Funding available to support career pathways for Vermont women and girls

The Vermont Women’s Fund (VWF) is making funding available for new or existing projects, programs and efforts that support viable career pathways and career prospects for Vermont women and girls.

Charlotte resident Meg Smith, the director of the VWF, said, “It is very exciting to be opening up the grant cycle for the Vermont Women’s Fund this year at a time when women’s rights, especially in the workplace, are so top of mind (I might add that the Women’s Fund’s featured speaker last year was Jodi Kantor, The New York Times reporter who just broke the Harvey Weinstein story!).”

The VWF was established in 1994 and has granted more than $2 million in support of its mission. The primary initiative of the Fund is Change The Story, a partnership with the Vermont Commission on Women and Vermont Works for Women, which seeks to fast-track women’s economic security in Vermont. “The initiative,” Smith said, “provides much needed data on women’s economic status in Vermont. For example, we discovered in our research that 40 percent of women working full-time in Vermont cannot meet their basic needs. Think about that—40 percent is a huge number of women in our state who cannot make enough money even though they are working a full-time job!”

Consistent with that research, and in an effort to achieve a deeper and more strategic impact with its funding dollars, Smith said the Women’s Fund will focus its 2018 grantmaking on funding “nonprofits with programs that help women and girls find viable careers. Proposals may request funding for program support, for awareness-generating activities or to complete needed research as identified by Change The Story. In some cases, multiyear funding will be considered.”

Nonprofits may apply online at any time. Applications will be accepted through Feb. 8, 2018, at 5:00 p.m. For more information visit Change the Story.