Center, courtesy of Let’s Grow Kids - Page 8

Evie Lovett - Cover

Evie Lovett & Elizabeth BillingsPage 20

Paran Recreations - Page 9

Sally McCay, courtesy of Downstreet Housing & Community DevelopmentCover, Pages 16, 17

Hana Saydek, courtesy of Out in the Open - Cover

Vermont Youth Conservation Corps - Page 5

Vermont Tech - Pages 5, 8

Liza Voll - Inside Front Cover

Writing: Emily Bradbury

Design: Amanda Coyle

Printing: R.C. Brayshaw & Company