Vermont Law School will offer an 8-week series of day-long workshops on Fridays in June and July. A separate 3-week series on Nonprofit Management and a 2-week series on Fundraising are also available. Alternatively, you may attend any of our individual afternoon networking sessions.

Please visit the website for details and registration information.

The Council on the Future of Vermont is seeking to learn about Vermont from Vermonters. For one year, CFV will take public input on the values, concerns, and aspirations of people throughout the state, and, in 2009, will present a comprehensive assessment of its findings. 

The website is one way for Vermonters to contribute their ideas and to learn what others think via an online survey, discussion questions, forum notes, and a calendar of events.  

Visit the website at www.futureofvermont.org.

At its January 16th meeting, the VCF Board of Directors appointed Faith I. Brown, who serves as Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations, Acting President & CEO. Faith will assume new responsibilities and continue in her EVP role. It was announced in December that Brian Byrnes had accepted a position as managing director of the Tides Foundation and senior vice president of the Tides Network in San Francisco, and his last day at the VCF was February 22nd. Faith assumed her new role on February 25th.  

Faith has been with the VCF for nine years and has brought about significant improvements to our accounting and administrative systems. She’s also been the driving force behind the Foundation’s nationally-recognized efforts to connect our investing to our mission, through programs like our Vermont Investments program, shareholder activism, and the creation of a socially responsive investment pool. A native Vermonter, she holds an MBA from the University of Vermont and worked in health care administration for 17 years prior to joining the VCF.

The VCF will be conducting a national search for a new President & CEO in the coming months. Please contact Faith with any questions at 802-388-3355 or fbrown@vermontcf.org.

Upper Valley at Work is a profile series highlighting local residents who use their unique strengths to better their lives and communities. The project is a collaboration with the following partner organizations: Center for School Success, New Hampshire Charitable Foundation-Upper Valley Region, Upper Valley Business and Education Partnership, Upper Valley United Way, and the Vermont Community Foundation.

Visit the Upper Valley at Work website to learn more or nominate a candidate.

The Center for Social Leadership is offering an Executive Certification Program in Nonprofit Leadership, which will take place June 2-7 at George Washington University.  Tuition assistance is available.

Read about the Center for Social Leadership and the program.

Emily Morrow was a trusts, estates, and tax lawyer for 25 years in Vermont and served as the chair of the VCF Board of Directors. She now resides in Sydney and recently spoke about the strength of charitable giving in Vermont at a luncheon sponsored by Fundraising Institute Australia.

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Understanding Vermont is a VCF program designed to provide useful information for philanthropists and other grantmakers who want to learn more about the issues that shape Vermont communties. Understanding Vermont includes:

• The Understanding Vermont publication, which is filled with information on some of the state’s most pressing issues as reflected in articles, studies, and conversations with Vermonters from all walks of life.

• An Understanding Vermont website, which is meant to be a companion to the publication. On the site you can find updated facts, articles, and studies that supplement the information in the publication. You can also stay on top of the issues that interest you by subscribing to an e-newsletter. We encourage you to help us build the site by sharing what you know about important trends in Vermont.
  
  
• The Foundation's Giving Together program, which shares grant proposals from our competitive grant rounds with VCF advised fundholders. Giving Together is a great way to learn about meaningful work in our communities, and now it will also highlight proposals that tie to Understanding Vermont issues, making it easy to act on the information in the publication and the website.

During the past year the VCF's mission investment activities have been highlighted in numerous articles. We would like to share an update with you.

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