BARRE/MONTPELIER – Several Washington County organizations received grants from the Vermont Community Foundation recently, including the Vermont Granite Museum of Barre, Montpelier Alive, the Montpelier Conservation Commission and the Northfield Community Development Network.
The Community Foundation’s Spark Connecting Community grant program has awarded $48,080 to 17 nonprofit organizations for local projects focusing on creative placemaking in communities across the state. The grants are made in partnership with several generous fundholders who contributed through Giving Together, a program at the Community Foundation that shares grant proposals with fundholders and donors to provide an opportunity to co-fund projects.
“COVID-19’s impact on museums, art centers, downtown associations, and local gathering spaces has been severe, yet organizations have demonstrated remarkable creativity and resiliency,” says Sarah Waring, vice president for grants and community investments at the Vermont Community Foundation. “We’re thrilled to show our support by dedicating this round of Spark to projects that use arts, design, and cultural activities to strengthen community identity. Enormous thanks to our fundholders who helped grow the number of grants to support hundreds of individuals from around the state.”
The Washington County grant projects that received an award are:
The Vermont Granite Museum of Barre received $3,000 to support continued work on its
Multi-Use Path and Sculpture Park, promoting accessibility to green spaces and making granite art available year-round to the residents of Barre and other Vermonters.
Montpelier Alive received $3,000 to support the
Montpelier Community Bench Project, the creation of whimsical, artist-designed, M-shaped benches to bring community members together and add a spark of creativity to Montpelier’s streets.
Montpelier Conservation Commission received $2,500 to support the
UVM PLACE Program for Montpelier, a place-based landscape and community engagement program that will gather Montpelier residents in a shared effort to learn, understand, and celebrate cultural and natural history, people, and built and natural environment.
Northfield Community Development Network received $3,000 to support
Community Built Connections, which will use an artistic approach to expanding pedestrian infrastructure in Northfield through participatory design, connecting residents to nature, and engaging the community in future development.
The Spark Connecting Community program will reopen in 2022. Visit
vermontcf.org/spark for more information.
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