Vermont Business MagazineThe Vermont Community Foundation, in partnership with some of its fundholders, awarded a total of $93,148 in Small and Inspiring grants to 41 organizations for local projects in communities across the state during the fall of 2015. One of a number of competitive grant rounds at the Community Foundation, the Small and Inspiring grants program funds work that helps connect people to their neighbors, their land, and their history in ways that strengthen community.
“These projects remind us of the importance of community,” says Jen Peterson, vice president for program and grants. “As we are confronted daily with news stories that incite feelings of fear and distrust, we are honored to support work that brings us together and nourishes the social fabric of our Vermont communities.”
Nonprofits interested in applying for a Small and Inspiring grant are encouraged to visitwww.vermontcf.org/SmallandInspiringfor more information. There are three remaining rounds in 2016, with deadlines at 5:00 p.m. on March 8, July 26, and October 11.
Small & Inspiring Grants Fall 2015
ADDISON
Addison Central Teensreceived $1,786 to support a program that creates open dialogue with youth regarding the influence of pornography on their perceptions of sexuality, gender roles, and relationships.
Hospice Volunteer Servicesreceived $2,500 to support a community storytelling event for individuals to share personal stories of love and loss, fostering community connection and openness around the difficult but universal experiences of death and grief.
Town Hall Theater, Inc.(THT)received $2,500 to support a collaborative memoir storytelling program with Addison CountyParent/Child Center (ACPCC) whichaims to infuse opportunities for vibrant self-expression into ACPCC’s existing programming while making THT more accessible to Addison County families of limited means.
BENNINGTON
Molly Stark Elementary Schoolreceived $2,500 to support a project that aims to rehabilitate a long neglected wooded area adjacent to the school’s campus in Bennington, creating outdoor educational spaces and educational kiosks to identify the flora, fauna, and natural history of the area.
Northshire Growsreceived $2,500 to support a collaborative project with the Manchester, Dorset, and West River Farmers Markets, which aims to increase the number of young people taking part in their Kids' Day markets and spur emerging entrepreneurship, business skills, and volunteerism in the region's youth culture.
Ski for Heatreceived $1,000 to support outdoor winter activities open to participants of all abilities, ages, and incomes that raise money for heating fuel assistance for low-income households.
CALEDONIA
Catamount Film & Artsreceived $2,500 to support a festival/concert featuring a deaf percussionist, an orchestra/chorus, creations by students in artist residencies at area schools, and cross-curricular presentations developed by community organizations and schools.
Community Restorative Justice Centerreceived $2,500 to build and stock a resident supported food pantry with the Depot Square Residents Group.
Vermont Vaudevillereceived $2,000 to support the presentation of a professional variety show, featuring music, comedy, and circus, to 300 children from five area schools in a historic town hall.
CHITTENDEN
Burlington School Districtreceived $2,500 to support Parent University, a program that works closely with community partners to provide educational classes to parents that enrich, engage, and empower them as equal partners in the education and well-being of their children.
Champlain Community Services, Inc. (CCS)received $1,500 to support an "intentional garden" at CCS that will be tended by CCS consumers with developmental disabilities. Through outreach and sharing of space, the project will engage the broader community at Ft. Ethan Allen, including diverse nonprofits and members of the armed services.
Chittenden Prevention Networkreceived $1,912 to support the Above the Influence Youth Retreat, which brings Chittenden County youth together for a weekend to discuss and plan strategies for promoting healthy, substance-free lifestyles in their own schools and communities.
Flynn Center for the Performing Artsreceived $2,500 to support movement classes for people with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers.
Islamic Society of Vermontreceived $1,500 to support a collaborative program with the Weekend Islamic School of VT’s and the Burlington YMCA for young women of all religions to build the enthusiasm and skills needed to gain a lifelong love of swimming.
Mercy Connectionsreceived $2,500 to support a mentoring retreat in whichformerly incarcerated women and their mentors go to Mercy Farm to reinforce healing connections with each other, care for the earth, and engage in healthy, productive activities.
Mobius, Vermont's Mentoring Partnershipreceived $2,500 to support an expansion of programs to support volunteer mentors, raise awareness of mentoring, increase mentor retention, recruit new mentors, and provide youth with valuable experiences.
Spoonful Herbalsreceived $2,500 to support “Backyard Herbal Medicine” workshops and “Herb Mobs” to collect/glean unwanted medicinal plants and deliver them to sliding-scale community herbalism clinics which will make them available to community members seeking affordable nature-based health care.
Theatre Kavanah, Inc.received $2,500 to support a community-driven performance of Brundibár, a children's opera and a historically powerful work, whose story is one of giving voice to the voiceless to engage populations traditionally under-served by the arts.
ESSEX
Alice M. Ward Memorial Libraryreceived $2,500 to support a program created to explore the Canaan Community Forest by bringing experts in foraging, primitive skills, and sustainable outdoor activities to town for free public programs at the library.
Town of Guildhallreceived $2,500 to support the repair and preservation of the 1795 Guild Hall building for continued use by the Town Office and for hosting vital social, political, and cultural community events.
FRANKLIN
Town of Sheldonreceived $2,000 to build community support for a new and permanent home for the Sheldon Historical Society, a place where history can be gathered, displayed, discussed, and preserved.
Treat the Heart and Heal the Soulreceived $2,500 to support awomen’s circle in which women will gain the leadership skills necessary to uplift their families and community and ensure women’s voice in tribal and civic decision-making, using Abenaki traditional ways.
ORANGE
Global Campuses Foundationreceived $1,500 to support a program connecting people with intellectual disabilities by hosting regional conferences. The participants will have the opportunity to meet and learn from others from different parts of Vermont who experience disability.
Hope On The Risereceived $2,500 to provide new life experiences for women who are cancer survivors, through free weekend fly fishing retreats that are designed to help women find renewal, healing, and hope.
Williamstown Historical Societyreceived $2,500 to support the construction and celebration of a multi-purpose wooden pavilion in the newly created Williamstown Veterans Memorial Park in the village.
ORLEANS
The Art House, Inc.received $2,500 to support amonthly film series, which seeks to facilitate conversations around social issues through documentaries and panel discussions in an effort to connect the community to services, develop awareness, and strengthen social fabric around prevalent issues.
RUTLAND
Four Winds Nature Institutereceived $2,450 to support the creation of a nature playscape at Rutland County Head Start’s Hickory Street site.
Lothrop Elementary Schoolreceived $2,500 to support a public performance of an adapted Shakespeare play through a ten-week residency directed by Middlebury Town Hall Theater's Education Director.
The Ruth Stone Foundationreceived $2,500 to bring artists and writers to Goshen to visit, be inspired by, and work on Ruth Stone's literary and physical estate while also making vital stabilizations to the historic house.
Town of Tinmouthreceived $2,500 to support thecommunity-driven construction of a front porch for Tinmouth’s Old Creamery building, modeled after an original which sheltered farmers' wagons, to create a community gathering space.
WASHINGTON
Barre Area Senior Centerreceived $600 to support regular chair yoga classes for seniors, which offer the benefits of flexibility, strength, mindful breathing, meditation, improved balance and posture, and social engagement.
The Children's Roomreceived $2,500 to support a series of weekend play dates for families with young children where families will engage with each other and their larger community.
Church of the Good Shepherd, Barrereceived $2,400 to support a program providinga nourishing breakfast and a warm space to the homeless and food insecure of the area twice a week.
Montpelier Senior Activity Centerreceived $2,500 to support a pilot project that will transport homebound seniors to the senior center for nutritious meals and senior center programming.
Rural Vermontreceived $2,500 to support a program that helps family farmers who wish to inform public policy makers about their unique needs and contributions to Vermont's economy and communities through civic engagement training.
WINDHAM
Art in the Neighborhoodreceived $2,000 to support visual art classes for children enrolled in Health Care and Rehabilitative Services therapeutic activities programs.
Post Oil Solutionsreceived $2,500 to support a series of facilitated cross-class dialogues, in which participants will learn from each other’s experiences, build trust and understanding, and become better equipped to work together across class differences.
Turning Point of Windham Countyreceived $2,500 to support an "ecological living room" for the recovery center's new permanent facility, enlisting both center volunteers and neighborhood supporters to bring to life a design this summer's Permaculture Design class created.
Vermont Performance Labreceived $2,500 to support Doggie Hamlet, a full-length outdoor performance that weaves dance, music, visual and theatrical elements with aspects from competitive sheep herding trials.
WINDSOR
Main Street Museumreceived $2,500 to support Fair Gender Faire, a three-day symposium which brings together a diverse group of individuals who will educate, lecture, exhibit, recite, and perform works on LGBTQAI topics.
Synergyreceived $2,500to developa support group for full-time, in-home caregivers who serve adults with disabilities, through wellness activities, social and community connections, and information sharing. Synergy will Partner with Health Care and Rehabilitative Services.
The Vermont Community Foundation is a family of hundreds of funds and foundations established by Vermonters to serve their charitable goals. It provides the advice, investment vehicles, and back-office expertise to make giving easy and effective. The Foundation also provides leadership in giving by responding to community needs, mobilizing and connecting philanthropists to multiply their impact, and by keeping Vermont’s nonprofit sector vital with grants and other investments in the community.
www.vermontcf.org/SmallandInspiringwww.vermontcf.orgor call802-388-3355for more information.