Embracing Nature and Philanthropy: The Journey of Lisa Cashdan and Peter Stein

The couple has a deep commitment to philanthropy that supports land conservation and the environment. So, it’s not surprising that Vermont and the state’s cherished natural landscape, with its narrow river valleys, dense tree canopies, working farms, and rocky peaks, became home. Avid hikers and trail walkers, Cashdan and Stein know first-hand that being in nature can build happiness and health. Their giving through the Vermont Community Foundation has long reflected this.

“I think it’s really important for human communities to find ways to make it possible for all people to get out onto the land, in forests, on farms, in parks,” Cashdan said. She and Stein believe that land conservation and a shared connection to nature will benefit future generations. “I think protecting land will help mitigate climate impact and provide a healthy environment for kids to grow up in,” Cashdan said.

The Norwich, Vt. residents opened a fund at the Vermont Community Foundation with a bequest from Stein’s great-grandmother. Over the years, they have supported many projects at nonprofits such as the Vermont Land Trust, including those that make working farms economically viable. Vermont Parks Forever, whose park access fund has provided free park passes to thousands of Vermonters including refugees and immigrants, foster families, and people with limited mobility, is another effort they have contributed to through their fund at the Vermont Community Foundation.

The swish of the wind through the trees, the sounds of birds trilling, and the fresh air in parks and open spaces build wellbeing, an appreciation for the environment, and also bring people together, the couple believes. “Parks have superpowers, let’s make more of them,” Cashdan said. “That’s the title of a recent op-ed that spoke to me.”

Support for entrepreneurship with the potential to achieve social good, sometimes referred to as mission investing, also appeals to Cashdan and Stein, whose backgrounds include work with nonprofits such as the Trust for Public Land. They were early supporters of the VCF at Hula fund, which launched in 2022, believing it could seed promising start-ups that make positive changes now and in the future. “Young people understand that the problems we face are gigantic in scale,” Stein said. “Mission investing is an opportunity to take some risk with start-ups and new ideas that may offer solutions.”

Learning about VCF partnerships such as the one with Hula, a Burlington tech co-working campus and business accelerator, is one of the benefits of working with a philanthropic advisor at the Vermont Community Foundation, they added.

“The VCF at Hula embodied everything we care about,” Stein said. “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.”

A healthy economy, a healthy landscape, a healthy environment – all these goals drive the couple’s giving, as does their own love of the land nurtured through years of spending time outdoors in Vermont. “It’s who we are,” Cashdan said. “It’s so much in our being.”