HILLS AND HOLLOWS FUND
The Hills and Hollows Fund has been established at the Vermont Community Foundation to support nonprofit organizations serving Poultney and its adjacent communities. Since August 2003, organizations have applied to the Fund to support existing services, to provide seed money for promising new projects, or to enable organizations outside of Poultney to expand their outreach to include area residents. The purpose of the Fund is to promote educational opportunities, to support children and families, and to foster the future sustainability of the community as a whole.

What We Fund
Hills & Hollows supports nonprofit organizations serving Poultney and its adjacent communities. Categories of support for the Hills & Hollows Fund include, but are not limited to: children, elderly, and family services; housing, food, and shelter; health; civic engagement; diversity and tolerance; education; arts, humanities, and cultural heritage; environment; and economic development.

Hills Grants
These grants will be made to projects that address significant local needs and that engage Poultney residents in the planning and implementation. Grant awards range from $500 - $5,000. Special attention will be given to proposals where the Hills and Hollows grant will have a greater impact by leveraging additional dollars and resources for the community. In general, the Fund is not interested in supporting capital campaigns, normal operating expenses or deficit funding. However, occasional exceptions will be made for special projects. It is hoped that these grants will enable the town, the schools, and the community to move ahead with some of the good ideas developed during the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s Community Visit in the fall of 2002, thus filling some of the long standing needs identified at those meetings. Copies of the report are available in the Poultney Town Manager’s Office.

Application Procedure
Requests may be submitted at anytime and will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Every effort will be made to notify applicants within four to six weeks. Grant awards range from $500 to $5,000. In the interest of allowing you to tell us the story of your work, we don't want to be overly restrictive in our requirements for submitting applications. However, we do have a few guidelines that enable us to efficiently and fairly process the many applications we receive each grant round. We ask that you provide us with two collated copies of the following:

1. A completed cover sheet.
Download Hills application in PDF format
Download Hills application in Word format

2. A two-page narrative that describes your work and includes descriptions of the following:

  • Project Description
    • Specific problem being addressed
    • Documentation of need
    • Feasibility of your proposed solution
    • People who will benefit
    • Activities you will undertake
    • Outcomes you expect
    • Methods for measuring success
  • Personnel: List the personnel for the project, including their qualifications (or attach a resume).
  • Timetable: Explain the timetable set for the project.

3. Project Budget: Include income sources (proposed and secured) and expenses. See a sample budget.

4. Organization Budget and Financial Statement: Include income sources (proposed and secured) and expenses.

5. List of Board of Directors.

6. Letters of support, pictures from your events, fliers, promotional materials - all are optional, but can help give us a sense of the culture and flavor of your organization.
 

Hollows Grants
These modest mini-grants will be made to organizations or schools that provide educational and enriching activities for children, youth, and families. Grant awards range from $250 - $1,000. Funding will be considered for such things as special trips or projects, after-school programs and activities, academic or classroom enrichment programs and materials, among others. Because grants may only be made to nonprofit organizations and governmental entities, individuals are not eligible for funding. However, teachers and other interested individuals are encouraged to make applications in partnership with eligible groups.

Application Procedure
Requests may be submitted at anytime and will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Every effort will be made to notify applicants within four to six weeks.

Download Hollows application in PDF format
Download Hollows application in Word format

Please complete your application(s) and send an original and one copy to:

Hills and Hollows Fund
c/o The Vermont Community Foundation
P.O. Box 30
Middlebury, Vermont 05753

We're here to help:
If you have any questions, our Community Grantmaking department is always happy to answer them:

Scott McArdle
Senior Philanthropic Advisor
smcardle@vermontcf.org
802-388-3355 extension 225

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