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.

2023-2027

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.