Groundbreaking LEEP Toolkit Launches on June 8

Pay equity is a central tenet of a just and equitable economy but for many employers, it’s a struggle to discern how to achieve pay equity in their existing business model. That was until now.

Join us on Tuesday, June 8th, from noon to 1 pm, for the launch of the Leaders for Equity and #EqualPay (LEEP) Toolkit. This is a collaborative event, shared among our Change The Story VT partnership organizations. This free DIY resource empowers Vermont’s small to mid-size employers with the tools they need to conduct gender and racial pay equity reviews. You’ll be introduced to the innovative new Equity Management Tool and companion Playbook, inspired by the stories of the Vermont employers who have implemented pay equity practices. Speakers include:

Mara Neufeld Rivera, Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional and Vice President/Head of People & Culture at Chroma Technology Corporation
Lisa Yaeger, Chief Equity, People & Culture Officer at Vermont Foodbank
Duane Peterson, Co-President and Founder of SunCommon

All are welcome to register as an equity advocate or as an organization and bring your team! Please share this event with others as well. You can use this share kit for your company or network newsletter.

This spring, the Vermont Women’s Fund council was hard at work, reading and evaluating applications for funding from nonprofit organizations around the state. The process this year was especially challenging as the council focuses on developing strategies that ground equity at the heart of our grantmaking and accelerate women’s economic recovery from the pandemic.

One of those approaches centers on stimulating women’s entrepreneurship and business ownership. There is very little data available except from a Change The Story report that estimates we have over 23,000 women-owned businesses in Vermont. But – and this is a big one – their businesses make 19 cents to the dollar of male-owned businesses. We explored this topic recently in our virtual event called This Way Up, co-hosted with the Vermont Community Foundation. Watch the event replay below to find out how we can energize this vital segment of Vermont's economy.

Warmest regards,
Meg
Meg Smith
Director, Vermont Women's Fund

PS: Speaking of Change The Story, register for the June 8 release of a first-of-its-kind tool for Vermont employers to achieve wage equity. This is another tremendous example of how our partnership-initiative is fast-tracking gender equity in Vermont!

Announcing Our 2021 Grantees

In May, we awarded $331,000 in grants to 29 nonprofits that further the Women's Fund’s mission to support the advancement and economic self-sufficiency of Vermont’s women and girls.

We are proud to announce the following list of recipients who received grants from us. In response to the pandemic, the Fund offered general operating support in addition to programmatic support:

Black Lives Matter Vermont received $10,000 to support a virtual summer mentoring reading group for Black and Brown girls, as well as offer extended mentorship by professional Black women in private and public service careers.
Capstone Community Action received $10,000 for its program that provides young women an educational foundation, exposure to viable careers, and financial literacy coaching.
Center for Women & Enterprise received $10,000 to research the impact of COVID-19 on Vermont’s women-owned businesses and establish programming in Brattleboro to support women-owned businesses with a focus on BIPOC individuals.
Change The Story received $125,000 for its final year of the multi-year partnership to fast-track gender equity in Vermont.
Clemmons Family Farm received $10,000 to support its work to use the power of people, place, history, and the arts to preserve a rare Black-owned land and cultural heritage asset in Vermont, empower Vermont’s Black artists to thrive, and foster a loving, supportive, and healthy multicultural community.
City of Winooski received $9,000 to foster greater participation by women and girls in its Working Communities Challenge initiative, which involves ensuring that those who make community decisions accurately reflects the demographic of Winooski.
Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) received $10,000 to teach financial skills to victims of domestic and/or sexual violence in Franklin and Grand Isle counties.
Dismas of Vermont received $7,000 to support its work to reconcile former prisoners with society and society with former prisoners by helping with housing and financial stability.
Easterseals Vermont received $3,000 to support young women transitioning from foster care to adult living in the community.
Governor’s Institute received $5,000 to support a scholarship for female-identified students.
Janet S Munt Family Room received $7,000 for its Healthy Families from the Start program, which provides prenatal and postpartum doula support outside of the traditional social service system for new parents in Chittenden County.
Jenna’s Promise received $5,000 to provide women in their programs access to laptops for workforce development, online recovery services, and education.
Let’s Grow Kids received $7,000 to support its early education workforce development work, which focuses on activities to recruit, strengthen, and empower childcare providers.
Lund Family Center received $7,000 for its New Horizons Education Program, which provides year round secondary education instruction and services to pregnant and/or parenting females.
Mercy Connections received $7,000 for The Rally Project, which is a statewide initiative providing critical start-up and long-term support for small businesses impacted by the pandemic, focusing on women and BIPOC business owners.
NewStory Center received $7,000 for its Turning the Page: Opportunities for Economic Independence program, which will provide survivors of domestic and/or sexual violence training and experience at local businesses to create pathways to viable careers.
Northeast Kingdom Collaborative received $5,000 for its NEK Womxn Lead Network, which facilitates career mentorship and region-wide connections through rich, honest dialogue among diverse women leaders in the Northeast Kingdom who want to help each other thrive and drive change.
Northern Vermont AHEC received $2,500 to offer young women in northern Vermont the opportunity to experience job shadowing and training in the healthcare field.
ReSOURCE received $5,000 for its Remote Work Readiness Training program, which creates opportunities to go from unemployed, or marginally employed in low-wage jobs, to careers with long-term stability and a livable wage.
Rights & Democracy Education Fund received $10,000 for its Catalyst Leadership program, which supports a new generation of womxn, BIPOC, and other individuals from Vermont’s most impacted communities to thrive in public leadership and policymaking roles.
Southern Vermont AHEC received $2,500 to offer young women in southern Vermont the opportunity to experience job shadowing and training in the healthcare field.
Step Out received $7,000 for its Lifelong Information for Entrepreneurs course for incarcerated women, which focuses on business plans, transitional strategies, and wellness skills to aid the development of healthy post-incarceration lives.
Sunrise Family Resource Center received $6,000 to support its work in Bennington County to deliver vital services that connect families with community resources, provide educational experiences, and build relationships that promote independence and resilience.
SUSU commUNITY Farm received $10,000 to support its work to offer educational programming, access to free food, and opportunities for healing and building community in Vermont.
The Family Place received $7,000 for its Families Learning Together Program, which is an intensive academic, pre-vocational, interpersonal, and parenting program for young parents and pregnant women living in poverty.
The Umbrella of St. Johnsbury received $10,000 to support its mission of cultivating a Northeast Kingdom where all people thrive, free from abuse and oppression.
Vermont Technical College received $7,000 to offer scholarships to women for its Butchering Basics and Game of Logging trainings, two sustainable careers in traditionally male-dominated fields.
Vermont Works for Women received $10,000 to support its work to help women and girls recognize their potential and explore, pursue, and excel in work that leads to economic independence.
Vermont Youth Conservation Corps received $10,000 to offer identify-based crews, including a Womxn Crew and Queer Crew, which will allow members to connect with and learn alongside others who share key aspects of their identity.

Congratulations to all of these important organizations working to lift up and strengthen all women and girls in Vermont – thank you!

Groundbreaking LEEP Toolkit Launches on June 8th

Pay equity is a central tenet of a just and equitable economy but for many employers, it’s a struggle to discern how to achieve pay equity in their existing business model. That was until now.

Join us on Tuesday, June 8th, from noon to 1 pm, for the launch of the Leaders for Equity and #EqualPay (LEEP) Toolkit. This is a collaborative event, shared among our Change The Story VT partnership organizations. This free DIY resource empowers Vermont’s small to mid-size employers with the tools they need to conduct gender and racial pay equity reviews. You’ll be introduced to the innovative new Equity Management Tool and companion Playbook, inspired by the stories of the Vermont employers who have implemented pay equity practices. Speakers include:

Mara Neufeld Rivera, Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional and Vice President/Head of People & Culture at Chroma Technology Corporation
Lisa Yaeger, Chief Equity, People & Culture Officer at Vermont Foodbank
Duane Peterson, Co-President and Founder of SunCommon

You’ll also take away deeper understanding of gender and racial pay equity from our special guest, former Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor, author and economist, Evelyn Murphy, Ph.D. Dr. Murphy is the founder and president of the nationwide, grassroots activist organization The WAGE Project, Inc. and the co-chair of the Boston Women’s Workforce Council, a public-private partnership dedicated to eliminating the gender/racial wage gap in the greater Boston area.

All are welcome to register as an equity advocate or as an organization and bring your team! Please share this event with others as well. You can use this share kit for your company or network newsletter.

This Way Up: Watch the Replay

At the end of April, we and the Vermont Community Foundation co-hosted our first event featuring Vermont women entrepreneurs, This Way Up. Moderator Jane Lindholm from Vermont Public Radio led the discussion and Q&A with southern Vermont business owners:

Jewelz Johnson, Jamaican Jewelz Food Truck & Catering
Nancy Koziol, couch + cork
Julie Lineberger, Wheel Pad
Lisa Lorimer, MamaSezz Foods

Event Location

United States