September 18, 2023
September 18, 2023
We have identified five impact areas central to both individual prosperity and community vitality. These impact areas build on our work to close the opportunity gap, while incorporating important learnings from the past few years.
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Expansive and dynamic by design and with principles of equity embedded throughout, these five impact areas provide an updated framework for how we work with nonprofits, donors and fundholders, grantees, and partners across Vermont. Opportunities to learn together, build deeper understanding, and move forward with flexibility and trust are inherent to our approach.
Ryegate’s challenges are different from Rutland’s. Brattleboro’s priorities are not the same as Bennington’s. While embracing the commonalities that make us all Vermonters, the impact areas and strategies for progress within recognize the unique needs of each geographic region–place by place, community by community.
That keen attention to place is complemented by our deep commitment to:
For our donors and fundholders, it’s an invitation and an opportunity to deepen engagement with the Community Foundation. To not only give together, but learn together for greater impact. To not only respond to pressing needs, but to build a stronger, healthier, more resilient Vermont for future generations.
For grantees, this means operational grants to core nonprofit partners, bringing together groups of organizations with expertise in specific areas to deepen understanding, simplified application processes, and funding innovative new approaches, among other initiatives.
Owning a home or a business is one of the most powerful ways to build financial security and generational wealth. Every Vermonter should have that opportunity. Alongside that, investing in the characteristics that make each community unique will build economic vibrancy, making Vermont a place where people can work and thrive.
Our grantmaking in this area will prioritize:
From childcare to college, affordable options for lifelong learning play a vital role in driving economic mobility, strengthening the middle class, and combating systemic race- and gender-based oppression. Grantmaking through the Community Foundation, in partnership with our supporting organizations (Let’s Grow Kids, McClure Foundation, and The Curtis Fund), will focus on:
Strengthening early childhood education and child care
Increasing access to afterschool and summer learning opportunities
Addressing college affordability, access, and success
Providing training and education for the most promising careers
Individual health and wellbeing is essential to community health and wellbeing. The pandemic revealed, and in many cases worsened, inequities and gaps in health care. From access to primary care, to support for mental health, to encouraging healthy food, physical activity, and community connection, grantmaking in this area will focus on:
Vermont’s deep connection to the working landscape, natural resources, and outdoor recreation link our long-term economic vitality directly to a healthy natural environment. Grantmaking in this area will include:
When we build community institutions that people trust, we increase the connections that bring neighbors together to solve problems. From school boards to local government, cultivating leadership and civic engagement are at the heart of community decision-making and participatory government. Grantmaking in this area will include: