Staff Blog

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.

This time of year often inspires reflection and a recent hike made me think about how connected so many Vermonters are to our land and forests.

During a time when digital and social communications seem to offer such potent fuel for anxiety, the now six-year-old tradition of Giving Tuesday offers a chance for us to rebut a narrative of civic and community dysfunction.