What is a Community Foundation?

Community Foundations are aggregators of charitable capital - we work “better together.”

Community Foundations manage several different kinds of charitable funds:

Donor Advised Funds Donor Designated Funds Nonprofit Endowments and Reserve Funds Field of Interest Funds Discretionary Funds

Vermont Community Foundation – Quick Facts

We are Vermont’s largest home-grown foundation Over $190 Million under management Over $12 Million in grants awarded in 2013

653 Different Charitable Funds including: The J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation The Permanent Fund for Vermont’s Children The High Meadows Fund The Vermont Women’s Fund The Samara Fund for LGBTQ Vermonters

Create demonstrable impact by connecting and mobilizing people through giving so that the full

potential of our communities is realized.

When communities’ full potential is realized, they:

•have the capacity to succeed

•are welcoming to all and care for one another

•are sustainable

Our VisionInforms Our Grantmaking

Reporting out – 2012-2013-2014

Our Grantmaking Goals:•Demonstrate collective and individual community impact

Help you tell your story as effectively as possible

•Engage with more donors

Help philanthropists participate in your work

•Award more and/or larger grants

say YES! more often, say no less often

•Broadly grow the culture of giving in Vermont

Discretionary? Donor Advised? What does it all mean?

Discretionary Grants are awarded through the competitive public grant rounds.

Donor Advised grants are made on the recommendations of individual donors from their funds.

The Vermont Community Foundation’s “Giving Together” program provides donors with opportunities to give strategically with others.

There are 4 primary statewide programs:

•Small and Inspiring: For community engagement and social capital building at the hyper-local level

•Innovation and Collaboration: For projects that cross issues, sectors or regions

•Big Impact: Foundation-driven collaborative philanthropy for statewide systemic change.

•Special and Urgent Needs: For emergency or unforeseen problems or opportunities

Quick Summary of our Grantmaking

Small and Inspiring – The 251 Club

Goals:

•Connect people to each other, their communities and the natural world•Connect donors with local heroes and champions•Inspire people and tell the VCF Story

Process: Short, online application focusing on telling a good story of community engagement. Grants will be awarded every other month in 2014.

Grant Size: $500-$2,500

Small & Inspiring Results by the Numbers – 2013

174 Applications received 107 Applications approved (67 denied)61% of Applications approved$1,900 average grant size$199,021 in grants awarded $84,020 contributed through Giving TogetherProgram grew 30% over 2012

The Best of “Small and Inspiring” 2013

Glover Pioneer Day Camp –

A Child’s Life in the Wilderness, 1800-1840

Big Heavy World –

Teen Hacker Dreams Suck Way Less Than You Think

Bethel Revitalization Initiative - Bethel University

Brattleboro Museum and Art Center –

BEAN Micro-Grant Dinners

Innovations and Collaborations

Goals:

•Support best practices in collaborative, innovative work•Increase donor giving with new and exciting opportunities•Strengthen the sector by promoting models of success

Process: Two grant cycles each year with initial deadlines in February and July, 2014. A short letter of interest is required prior to receiving an invitation to submit a full proposal. Typically, applications will be submitted by two or more partner organizations. 2nd Year Continuation Funding is available for invited grantees. 2nd Year Grants are $10,000.

Grant size: $10,000-$20,000

Innovation and Collaboration Results by the Numbers – 2013

125 Letters of Interest received46 New Full Applications invited13 Continuation Applications invited20 new & 9 continuing projects approved (49%)average new grant - $17,250$435,460 in grants awarded $224,750 contributed through Giving TogetherProgram grew 9% in 2013

Best of Innovation and Collaboration 2013

ONE Strings - Vermont Youth Orchestra, Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival and the Integrated Arts Academy

Vermont Coalition for Criminal Justice Reform - VT Dept. of Corrections, ACLU of Vermont, Vermont Human Rights Commission, Vermont Works for Women, Mercy Connections and others.

Vermont Farm and Food Business Planning Competition – Strolling of the Heifers, Vermont Technical College

Big Impact: The Food and Farm Initiative

Goals:

•To create statewide systemic change on key issues over the long term (new issue areas to be chosen every 5 years)

•To increase collaborative funding on key issues by state, regional and national donors

•To leverage the leadership potential of the Foundation

•The goal of the Food and Farm Initiative is to support farmers and others who want to help Vermont families put nutritious, local food on the table regardless of where they live or what they earn.

Process: Proposals are accepted by invitation only. Grantees work in close collaboration with each other, the Foundation and other regional funders to advance a collective strategy.

Grant Size: $25,000+

Big Impact Results by the Numbers – 2013

9 Grants Awarded in 2013 $ 494,584 in grants awarded $ 289,584 contributed in Giving Together average grant size $54,954 Program grew by 60% in 2013

Big Impact: The Food and Farm Initiative

Current Grantees Center for an Agricultural Economy - Hardwick

Food Connects - Brattleboro Green Mountain Farm to School - Newport

Hunger-Free Vermont - Burlington NOFA VT - Richmond

Upper Valley Farm to School Network – White River Junction VT FEED/Shelburne Farms - Shelburne

Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets - Montpelier Vermont Housing and Conservation Board - Montpelier

Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund - Montpelier  

Big Impact – Grantee Accomplishments in 2013

Expanded eligibility for free school meals

Trained school food service staff

Developed a statewide local produce marketing campaign

Piloted new strategies for getting healthy local foods to families

Strengthened statewide capacity for ongoing collaborative action

Special and Urgent Needs

Goal:

•Provide rapid philanthropic support for emergencies and/or unexpected opportunities faced by Vermont nonprofits

Process: Nonprofit organizations may apply for a Special and Urgent Needs grant at any time. Priority is given to applications having a direct impact on basic human needs (food, shelter, health care, etc.) but applications are welcome from any organization facing an emergency or urgent situation that they could not have planned to address in advance.

Grant size: up to $5,000. Available funding is limited and is occasionally used up before the end of the calendar year.

Special & Urgent Needs Impact by the Numbers - 2013

33 Applications Received 20 Applications Approved 61% of Applications Approved $6,000 Giving Together contributions $79,402 in grants awarded $4,000 average grant size

Highlights from Special and Urgent Needs - 2013

Northwoods Stewardship Center

The Bennington Coalition for the Homeless

Champlain Senior Center

Milton Elementary School

Issue Based Funds

• The Vermont Women’s Fund

• Vermont Arts Endowment Fund

• The Samara Fund for LGBT Issues

• The Paul Post Fund …and more

Regional Grant Rounds

• The Northeast Kingdom Fund

• Walter Cerf Fund

• The Green Mountain Fund

• Hills and Hollows Fund ... and more

Other Grantmaking Highlights

• January 31 VT Women’s Fund Deadline

• February 3 I&C Round 1 Letter of Interest Due

• February 3 S&I First Monthly Deadline

S&I deadlines will be on the closest business day to the 1st of the month in even numbered months in 2014

• April 1 Samara Fund Deadline

• April 28 VT Arts Endowment Fund Deadline

…and more, visit the website for details

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Some Deadlines Coming Up!

Using the Online Grants Manager

5 Things you need to know

1.  New vs. existing account? Call us to confirm! 2.  All-in-one tracking: Application, Status/Decision, Grant reporting 3.  Easy PDF conversion of applications and reports 4.  Help us share your stories and community impact 5.  New features coming in 2014

Check our Online Grants Center for updates and support!

• Vermont Directory of Foundations

• Vermont Directory of Nonprofit Consultants

• Planned Giving Partnership

• Nonprofit Endowment and Reserve Fund Program

• Occasional workshops and other events

• www.CommonGoodVT.org

• Benchmarks for a Better Vermont

Other Nonprofit Services

Contact Us for Help