Staff Blog

Foundation President & CEO Dan Smith shares a detailed look at our discretionary grantmaking, what it means, and how it works.

For so many of us, it is heartbreaking to see the images of children being separated from their parents at the doorstep to our nation. President & CEO Dan Smith shares some of the options for helping lessen human suffering.

Our mission is to inspire giving and bring people and resources together to make a difference in Vermont.  Sometimes, in the day to day, it is easy to under-appreciate the mutuality of our work. In the course of trying to inspire, we find inspiration. On Thursday, April 26, I had two really unique opportunities that I want to share.

In the thirty-year history of the Vermont Community Foundation, no figure plays a more central role than David Rahr, the first executive director. On Friday afternoon, we were deeply saddened to learn of his passing. Our thoughts go foremost to his family, and then to reflection about his impact on this organization and Vermont.

We see closing the opportunity gap as core to the mission of building strong Vermont communities and strongly believe that philanthropy is strategically positioned to tackle this set of challenges. To that end, we are allocating a significant portion of the Foundation’s discretionary resources towards increasing access to opportunity through four strategic focus areas: early care and learning, college and career training, support for youth and families, and community and economic vitality.