Search Through Workforce Grants in Vermont in the U.S.

Background

Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation seeks to dramatically improve the lives of underserved communities across the globe by supporting scalable, innovative, and impact-first solutions that leverage existing systems and stakeholders. Our goal is to find social entrepreneurs with dynamic products or services that have a proven ability to positively impact the lives of underserved people, and nurture those organizations at the early stages by providing capacity, capital, and community.

Our application process is designed to be open and accessible, and we accept applications year round from across our priority geographies and sectors. Borrowing from our venture capital legacy, we find exceptional entrepreneurs and provide them with: 

Capacity

• The core of DRK’s model is deep and extensive operational and technical support for each portfolio organization, both through dedicated hands-on Board service and specialist capacity-building resources for fundraising, board and organizational development, leadership, financial support, and scaling strategy,

Capital

• DRK provides up to $300,000 USD in either unrestricted grant funding or investment capital over a three-year period, and

Community

• DRK convenes our portfolio and alumni annually, facilitating connections and community. 

What We Fund

DRK Foundation funds early-stage social impact organizations solving the world’s biggest social and environmental problems using bold, scalable approaches.

What stage of growth does DRK Foundation typically fund?

Early stage: Organizations who are early stage, which we define as post-pilot and pre-scale. This typically means: 

• Your program, product or service is already being used in the market or in the field, 
• You have early indication that your model is having its intended impact on the beneficiary populations,
• Your organization is relatively young (ideally between two and five years old, although we will consider both younger and older organizations).

Venture funding: In the case of for profits, we typically support Seed to Series A organizations, and never lead rounds; we also generally but not exclusively refrain from participating in financings exceeding a $15M USD post-money valuation.  

Community Grants

State Farm is committed to helping build safer, stronger and better-educated communities.

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We are committed to auto and home safety programs and activities that help people manage the risks of everyday life.
• We invest in education, economic empowerment and community development projects, programs and services that help people realize their dreams.
• We help maintain the vibrancy of our communities by assisting nonprofits that support community revitalization.

Good Neighbor Citizenship company grants focus on safety, community development and education.

Focus Areas

Safety Grants

We strive to keep our customers and communities safe. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Auto safety — improving driver, passenger, vehicle or roadway safety
• Home safety — shielding homes from fires, crime or natural disasters
• Disaster preparedness and mitigation
• Disaster recovery

Community Development

We support nonprofits that invest and develop stronger neighborhoods. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Affordable housing — home construction and repair
• Commercial/small business development
• Job training
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Financial literacy
• Sustainable housing and transportation
• Food insecurity

Education

Our education funding is directed toward initiatives that support the following programs:

• Higher education
• K-12 academic performance
• K-12 STEM
• Pathways for college and career success

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.

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—culture, education, health and social service—and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Whether providing a scholarship to a deserving student, supporting a rural health clinic or bringing artists into schools so children can see firsthand the beauty of the arts, the Foundations’ focus is consistent: to help those in need, those underserved and those underrepresented in society. Since the Foundations were formed in the 1940s, the scale and capabilities of the grant making have changed, but the mission has not.

Culture Grant

The Hearst Foundations fund cultural institutions that offer meaningful programs in the arts and sciences, prioritizing those that enable engagement by young people and create a lasting and measurable impact. The Foundations also fund select programs nurturing and developing artistic talent. Supported organizations include arts schools, ballets, museums, operas, performing arts centers, symphonies and theaters.

Funding Priorities in Culture

In the recent past, 25% of total funding has been allocated to Culture. Organizations with budgets over $10 million have received 60% of the funding in Culture.

The Hearst Foundations are only able to fund approximately 25% of all grant requests, of which about 80% is directed to prior grantees and about 20% is targeted toward new grantees.

Types of Support

Program, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

The J. Warren & Lois McClure Foundation, a supporting organization of the Vermont Community Foundation, works to make postsecondary education the easy choice for young Vermonters because we believe college and career training opens the door to lifelong opportunities. 

In all we do, we’re committed to a relational approach that centers equity, takes the long view, and advances systems development and systemic change. 

Our Grantmaking

We use grants to make postsecondary education the easy choice for young Vermonters because we believe that college and career training opens the door to lifelong opportunity. On this page you can find more information about our giving philosophy and processes.

Over 7,400 teachers, 4,500 Registered Nurses, and over 1,600 software developers: this is just a snapshot of the high-pay, high-demand jobs expected in Vermont in the next ten years. While we know that these and other promising jobs often require education or training after high school, fewer than half of young people in Vermont enroll in degree programs directly after high school, which is the lowest in New England, according to the New England Secondary Schools Consortium. That continuation rate is even lower -- 31 percent -- for Vermont students from low-income backgrounds.

What We Fund

Our goal is to help make the education and training pathways to Vermont’s most promising jobs more visible, more accessible, and more affordable. Embedded in our vision are public college and career training systems that drive equity and resilience. In all we do, we’re committed to a relational approach that centers equity and takes the long view.

We continue to support organizations, including the Community College of Vermont, the Vermont School Counselors Association, and Serve Learn Earn, with this type of multi-year capacity support.

Through our invitation-only grant processes, we proactively invite grant proposals ranging from $10,000 to over $100,000 for systems development or systemic change efforts. Our current two priority areas for these grants are:

• Equitably scaling and sustaining Vermont's Free Degree Promise.
• Public educator workforce development and diversification.

If your work aligns with one of these priorities, please contact us to discuss funding opportunities.

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation only accepts unsolicited proposals for specific areas within the education, family economic stability and childhood health sectors in select countries where we work, namely the United States, India and South Africa.

As a guideline, the foundation does not fund more than 25% of a project’s budget or more than 10% of an organization’s total annual operating expenses.

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has always recognized the power of providing grants to partner organizations that we knew were already working hard to improve the lives of urban children living in poverty. By aligning with organizations that are already making a difference, we continue to make an immediate impact on the lives of thousands of children.

Foundation priorities:

We fund social enterprises that directly serve or impact children or youth from urban low-income communities in the areas of education, health, and family economic stability (including livelihoods and financial inclusion). These social enterprises may be structured as for-profit or nonprofit entities.

Partnerships

We collaborate with a range of organizations focused on creating opportunities for children and families living in urban poverty, with a deep emphasis on measuring impact. Our funding advances projects already making an impact in education, health, and family economic stability. Through these enduring and long-standing partnerships, we create lasting change together.

Philanthropy is our commitment to communities in which we operate and broader society. We focus our resources on a limited number of key projects that can deliver valuable benefits from our contributions and those of our partners. We give priority to innovative, high-quality projects that meet the following criteria:

• promote sustainable development
• offer an opportunity for Roche to use its expertise and logistics capabilities
• involve Roche actively at an early stage with local authorities and established partners
• engage Roche employees in cultural (focus on contemporary arts), educational and social activities
• managed by an accredited charity

Our four focus areas

Humanitarian and Social

We direct the majority of our philanthropic donations to humanitarian and social development projects.

Science and education

We are dedicated to programmes that promote scientific interest and provide educational opportunities for young people around the world.

Community and Environment

We are committed to building stronger communities and responding to natural disasters sustainably.

Arts and Culture

We support groundbreaking contemporary art, cultural projects and activities that explore the parallels between innovation in art and in science. 

The Sidney Stern Memorial Trust is devoted solely to the funding of charitable, scientific, medical and educational organizations.

The Board endeavors to support soundly-managed charitable organizations that give service with a broad scope, have a substantial effect on their target populations, and contribute materially to the general welfare. The Board does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.

About

The Audacious Project is a collaborative funding initiative catalyzing social impact on a grand scale. Every year we select and nurture a group of big, bold solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges, and with the support of an inspiring group of donors and supporters, come together to get them launched.

Housed at TED, the nonprofit with a long track record of surfacing ideas worth spreading, and with support from leading social impact advisor The Bridgespan Group, the funding collective is comprised of several respected organizations and individuals in philanthropy.

Our goal is to match bold ideas with catalytic resources.

• We encourage the world’s inspirational changemakers to dream bigger than ever before.
• Help shape their best ideas into viable multi-year plans.
• Present those solutions in a compelling way to potential supporters.

The Process

Every year, The Audacious Project works with proven change-makers to surface their best, boldest ideas for tackling global problems.

Sourcing & review

Projects are sourced from public applications and a global network of partners and donors. They are narrowed down to a group of finalists whose ideas are representative of a broad range of geographies and issue areas while elevating leaders with proximity to the communities they serve.

Idea shaping & investment support

Each finalist project goes through a rigorous ideation, due diligence, and investment support process, to ensure their proposal is achievable and compelling.

Funding & launch

Finalist projects are presented privately to groups of donors and are then publicly unveiled at TED. Funded projects then pursue their plans and share regular updates on key milestones reached with donors and the public.

Is Your Idea Audacious?

• Are you a changemaker with a bold vision?
• Are you a non-profit with an experienced team equipped to receive large scale philanthropic support?
• Is your idea a proven concept that aspires to create a better world?
• We look for ideas that cover a wide range of issues, from global health and climate change, to social justice and education.

What Makes An Idea Audacious?

Inspire

• Transformative vision
  • Your idea should capture a bold vision for tackling one of the world's most urgent topics.
• Creating a better world
  • It is your opportunity to take a giant leap forward; you may be tempted to think incrementally, but remember for it to be bold, your idea should offer significant, enduring impact.
  • This vision should bring us much closer to your version of an ideal world in a matter of years rather than generations.
• Innovative and original
  • There should be a unique aspect or creative element to your approach that challenges convention or status quo or changes the narrative for the greater good.

Convince

• Proven concept
  • There should be evidence that the idea will have impact based on a track record of past success, a demand from those that would be affected, and justified confidence that results can be sustained in the future.
• A bold vision that has clear outcomes
  • There should be a sense of where you will be at the end of a multi-year funding term and the strategy, resources and timeline required to achieve it. We want to hear about the changes that would take place because of your idea, not just the components that go into implementing it.

• Established support
  • You and your capable and confident team have the backing of a nonprofit, NGO, or institution (or is part of a collaboration between multiple such entities). This organization should be able to receive philanthropic funds and have the core infrastructure necessary to support the work. (Note: Past projects have had an annual operating budget of $1 million or more.)

Please refer to FAQ for additional guidelines.

Artists in Schools Grants

Artists in Schools Grants support quality, multiday arts experiences in schools with Vermont teaching artists in residence and encourage collaborations between schools, youth, artists, and arts organizations. Residencies may take place during the school day or in a sequential, after-school setting. Grant funding supports multi-day projects typically between 3-10 days in length and support preK-12 teachers and students within a given school or district.

Artists on the Council’s Teaching Artist Roster meet standards of artistic excellence, have teaching experience, and have experience planning collaboratively. Eligible schools and arts organizations may apply for support of projects led by teaching artists not on the roster. Priority is given to projects led by Vermont artists and projects that support the council’s priority areas. Teaching artist fees vary from artist to artist; grant funds may not cover the entire cost of the proposed project.

Arts and arts-integrated projects provide experiential learning opportunities that offer many benefits, including helping students create and express ideas, fostering connections within the school and the broader community, supporting students around targeted proficiencies or personal goals, building student confidence, building connections with the arts and artistic processes, and encouraging reflection.

Examples of fundable projects include:

• A math teacher works with a dancer to integrate kinesthetic learning into the classroom. Students learn about dance concepts and use them to talk about geometric shapes and spatial relationships.
• An English teacher works with a poet or playwright to mentor students and provide opportunities for them to develop and workshop their writing.
• A music teacher works with a professional composer to help students compose and perform original works of music.
• A physical education teacher works with a circus artist to integrate movement, performance, and social emotional objectives into the curriculum.
• Students work with a theater artist to explore theater concepts and to write and perform a short play focusing on key themes such as collaboration, empathy, or flexible thinking.
• Students work with a visual artist and classroom teacher to research and document the story of place through multiple perspectives in their community through an exhibit or mural.
• Students work with a musician to explore musical concepts and to compare or contrast cultures through drumming or music.

About the NBRC

The Northern Border Regional Commission is a Federal-State partnership for economic and community development in northern Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. Each year, the NBRC provides Federal funds for critical economic and community development projects throughout the northeast. These investments lead to new jobs being created and leverages substantial private sector investments.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Northern Border Regional Commission is to catalyze regional, collaborative, and transformative community economic development approaches that alleviate economic distress and position the region for economic growth.

Program Priorities

The Catalyst Program is designed to stimulate economic growth and inspire partnerships that improve rural economic vitality across the four-state NBRC region. NBRC encourages projects that take a creative approach to addressing an economic need or opportunity in the region, alleviate economic distress, and contribute to economic growth.

Successful projects support a broad range of economic development initiatives such as, but not limited to, projects that modernize and expand access to public water and wastewater services, revitalize transportation infrastructure, establish workforce development programs and facilities, grow the outdoor recreation economy, and provide access to new childcare and healthcare facilities.

Gupta Family Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, USA. Our mission is to support organizations that provide focused intervention in the lives of people who have been disadvantaged in some way to help them become self-reliant. We take a very broad view of “disadvantage” to include anything that holds a person back from realizing their potential, such as poverty, physical or mental disability, social alienation, etc. The foundation also supports relief agencies that serve people affected by emergencies such as natural disasters.

The foundation evaluates and awards annual and multi-year grants ranging from $5,000 to over $250,000 (USD). Our focus is on funding smaller organizations all around the world that are led by individuals with a deep personal commitment to their missions. 

Our selection criteria include:

• Mission alignment
• The organization is run by the founder or, if not, by a successor who embodies the original inspiration, passion and commitment of the founder.
• At least 90% of grant monies reaches the intended beneficiaries.
• The organization is non-sectarian, i.e.,
  • It does not, directly or indirectly, support or condone the proselytization of any religion,
  • It is not supported by or affiliated to a religious organization.

Guidelines

The Hilles Fund prioritizes grants to programs that serve those with the greatest needs in Philadelphia and the Northeast Kingdom, Vermont comprising Essex, Orleans and Caledonia counties. 

Grants from the Hilles Fund support both proven approaches and also new approaches and can include direct services as well as systems change activities. We seek to support organizations for whom our modest grants of between $4,000 and $10,000 will have an impact.

The Hilles Fund makes grants to organizations that provide children, youth, and women with pathways to economic independence. Examples of strategies we fund are those that:

• Facilitate the development of children and youth (Ages 3-24 years) through:
  • High quality learning opportunities both in and out of school time
  • High quality early education, school readiness support, and literacy programs
  • Youth leadership development
• Social services for women in the areas of health care access, education, legal assistance, housing, employment, workforce development, and financial services.

In addition to direct service programs, the Hilles Fund supports advocacy efforts consistent with its priority areas (children, youth women).

Priority is given to organizations with operating budgets under $2 million.

Background

Through its grant making, the Windham Foundation seeks to support organizations concerned with the needs and quality of life of Vermonters. Those organizations include, but are not limited to, those dealing with:

• Agriculture, Food, Land, and the Natural World. Examples include: cultivation of food; food security; food processing and distribution; healthy forests and streams; conservation; climate change adaptation.
• Arts, Culture, and Education. Examples include: community arts; enhanced learning; mentoring; historic places and preservation.
• Preserving and Developing Resilient Communities. Examples include: economic development; workforce development; job readiness
• Healthy and Vibrant Communities. Examples include: wellness; housing; outdoor activities; health access; senior programs

In making decisions, the Foundation will look at an organization's competence in the proposal area and its track record, the stability of its financial base and fundraising strategies, the strength of its leadership and the long-term viability of the program in question.

• Approximately $65,000 in grants will be awarded each quarter.
• An organization should apply for no more than three consecutive years of funding. After three years, the organization should take at least one year off.
• Grant amounts rarely exceed $10,000 with an average of $2,500-$5,000
• Project collaboration with other non-profit organizations, where applicable, is strongly encouraged.
• A project budget, financial statement, and list of funding or anticipated funding of $1000 or more is required.
• The Windham Foundation reserves the right to request a recent audit of a grantee organization.
• Grant recipients of $5,000 or more will be expected to report back to The Windham Foundation on the success of project implementation.

The types of proposals the Foundation funds are wide ranging. They include operational support, special initiatives, capacity building, matching and challenge grants. Support for operations will be considered where it strengthens organizational capacity.

Background

Watersheds United Vermont (WUV) is administering funding under Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Clean Water Workforce Capacity Development (CWWCD) Block Grant to support and invest in the capacity of our clean water partners in Vermont, both current and potential, in an equitable and inclusive way to address unmet capacity needs and ensure a strong partnership network that continues to efficiently deliver high quality and high priority clean water projects.

This grant is meant to build capacity in under-resourced entities to increase their ability to engage in more clean water projects, engage in more complex clean water projects, or propel others to do clean water projects.

Objectives

The goal of this program is to fund capacity activities that contribute to at least one of the following three broad objectives categories:

• The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Clean Water Initiative Program (CWIP)  seeks to fund activities that help clean water workforce organizations catalyze  community engagement, relationship building, and enhanced representation.
  • This may include:
    • activities that increase the organization’s presence in the community or grow the community's awareness or knowledge of the organization,
    • activities that  grow community commitment and interest in  the organization's clean water efforts, 
    • activities that inspire the clean water efforts of  others, activities that help an organization sustain relationships over time, and
    • activities that diversify and build audience inclusion or that increase a community’s representation within organizational decision-making.
  • Examples:
    • Develop and implement a strategic and responsive communications plan 
    • Hire a communications professional or a “community liaison” to reach new audiences
    • Implement education campaigns or materials development (including websites, mobile apps, recorded webinar series, guidebooks, fact sheets, and resource libraries on content such as water quality conservation benefits and  practices, research trials, regulatory requirements, grant opportunities, innovative practices and initiatives)
    • Host or perform outreach at in-person or virtual workshops, events, and trainings 
    • Design and deliver enhanced volunteer recruitment and training to grow the size and skillset of an organization's volunteer network. This might include volunteer recruitment efforts and tools, training opportunities, more  volunteer days, or hiring a volunteer coordinator. 
    • Foster stronger personal relationships with landowners through one-on-one technical assistance
    • Support board stipends to incentivize participation on boards from community members who would not otherwise be able to join, with an aim of making the board more representative of the community the organization  serves.
    • Invest in customer management database tools to better track and record prior landowner conversations and relationships.
• CWIP seeks to fund activities that help clean water workforce organizations transition  administrative, financial, and fundraising roles and processes towards sustainable and  streamlined solutions.
  • This may include:
    • activities that shift administrative, financial  and fundraising responsibilities away from programmatic staff,
    • activities that increase an organization's administrative, financial and fundraising competencies, or
    • activities that help organizations streamline administrative, financial and fundraising work.
  • Examples:
    • Hire or contract with development or financial management/bookkeeping professionals who are knowledgeable in nonprofit and governmental budgeting, fundraising, and accounting.
    • Hire or contract with human resource or administrative professionals.
    • Contract with a legal or human resource expert to vet personnel and other policies
    • Attend external trainings for staff, volunteers, or board members in topics including payroll planning, project and organizational budgeting and nonprofit and governmental accounting, and calculating/negotiating indirect and  billable rates.
    • Perform a financial audit
    • Document Standard Operating Procedures for certain administrative or financial processes
    • Update sales platforms or accounting software
    • Support programmatic personnel expenses during gaps in project work to provide longer term stability in personnel planning
• CWIP seeks to fund activities that support professional development and a workforce  pipeline for careers in clean water project management.
  • This may include:
    • activities that focus on recruitment and on-boarding of a  diverse “next generation” workforce,
    • activities that support professional development and training in clean water project topics, and
    • activities that strengthen peer-peer and co learning networks.
  • Examples:
    • Attend trainings in a range of clean water project topics for staff to grow skills or knowledge in clean water project  implementation. 
    • Support personnel hours for new programmatic staff unable to charge time to existing project-based grants or while shadowing seasoned staff on tag-along or mentorship days. 
    • Develop formal onboarding procedures and training materials, or human resource systems that encourage  professional development growth plans. 
    • Develop Clean Water Project Management Standard Operating Procedures or best practices and considerations to  train new staff in. 
    • Perform staff recruitment in new and diverse venues.
    • Host a collaborative project demonstration day for peers

Each capacity activity must lead to one of the following 3 impacts types:

• Our organization is able to perform more clean water work
• Our organization is able to perform more complex clean water work
• Our organization is more effective at propelling the clean water efforts of others

Calling to Serve

Since its inception in 2016, the Robinson Foundation has sought to demonstrate God’s love through sharing the gifts we have received. We understand the often unspoken hardships and struggles that people in and outside of our community face everyday. As such, our contributions are focused on relieving these hardships for the betterment of our world.

As a family-operated foundation, we pray that our small efforts will not only create immediate change in the lives of our neighbors, but will help set those lives on a course for success in the future. We are thankful for each and every day we have on this earth to use what God has granted us to make a difference.

Areas of Interest

• Animal Welfare
• Children & Families
• Disaster Relief
• Education
• Medical Assistance
• Nature & Wildlife Conservation
• Poverty Relief
• Religious & Spiritual Endeavors
• Veterans' Issues

Grant Considerations

We take many different aspects of applications into account when making grant issuing decisions, however these are some of the high-level questions we ask ourselves during the process:

• How does the organization serve their key audience goals?
• Is the organization fiscally responsible?
• Will a grant have a tangible, meaningful impact?
• Will we see direct results from this grant?
• Does the organization have other financial contributors?

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation Vision

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation, "A Foundation for All", was established in 2002. It was begun in order to give a clear voice for those who wish to be a part of the many, worthy, forces for change in our world.

We are a foundation whose purpose is to look ahead towards the future, giving the past its due by remembering where we came from, and how much we can all accomplish together. We aim to make the critical difference on our planet by recognizing and having respect for our ever changing world. We respect all Life, the Environment, and all People, no matter who they are.

Georgia-Pacific Foundation

Established in 1958, the Georgia-Pacific Foundation sets aside resources to improve life in the communities where we operate. We’ve worked with thousands of outstanding community-based programs, service projects and disaster relief efforts, focusing our investment in four areas we believe make the most impact:

• education,
• environment,
• enrichment and
• entrepreneurship.

Investment Priorities

• Aligns with GP’s mission and values
• Aligns with GP’s Four Focus Areas of giving: Education, Environment, Enrichment of Community and Entrepreneurship
• Serves communities where GP has manufacturing facilities
• Creates value by contributing to and positively impacting long term well-being and sustainability of GP communities

New England Funding Priorities

The Clowes Fund supports organizations and programs that focus primarily on socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. New England funding is concentrated in four geographic regions, including parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, and the State of Vermont. 

In New England, we accept Introductory Applications for first-time Immigrant Services and Workforce Development grants. All current and recent grantees, including those focused on K-12 Education and Arts Education, are welcome to submit a Continuation Grant Statement of Intent.

Vermont

Geographic Priorities

The Fund supports immigrant services and workforce development requests serving communities across the state, and arts education requests serving Windham County.

Funding Priorities

• Immigrant Services – We are interested in supporting efforts to address the economic, linguistic, legal, and mental and emotional hurdles that immigrants, refugees and asylees and their children face during integration into the United States society and its economy.
• Workforce Development – We are interested in ensuring that all individuals have access to both jobs skills training and the support services necessary to enable them to participate fully in the economic life of their communities. In addition, we are interested in supporting youth development efforts that prevent students (ages 15 to 25) from dropping out of school and assist in their return to school or their pursuit of an alternate course to economic self-sufficiency.
• Arts Education – We support arts education programs that foster critical thinking skills and creativity.

Grant Application Process & Funding

There are two entry points to applying for a Clowes Fund grant, after you have reviewed Where and What We Fund and What We Do Not Fund. Your answer to the following question determines your application type (due November 1).

• Has your organization received a Clowes Fund competitive grant payment within the past five years?
  • If No - Apply for an Introductory Grant: $40K over 2 years ($20K/year) - For Immigrant Services or Workforce Development 
    • Most Introductory Grants are awarded to organizations with operating budgets less than $2.5 million.
  • If Yes - Apply for a Continuation Grant - $60K, $90K or $150K over 3 years ($20K, $30K, $50K year, respectively) - For Immigrant Services, Workforce Development, Arts Education or K-12 Education

Transparency is core to strong relationships, so we are compelled to share that fewer than 10% of Introductory Applications will result in an Introductory Grant. The likelihood of funding is much higher for returning grantees seeking Continuation Grants.

The Working Lands Enterprise Initiative (WLEI) offers grants that support forest, farm, and food businesses. Grants also go to producer associations, business assistance provider organizations, and more. The state's annual budget process decides the amount of funds available each year. The Working Lands Enterprise Board (WLEB) meets each summer to decide which grants to offer for the coming year based on available funds and needs across Vermont.

In Fiscal Year 2025, a total of $1 million is available for grants. Applications will open throughout the fall and winter, with awards announced throughout the winter and spring. These awards should be for projects that you will start working on in spring 2025. 

Unlike in past years, there will be no match requirement for these grants. Because funds are limited and these grants are very competitive, you should apply for the minimum amount needed for a project. Find details for each grant online at workinglands.vermont.gov. 

Service Provider & Producer Association Grant

The Service Provider & Producer Association Grant is now one grant! In the past, there were two separate grants.

• Grant amounts:
  • $10,000-$25,000 for pilot projects (a new initiative or one begun in the last 1-2 years) OR projects that serve a specific region of VT
  • $25,000-75,000 for projects that operate statewide
• No matching funds are required for this grant.
• 15 month grant period (March 2025-June 2026)

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs.

Centene Charitable Foundation

Successful corporate citizenship happens when companies invest in the local organizations that know their communities best. The Centene Foundation works with our local partners on initiatives that focus on inclusion, the whole person and community development.

Vision

Centene’s purpose is transforming the health of the community, one person at a time. The Centene Foundation is an essential part of how we pursue this purpose. We achieve measurable impact for the communities we serve through partnerships and philanthropy efforts that invest in initiatives with holistic approaches to dismantling barriers to health.

Areas of Focus

Reflecting Centene’s commitment to the needs of those who rely on government-sponsored health care and to addressing social determinants of health and health equity, preference will be given to initiatives in three distinct areas of focus.

• Healthcare Access
• Social Services
• Education

The Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund supports projects in Coös County, NH and bordering communities in the United States and Canada that focus on community revitalization.

Championing the North Country

One of the largest permanent rural philanthropies in the U.S. is strengthening communities and spreading economic opportunity.

Grantmaking Goals

The vision of the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund is “to serve as a resource for the people of Coös County and neighboring communities in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and southern Québec to forge their own pathways to well-being and cultivate a region that thrives.” The Tillotson Fund serves as a stable and consistent source of support for the people of the region to:

• Create and enhance opportunity;
• Preserve and uplift the historical and cultural assets that make the region unique;
• Hold the confidence and capabilities to foster strong communities and healthy rural landscapes.

What We're Funding

Individual and family well-being

Goal: Support individuals and families to meet their essential needs and achieve well-being.

• Meet essential needs for individuals and families.
• Strengthen systems of care.Community resiliency

Healthy workforce ecosystem

Goal: Strengthen the capacity of local employers to maintain and/or grow their operations, build and retain a dynamic workforce, stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship, ensure business continuity and plan for the future.

• Attract and retain the workforce.
• Establish workforce housing solutions.
• Help companies and employees build skills and systems for sustained success.
• Link employers and employees to financial supports.
• Increase access to affordable quality childcare.

Environmental stewardship

Goal: Address the impacts of climate change by investing in mitigation and adaptation strategies, stewardship of natural resources, and efforts that foster human connection to the natural environment.

• Be good stewards of the land, air, forests, waterways and wildlife.
• Encourage/support responsible tourism and recreation.
• Build and enhance sustainable food systems.
• Promote, sustain and scale energy efficiency, clean energy and green building.
• Implement climate smart forestry solutions.

Resilient communities

Goal: Support initiatives that build trust, belonging and connection and lead to stronger, more resilient communities.

• Empower youth.
• Convene, collaborate, celebrate.
• Build skills, knowledge and approaches to advance equity.
• Support community builders and change agents.
• Revitalize population hubs and preserve cultural and historical assets.
• Improve civic health.
• Strengthen municipal capacity and leadership.

Grant amount

Local Grants Program applications may request up to $20,000 for one, two or three years.

About the Foundation

The mission of the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation is to improve the access to, and the quality of, oral health care and education for the public and the dental communities in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. This mission is in harmony with the mission of Northeast Delta Dental to increase access to oral health education and dental services.

Delta Dental Plans of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont jointly do business as Northeast Delta Dental. The Northeast Delta Dental Foundation is funded by each of these companies and many businesses and individuals who appreciate and support our oral health mission.

The Foundation holds a golf tournament annually to spotlight the Foundation’s oral health mission and raise funds. We appreciate sponsors and participants. Gifts to the Foundation are welcomed at any time.

Healthy Smiles

The Northeast Delta Dental Foundation is on a mission to improve the education, quality and access to oral health care throughout Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Foundation funds directly engage the people in our communities and create a powerful impact.

Award Objectives

Award objectives will concentrate on supporting the following types of oral health initiatives:

• Educational programs enhancing the awareness of good oral health, with particular focus on children, the elderly, the indigent, or other populations with identified oral health needs.
• Oral health care programs that are preventive in nature and are aimed at decreasing the incidence, prevalence, and severity of dental disease.
• Dental clinics or centers established as a 501(c)(3) or Federally Qualified Health Center working to make oral health care more accessible and affordable to people in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Most typically, this takes the form of helping with the costs of equipment and dental supplies.
• The education of dental health professionals through scholarships and the continuing education of dental health professionals through financial support, particularly to enhance the availability and retention of such dental health professionals in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
• Research efforts that will improve oral health by enhancing the art and science of dentistry, address an oral health disease or issue impacting one or more of our states, or that will lay a sound groundwork for oral health initiatives.
• Improve dental health workforce through scholarship and loan repayment programs.

Award Frequency and Amount

Typically, grants are awarded for one year, and an organization receives no more than one grant a year. Applications for additional years must be submitted annually, accompanied with an annual outcomes report.

Grants of more than $5,000 are less typical than those most often awarded by the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation. Especially as the amount of the grant for which the applicant is applying increases, the expectation is that the information required during the application process will be well documented and detailed, with particular attention to how the Foundation will be recognized for its financial support.

The Foundation is dedicated to providing financial assistance to organizations committed to improving our world. Solutions to the problems of today's world still lie in the values of innovation, practicality, hard work, and compassion.

The Foundation considers applications for grants in the following areas:

• Education
• Social Service
• Health care
• Civic and cultural
• Environmental

The categories above are not intended to limit the interest of the Foundation from considering other worthwhile projects. In general, the Foundation guidelines are broad to give us flexibility in providing grants.

The majority of our grants are made in the U.S. However, like Dr. Scholl, we recognize the need for a global outlook. Non-U.S. grants are given to organizations where directors have knowledge of the grantee.

Our Mission

The Hansen Family Foundation provides opportunities to domestic, international, secular, and non-secular organizations that support the American way of life, which is defined by the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

Causes

Children

The Hansen Family Foundation supports causes dedicated to helping children both home as well as abroad. Learn More

Education

The Hansen Family Foundation believes that a decent education should be made available to everyone, young or old, the world over. Learn More

Animals

The Hansen Family Foundation believes in helping those who cannot speak on their own behalf. Learn More

Environmental

The Hansen Family Foundation is dedicated to preserving the world we all share. Learn More

Humanitarian

The Hansen Family Foundation views the plight of our fellow man as an opportunity to actively engage and effect change. Learn More

Arts & Culture

The Hansen Family Foundation supports all forms of artistic and cultural endeavors. Learn More