The Vermont Community Foundation announced that Patrick Berry has agreed to join the Foundation as vice president for philanthropy. Berry is currently commissioner for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.
While at the Fish and Wildlife Department, Berry has led efforts to update the department’s strategic and operational plans, and prioritized initiatives to significantly increase the department’s assets through a variety of sources including private contributions. Prior to that, he worked in donor relations and fundraising capacities at Vermont Law School and Middlebury College.
“I look forward to using my fundraising and management experience and an intimate knowledge of Vermont to help advance the mission of the Vermont Community Foundation,” says Berry. “I believe the Foundation possesses a unique capacity to partner with donors who have a passion for helping Vermonters and strengthening the communities in which they live and work.”
Vermont Community Foundation President & CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay says, “We are very excited to have Patrick joining our team. He is an individual who believes deeply in Vermont—in its communities, its people, its history, and its spirit. He has a passion for the power of philanthropy to do great things. He’s a really good fit for our work.”
Comstock-Gay notes that as the Foundation has grown over the years—it currently manages nearly $200 million in charitable assets—the charitable goals of its donors have grown increasingly more sophisticated, especially in the issue areas of early care and education, postsecondary education, local food and food security, women and girls, and energy efficiency. Increasingly, Comstock-Gay says, donors are looking for assistance with everything from managing competitive grant rounds to creating multi-sector partnerships to measuring the impact of individual grants. Berry will lead a department that is rapidly developing services to help donors achieve those goals.
In his new role, Berry will work with existing and prospective donors to establish charitable funds, create personalized giving plans, and develop strategies for impact on the issues they care about.
Berry holds an undergraduate degree from Middlebury College and undertook his Masters Degree work at the University of Montana. He lives in Middlebury with his family and spends his spare time outdoors cycling, hiking, hunting, and fishing. He also enjoys playing the banjo.
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.
