Greetings!

2019 - What a banner year to celebrate the 25 ^th anniversary of the Vermont Women’s Fund! For a quarter of a century, we have worked to be an enduring resource for helping women and girls in every corner of our state rise and thrive.

It is because of you that the Vermont Women’s Fund has achieved our measure of success. The Fund was built, dollar by dollar, from women (and a few good men) who believed that a philanthropic resource devoted to serving the specific needs of women and girls was necessary. Whatever your role, as a founding member or a current supporter, the energy and spirit of the Fund’s creation and the nurturing along the way has yielded tremendous results.

In financial terms, this dedication translates to more than $2 million dollars in grants distributed since we began. These programs ranged from funding legal services for victims of domestic abuse living in remote areas, to teaching job skills in non-traditional fields like the construction trades. What these programs all have in common is improving the lives of women and girls, and in more recent years, a targeted focus on women’s economic well-being and security.

The dedicated staff of these programs deserve our thanks. They work every day to support women of all ages to build stable and independent lives, whether that means being properly prepared for the workforce, training to learn new skills, or providing a roof over their heads. I have the privilege of seeing many of these programs in action and meeting the women and girls that they serve. I always come away with a deep sense of gratitude for all they do.

And, on a macro level, the Women’s Fund works with the Vermont Commission on Women and Vermont Works for Women to support Change The Story , the statewide initiative dedicated to fast-tracking women’s economic security. More about Change The Story below.

So onto an exciting and celebratory year! Thank you for all you do to help women and girls in Vermont!

~Meg

Meg Smith, Director 

This year, the Vermont Women’s Fund has the support of two major Anniversary Sponsors:  Dealer.com and Gravel & Shea . Dealer.com is a technology company founded in Vermont that serves the automotive industry, and is now part of Cox Automotive. Gravel & Shea is a full-service law firm in Burlington with over a decade of championing the Women’s Fund.

These two firms have stepped up to help us celebrate our 25 ^th anniversary by pledging a year-long gift of financial support above and beyond our usual level of sponsorship. You will hear more about them throughout the year but for now, let me just shout a hearty “Thank you” to them and all of their staff. We are most grateful for their significant backing.

If you would like to learn more about how to become a 25 ^th Anniversary Sponsor of the Vermont Women’s Fund, please contact me .

On February 5, 2019, the Women’s Fund and Change The Story invite men to the table at a special breakfast to hear speaker Ted Bunch talk about gender, respectful workplace culture, and how we raise the next generation of men. We are supported and assisted by a Host Committee (we call them our Champions for Change) who signed up to make this happen AND to invite their colleagues and friends to fill the UVM Davis Center with an audience of at least 65% men. We are pleased to announce that Governor Phil Scott will be attending along with members of his staff as well as Lt. Governor David Zuckerman, and Attorney General, T.J. Donovan.

Ted Bunch is co-founder of A CALL TO MEN , an organization that is devoted to creating “a world where all men and boys are loving and respectful and all women and girls are valued and safe.” Ted was on CBS This Morning l ast week in response to the recently released Gillette ad called, The Best That Men Can Be . I have heard Ted speak at two different occasions and can personally attest to the power and effectiveness of his message.

We want to thank our Champions for Change host committee along with our fabulous sponsors, all of whom are standing up for the work of the Vermont Women’s Fund and  Change The Story  . They include Dealer.com , Gravel & Shea , Green Mountain Power , Vermont Gas , VSECU , Kria Botanicals , Sugarbush , E4H Environments for Health Architecture , Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence , Downs Rachlin Martin , Vermont Works , Vermont Innovation Commons , and Logic Supply . Special thanks to Hotel Vermont for hosting Ted and a special meeting of our committee. We are most proud of all of our sponsors for being proactive in this groundbreaking work to achieve gender equity. Please thank them in whatever ways you can!

Tickets are $35 per person and $10 for students. We are asking women to invite husbands, sons, and male colleagues to this groundbreaking event.

Inside Philanthropy dove into the Women’s Fund to learn about our work and share it with the world. Their January profile explains our recent work and upcoming Breakfast of Champions.

Read the full article