Vermont Grants for Nonprofits

Bell's Brewery Sponsorships and Donations

Sponsored events and donations play a key role within our Bell’s philosophy. Through these events, we are able to not only give back to the communities we sell our beer in, but also get to have a great time with our fans! We are always looking for new opportunities and welcome your suggestions and applications. Please keep in mind that while we would love to be able to participate in everything, we sometimes must respectfully decline.

We do have a few guidelines we follow for all sponsorships and donations, please read through them below before proceeding to our application.

• Requests must be submitted at least 8 weeks prior to the event start date or the date the donation is needed. Any events submitted with less than 8 weeks’ notice will automatically be declined. We want to give every event we are involved in the best chance for success, which means we need time to plan. While 8 weeks is our minimum time requirement, additional time is always appreciated, especially for larger events.
• We do very little traditional advertising, instead we focus our efforts on sponsorships. When we partner with an event or an organization, we like to be involved! That said, if your proposal only involves a logo placement, we will politely decline in favor of events that offer us a chance to interact with our fans.
• We’re an eccentric bunch here at Bell’s and love to be involved with events that reflect your community’s eccentricities, uniqueness and inclusivity.
• We are always happy to consider requests for donations of Bell’s swag for homebrew competitions, fundraisers and events! That said, due to Michigan state law, we are not legally allowed to donate beer to events in any state. We’re sorry, but we legally cannot make any exceptions.

The National Grassroots Organizing Program offers two-year flexible, general operating support grants of up to $30,000 per year, with an average grant size of $20,000 per year, to small, non-profit grassroots constituent-led organizations throughout the United States and its territories and that are not located in the state of Vermont.

The guiding principle behind this program is our belief that people most affected by a problem are in the best position to determine the solutions. We will consider proposals from grassroots, base-building organizations that are working to help themselves and their communities create broad systems change through community organizing campaigns and movement-building efforts.

We prioritize organizations that are led by and center the leadership and agency of Black communities, Indigenous communities, and communities of color that approach their work using anti-oppression values – consciously striving to dismantle systems of oppression and the legacies of white supremacy culture in this country while working toward a more just and equitable society.

We define grassroots organizing as building people power to confront entrenched power. It involves collective action from the bottom up. It challenges the status quo, demands changes in policy and practice, educates communities about root causes of their problems, and advocates and agitates for systemic and just solutions. True progressive change occurs only when underlying, systemic forces are understood and addressed. We firmly believe that grassroots, constituent-led organizing is among the most effective means to create social change.

Grassroots Organizing Strategies

We recognize the following practices to be important components of effective grassroots organizing efforts.

Note: Successful applications will deeply embody all of these strategies.

Community & ally outreach

Consistent, multi-faceted efforts to recruit and engage people in your work. Examples include sharing information and resources, public forums, canvassing, workshops, tabling at events, phone-banking, and media engagement.

Leadership development of constituents

Investing time, training and resources to cultivate innate leadership assets within people who historically haven’t had access to civic and community engagement opportunities or positions of power.

Constituent empowerment & decision-making

The organization is driven by the people impacted by the problem. Constituents define core values, identify and prioritize issues, and determine the appropriate course of action to solve them.

Popular education

An educational technique, based on the theories of Paulo Friere, designed to raise the consciousness of its participants and allow them to become more aware of how an individual’s personal experiences are connected to larger institutional or societal problems.

Root cause analysis

The practice of continually peeling back the layers of a problem and asking “why?” each one exists until the root cause(s) of the issue can be identified and targeted for change.

Power analysis

The process of identifying which individuals or entities hold the power to make decisions that positively and negatively affect an issue.

Campaign development

A game plan of action including tactics, materials, timelines and their intended audiences and effects.

Mobilizing constituents & allies

Moving people to take specific action toward achieving a common goal. Examples include attending rallies and protests, tabling at events, testifying at hearings, contacting public officials, speaking to the media and phone-banking.

Coalition building

Partnering with other organizations that have allied missions and interests with the goal of creating power in numbers.

Non-violent direct action (NVDA)

Public forms of protest for the purpose of demonstration, obstruction or dissent.

NOTE: Grant submissions are reviewed on a quarterly basis.

Hannaford Charitable Foundation

We have a long history of supporting our communities through volunteerism, donations and community leadership. The Hannaford Charitable Foundation is one of many ways we support our communities.

The Foundation's mission is to invest in creating and sustaining healthy communities in our five-state region by providing financial support to nonprofit organizations and programs that focus on improvement of the root causes impacting the quality of life for our customers, associates and neighbors. Our areas of focus for financial support are food, education and health.

Focus Areas for support:

The Foundation supports organizations in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont that focus on one of the following core components of healthy communities:

• Food – We support programs with long-term solutions that will ensure safe, stable access to healthy food primarily through regional food banks in the markets we serve.
• Education – We help to deliver strong programs that prepare people through all stages of life for success in education and readiness to enter the workforce.
• Health – We support organizations that provide quality programs focusing on promoting healthy lifestyles and improved care.

In determining which organizations and programs to support, the Foundation considers

• the impact and outcomes to the community
• prior support from Hannaford Charitable Foundation
• relative uniqueness of the program versus others in the community.

People’s United Community Foundation and People’s United Community Foundation of Eastern Massachusetts support the communities where People’s United Bank branches are located. Through grants for nonprofit programs and services, their overall mission is to:

• Enhance the quality of life for residents
• Promote the economic development and well-being of neighborhoods
• Support the educational and developmental needs of children and youth.

Focus areas

People’s United Community Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations that align with our primary areas of focus and giving priorities of economic stability, employment, education, and housing:

Affordable Housing Development

People’s United Community Foundation supports programs that create affordable housing opportunities and the development and sustaining of safe, clean and desirable neighborhoods:

• Nonprofit organizations that directly develop affordable housing or assist developers which create affordable housing, through rehabilitation, new construction and/or neighborhood revitalization efforts.
• Community loan funds
• State and national programs, operating within our footprint, that serve as developers of affordable housing
• Supportive and transitional housing for homeless, low-income and those with disabilities or special needs
• Closing costs and down-payment assistance programs
• First-time homebuyer education
• Homeownership counseling and foreclosure prevention programs

Community Development

People's United Community Foundation supports programs and services that address basic needs and encourage financial independence and self-sufficiency for low- to moderate-income residents; as well as activities which promote economic development in low-income neighborhoods. Funding priorities include:

• Basic needs services
• Initiatives that transition people from assistance to independence
• Financial literacy Programs
• Education, including ESL, certification and degree programs
• Programs that promote economic stability and self-sufficiency
• Small business development and entrepreneurial programs
• Workforce development, job skills training and job placement programs

Youth Development

People’s United Community Foundation supports programs and services that address the need for educational improvement and academic advancement of children and youth, especially within low- to moderate- income communities and school districts.Funding priorities include:

• Academic improvement and advancement programs
• Accredited early childhood development, school readiness, and Headstart programs
• College and SAT preparation programs
• Career exploration and internship programs
• ESL and literacy programs
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs

People’s United Community Foundation distributes grants in the communities where People’s United Bank branches are located, including cities and towns throughout Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts*, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

*If your organization is located and/or operating programs and services within Massachusetts, first check the cities and towns listed for People’s United Community Foundation of Eastern Massachusetts.

The mission of The Sills Family Foundation is to help children from poor families live up to their highest promise. In the designated regions, we do this by giving grants to organizations that work on the front lines of supporting:

• Comprehensive Services to Families in Crisis with a special focus on children of incarcerated mothers.
• Early and Elementary Childhood Education with family supports such as health care and parent education.
• Community based Arts and Culture programs that support social justice ideals

Comprehensive Services to Families in Crisis with a special focus on children of incarcerated mothers.

The number of women prisoners has skyrocketed by nearly 50 percent since 1990. Most have young children. Overwhelmingly, mothers are convicted of non-violent, drug-related crimes and often have histories of untreated addiction and abuse. When forcibly separated from their children, the trauma extends to another generation. Children with incarcerated mothers may be stigmatized, experience emotional problems and face deeper poverty and trouble in school. Visiting their mothers is difficult when they’re imprisoned far from home. And for children placed in foster care, incarcerated mothers risk losing parental rights altogether.

We believe that strong family relationships help incarcerated mothers return as stable members of their communities. We aim to strengthen these mother-child bonds through improving visiting programs, providing parenting classes and offering emotional and concrete services to mothers and children during and after incarceration. We also support programs for homeless and at-risk families, for women and children in domestic abuse shelters and for families working to avert foster care.

Early and Elementary Childhood Education with family supports such as health care and parent education.

Low income neighborhoods and schools experience a disproportionate amount of school suspensions, violence, arrests and damage to the community through involvement in the criminal justice system. We support programs that seek to intervene in this damaging cycle.

Early education can make a world of difference in how a child goes on to succeed in school, work and life. This is especially true for children challenged by poverty, homelessness and mental health issues. Children who start kindergarten behind their peers may continue to face problems throughout school. Getting kids off to a good start is critical to their future.

We are committed to high-quality early education that helps children live up to their highest potential. We want to improve chances for disadvantaged children to succeed in life through access to education, early intervention and family supports such as mental health counseling and job skills classes for their mothers.

Community based Arts and Culture programs that support social justice ideals

Many low income communities lack good quality arts programs. Arts and cultural activity can provide people of all ages important tools of self expression, can open paths to new forms of communication, can build self esteem. We believe that meaningful, culturally competent arts programming in schools, community centers and senior centers can be a powerful tool of social justice.

NOTE: We review letters of inquiry on a continual basis, projects that fit within the foundation’s priority areas will be asked to prepare a full proposal for consideration by the foundation’s Board of Trustees.

Mission

The Harris and Frances Block Foundation seeks equitable solutions to social and environmental problems, working with small and emerging organizations to improve our communities and impact the world.

Values

The Harris and Frances Block Foundation holds as values:

• Community: Where change begins and grows to scale.
• Justice: Both social and environmental.
• Equality: Aspiring towards a society that honors the potential of all humans.
• Access: Equitable access to systems, resources, and opportunities.
• Sustainability: Both social and environmental.

What We Fund

The Block Foundation supports small grassroots not-for-profit organizations with grants that work to foster just and sustainable communities.

Human Rights

• Immigrants and Refugees
• Reproductive Rights
• Racial Equity and Antiracism
• Grants that fall within our Human Rights program area may be considered regardless of location, based on critical need.

Environmental Issues

• Climate Change Initiatives
• Environmental Education
• Environmental Justice

Food and Farm Initiatives

• Farm and Garden Programs
• Farmworker’s Rights
• Food Justice
• Considered during the January Grant Cycle

Our Mission

The mission of the Vermont Mutual Charitable Giving Fund is to enhance the quality of life in communities where the Group conducts business, by providing financial support to worthy community organizations.

Where We Give

The Charitable Giving Fund is designed to benefit organizations within the marketing territories of Vermont Mutual Insurance Group that aim to improve the quality of life for individuals, families and communities.

Giving Focus

The Fund provides financial support to organizations that help to build, maintain and enrich healthy lives and strong, vibrant communities. The Fund's primary focus is to contribute to non-profit organizations that serve communities through any of the following four initiatives:

• Promote Education: Examples may include traditional and non-traditional opportunities focused on inspiring academic excellence, leadership and community service
• Foster Youth: Examples may include teaching and modeling positive life skills
• Community-based: Programs that build better communities in which to live and work
• Satisfy Basic Needs: Examples may include affordable housing, homelessness and hunger

The Gladys Brooks Foundation was created under the will of Gladys Brooks Thayer of New York. 

Its purpose is to provide for the intellectual, moral and physical welfare of the people of this country by establishing and  supporting non-profit libraries, educational institutions, hospitals and clinics.

Scope of Grants Considered

The Foundation will consider major grant applications for innovative projects in the fields of libraries, education, hospitals and clinics.

Grants for Libraries 

Grant applications will be considered generally for resource Endowments (print, film, electronic database, speakers/workshops) capital construction and innovative equipment. Projects fostering broader public access to global information sources utilizing collaborative efforts, pioneering technologies and equipment are encouraged.

Grants for Educational Institutions

Grant applications from universities, colleges and secondary schools will be considered generally for:

• educational endowments to fund scholarships based solely on educational achievements, leadership and academic ability of the student; 
• endowments to support fellowships and teaching chairs for educators who confine their activities primarily to classroom instruction in the liberal arts, mathematics and the sciences during the academic year; and 
• erection or endowment of buildings, wings or additions thereto of buildings, and equipment for educational purposes.

Grants for Hospitals & Clinics

Grant applications from hospitals and clinics will be considered generally where  the proposal demonstrates one or more of the following: 

• a new health need; 
• an improvement in the quality of health care; or 
• reduced health costs with better patient outcomes.

About Rachael Ray Foundation™

The Rachael Ray Foundation™ is funded by a portion of proceeds from each sale of Rachael's pet food, Nutrish®. The Foundation was launched by Rachael in 2016 to better support the causes she cares for most such as helping animals in need.

The Rachael Ray Foundation and Best Friends Animal Society are committed to helping Best Friends Network Partners increase lifesaving in their communities through impactful, innovative, and inclusive programming. Every year, there are two types of Rachael Ray grants for which partners can apply.   

Grants for Animal Rescue to Save More Lives: The Rachael Ray Save Them All Grants

The Rachael Ray Save Them All Grants fund projects to reduce the lifesaving gap of cats and dogs in U.S. shelters. We welcome project proposals from public and private shelters, rescue groups, and other animal welfare organizations that enable lifesaving in a community.  

The Rachael Ray Save Them All Grants fund projects that increase lifesaving of cats and dogs in U.S. shelters. We welcome project proposals from public and private shelters, as well as rescue groups and other animal welfare organizations focused on impacting lifesaving at shelters. 

Your organization can apply for a grant of up to $50,000, with the amount requested not exceeding 10% of your operating budget. The average grant awarded last year was just under $13,000, therefor granting may only cover partial funding needed for your project. 

Project Requirements

• Projects can be focused on just one event/program or can include multiple events/programs.   
• Proposed projects should align with regional priorities. Projects that satisfy these priorities will have the largest impact on lifesaving in each region.   
• We welcome project proposals from public and private shelters, rescue groups, and other animal welfare organizations that enable lifesaving.
• If the applicant that is applying is an organization that is already no-kill, their project needs to be impacting a shelter that has a lifesaving gap and has not achieved a 90% save rate.  
• If awarded, the applying organization will need to submit quarterly impact statistics of how many lives were impacted through the project.  
• The impacted shelter’s intake and outcome data will need to be submitted as well, in order to calculate the reduction in gap to 90%, which will measure success of the project.  
• Best Friends will make calculations for reduction in lifesaving gap after all data points are submitted. These two metrics (impacts and reduction number in lifesaving gap) will be used for grant accountability and measuring success.  

Regional Priorities

Before you begin an application, please review the priorities for your region to ensure that your project aligns. 

Southeast: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina 

South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas

Great Plains: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

Mountain West: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming

Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont

Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington

Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Mid-Atlantic: District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia