1

The Philanthropic Leadership Fund Update: 2014The Philanthropic Leadership Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation supports activitiesthat expand the impact of giving throughout the state. Since its inception in 2006, the Philanthropic Leadership Fund has helped donors and nonprofits learn more about community needs, identify and cultivate promising ideas, inspire others to give, and strengthen the nonprofit sector.

We’re excited to share with you what we’ve been able to accomplish in the past year through the generosity and vision of the individuals who’ve contributed to this unique fund.

Connecting the local food movement with the fight against hunger

Our latest Understanding Vermont publication, Local Food For Healthy Communities, explores an interesting challenge: while Vermont’s nationally recognized local food system is bringing health and community benefits across the state, many Vermonters still experience hunger on a regular basis.

The report highlights where there are opportunities to connect these two issues to ensure that all Vermonters have access to healthy, local food. The strategies in the report form the cornerstone of the Community Foundation’s Food and Farm Initiative, and the Philanthropic Leadership Fund has made possible broad outreach efforts and local events featuring speakers like former USDA Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, to attract additional support for the Initiative.

The Philanthropic Leadership Fund also supports Results Based Accountability training for the Food and Farm Initiative grantees, so that they can set and track goals for the change they effect in the community.

Helping nonprofits tell their stories effectively

An important part of any organization’s efforts to inspire awareness and grow support for their work is the ability to tell their story clearly and compellingly. This is especially true in today’s world of fast-paced

2

news and information sharing and it’s a big part of why the Community Foundation has offered support in this area since 2010.

This past year, the Philanthropic Leadership Fund, in partnership with the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, allowed the Community Foundation to offer, free-of-charge, a series of 12 storytelling workshops across the state, focused on basic storytelling skills, storytelling through social media, and using storytelling to do community building. The workshops were geared towards organizations that don’t have their own marketing and development staff, or that would like guidance in identifying the right stories for their audiences.

The skills developed by nonprofit staff in these workshops are helpful in everything from fundraising to reporting back on the difference the organization is able to make in the community.

To date, more than 200 individuals have participated in the workshops, and we know from experience that nonprofits continue to need support in this area as the need for philanthropic resources grows.

Connecting nonprofits with grant opportunities

The Community Foundation is always interested in helping nonprofits find support for their good work, whether that support comes from within our family of funds or from other Vermont-focused foundations.

Thanks to the Philanthropic Leadership Fund, we’ve been able to partner with the Foundation Center in Washington, DC since 2007 to make available, free-of-charge, the Vermont Directory of Foundations, an online resource that allows grantseekers to research funding opportunities anytime, from anywhere they have an internet connection. The directory has more than 2,500 users per year, and saves grantseekers time and money that they can better spend on running their organizations.

Advancing mission investing

The idea that foundations can use their invested assets to further their philanthropic goals has gained a lot of traction lately, and for good reason. “Mission investing” or “impact investing” offers grantmakers the possibility of generating both a financial and a social return by making capital more available for initiatives that benefit the communities they serve. The Vermont Community Foundation was among the first community foundations in the country to adopt a formal mission investment policy and is considered a leader in the field.

This past year, the Philanthropic Leadership Fund made it possible for the Community Foundation’s president to step up as co-chair of the steering committee of Mission Investors Exchange—a group of over 230 foundations that help one another develop and spread the use of these innovative programs— and produce the “Community Foundation Field Guide To Impact Investing”.

3

Supporting community-defined civic spaces

The city of Burlington’s proposed plan for redevelopment of the abandoned Moran Power Plant is both ambitious and inspiring, and a last chance to save this remnant of mid-20th century Vermont. Significantly, the city’s plan offers an opportunity to create a public showcase for local food, energy efficiency, and the creative arts, among other things, demonstrating what’s possible with homegrown vision and planning. Support from the Philanthropic Leadership Fund helped move the project through the planning process, as well as supporting architectural, feasibility, and fundraising studies.

Helping to strengthen nonprofit governance

When a Community Foundation fundholder approached us with an idea to strengthen the boards of Addison County nonprofit organizations, the Philanthropic Leadership Fund stepped up to partner with the United Way of Addison County and provide matching funds to present workshops on governance, strategic planning, and monitoring financial indicators of health. Workshops were held every other month, attendance was sometimes standing room only, and the resounding feedback on the post-workshop evaluations was “more, more, more!” This has inspired the fundholder and the Community Foundation to work with capacity building groups like Common Good Vermont and Marlboro College to develop more programming to meet this need.

Bringing grantmakers together

Since 2009, the Leadership Fund has supported the Vermont Funders Network, which brings together local and national grantmakers who do a significant amount of grantmaking in Vermont, to share information and find new ways of working together.

At the February 2014 meeting, Vermont funders had the opportunity to hear from staff of the state’s federal delegation about issues in which legislators and grantmakers can work more closely together.

On Generator’s opening night, kids were particularly enthralled with the Oculus Rift technology.

The August 2014 meeting was hosted at Generator in Burlington (pictured above) and focused on the Maker Movement and the rapid growth in focus on creativity in education, society, and the economy—an area that is ripe for philanthropic investment.

Fostering collaboration for greater access to postsecondary education

In partnership with the J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation, the Philanthropic Leadership Fund supported the McClure Foundation’s fifth annual education summit to discuss accomplishments, challenges, and opportunities related to building access to college and career education.

For the first time in summit history, the fall summit of 2013 took the shape of a learning seminar for Vermont-based funders and grantmakers with an interest in workforce education. Keynote Speaker Lawrence Miller, then Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, joined panelists from leading nonprofits and state agencies to discuss the roles of funders and the business community in encouraging workforce development and opportunities for work-based learning.

Phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Ste

phe

n M

ease

.

4

3 Court Street, Middlebury, Vermont 05753www.vermontcf.org

Anonymous (7)

The Morris & Bessie Altman Foundation

Arnold-McKenna Fund

Autumn-Harp Foundation Fund*

Avada Fund*

Hildegard Bachert

Bay and Paul Foundations

Lois M. Beardwood

Stephen C. Biklen

Katharine Blanchard

Blue Ridge Fund

Seth and Christine Bongartz

Deb Brighton

Aaron J. Brondyke

Jonathan N. Brownell

Paul A. Bruhn

Jane E. Bryant

Brian T. Byrnes and Bernard S. Schlager

Walter Cerf Community Fund

Judith R. Chalmer

Champlain Title Company of VT LLC

Richard M. Chapman

Carol S. Clawson

Community National Bank

Compton Foundation

Stuart and Lucy Comstock-Gay

Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust*

Charles R. Cummings, Esq.

Staige and Marnie Davis

Dew Construction Corp

John and Sandra Dooley III

Doug Fund

Eagleridge Fund

Jan S. Eastman

Peter and Lisa Espenshade

John and Jane Ewing

Carl and Judy Ferenbach

David F. Finney

First Years Fund*

R E & M V Fontaine Family Foundation

Forest Park Realty Corp

Claudio D. Fort

Foundation Source

Fountain Fund

Charles Gamper Fund*

GDS Legacy Foundation, Inc

William E. Gefell

Lois B. Gordon Charitable Remainder Trust

Natalie Grant

Great Grandmother Fund

Luther F. and Sally S. Hackett

Blair Hamilton Energy Efficiency Memorial Fund

The S & C Harvest Foundation, Inc.

John Hawkins

Jeffrey H. and Deborah K. Hayes

The A.D. Henderson Foundation

The HF Fund

High Meadows Fund*

Honey Pot Fund

Kathy Hoyt

James T. and Deborah C. Hunt

Robert D. Ide

David and Eleanor Ignat Fund

Johnson Family Foundation*

The Kelsey Trust

Ellen Kahler

Margaret Kannenstine

Karlson Family Foundation

Robert M. Kaufman

Jane and Donald Seymour Kelly Fund at New York Community Trust

Susan H. Keniston

A. Jay and Carol Kenlan

John Killacky

Claudia and Peter Kinder Charitable Fund

We gratefully acknowledge all the generous contributors who have made a gift to the Philanthropic Leadership Fund since its inception.

If you would like to learn more or make a contribution, contact Patrick Berry at 802-388-3355, ext. 248 or pberry@vermontcf.org.

Susan A. Kireker Memorial Trust

Kokoro Fund

Stephen S.and Linda M. Kornbluth

Landmann Family Fund*

Donna M. LaPerle

Gale Lawrence

Suzanne H. Leiter

Ann C. Livingston Fund

Sam Lloyd and Jesse Lapham Education and Technology Fund

Localhost Fund

Andrea Long

Lawrence H. Mandell and Marcie A. Andres

Jessie Mazar

J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation

Lois H. McClure*

J. Michael McGean

Elizabeth Page McRae Fund*

Ruth and Peter Metz Family Foundation

Michael’s Fund

The Harvey L. Miller Family Foundation

Daniel and Cecile Moran

New Castle Fund

New Visions Foundation

Patricia P. Motch

David W. and Mary K. Otto

Ourmont Fund

Permanent Fund for Vermont’s Children, Inc.

Julie Peterson

Ernest A. Pomerleau

Prospect Hill Foundation of the Community Foundation of New Jersey

David G. Rahr

Rainbow Fund

Betsy Rathbun-Gunn

River-bankers Fund

Tom M. Roberts

The James E. Robison Foundation

Kimberly Rock

Howard E. and Susan W. Rood

Rowell Family Fund

Thomas P. Salmon

Bruce and Margaret Seely

Kristen R. Sharpless

Snelling Family Fund*

Snow Angel Fund at Fidelity Charitable

Sallie Soule

Elizabeth Steele

Stettenheim Foundation

Dorothy A. Stone

Sustainable Future Fund

Peter D. Swift and Diana McCargo Charitable Gift Fund

Takoradi Fund

Tane Family Fund

Teepeejay Fund

Russ Testa*

Ronald E. and Margaret S. Thompson

Charlie and Mima Tipper

United States Department of Agriculture

United Way of Chittenden County

Vermont Conservation Fund

Tim R. and Mary M. Volk

Dorothy C. Weicker

James G. and Catherine D. Wheeler

Richard and Katharine White

David A. and Peggy Williams

Whittington - McLendon Fund

Robert E. and Margaret S. Woolmington

Christine A. Zachai

* Founding Supporters