Stowe Community Fund sets year-one goal: Raise $100,000

Stowe Vibrancy is helping with the initial conversion of the Stowe C19 Fund into the Stowe Community Fund, which will be professionally invested by the Vermont Community Foundation. The Stowe fund has its own independent board to make decisions on disbursements. With a volunteer board and only 2 percent in administrative fees, 98 percent of donations will go directly to helping the people in the community.

By all measurements, the Stowe C19 Fund successfully met the needs of our community, ensuring that our town remained food secure and healthy during an unprecedented time, and we were able to stretch the dollars donated to help hundreds of people throughout our greater community. (For details, see bit.ly/305lHI5)

We look to expand upon this proven model. Some of the lessons learned that will be applied to the Stowe Community Fund include:

• Community goes far beyond our 4,800-plus full-time residents. Stowe has so many people who put their hearts into making our town the special place that it is, and this includes those who work but may not live here. Throughout the pandemic, we found meaningful ways to help all those who are part of our community, including providing shift meals and supplemental grocery assistance for the workers of Stowe who were furloughed or laid off.

We heard repeatedly how much these small supports helped, and recipients felt appreciated as a valued part of our community. We will continue to seek creative solutions to best support the people who are part of our town.

• A source of funding when there is no other resource available. Many of our recipients who received assistance from the Stowe C19 Fund were not eligible for other pandemic relief aid, since most required proof of being in arrears on bill payments for multiple months in a row. Most had never requested financial assistance before, and the personal and confidential nature of the town’s C19 fund made it easier for them to ask for help.

The short-term aid provided by the fund acted as a bridge and helped many in our community through a vulnerable time.

• Able to respond immediately in a crisis. A community fund allows decision making and engagement to be both by and for community members. The local nature of the Stowe C19 Fund, with a committee composed of a range of community members, enabled us to respond quickly and nimbly when emergency situations presented themselves. We believe this quick, proactive helping hand should be permanently available to our community.

• Collaboration with our region's nonprofits. We recognize the valuable work of the many long-established nonprofits in our community, and we will continue to ensure that we do not duplicate efforts. We look to supplement, support and provide aid to fill in when there are no other sources of help available.

Throughout the pandemic, we developed strong relationships and supported the work of many nonprofit and health organizations in our area. Through these partnerships, we were able to identify and address the critical needs of our community and those most vulnerable. We look to continue this work together.

• A safety net for the future. Not only will the Stowe Community Fund develop meaningful people-based supports to strengthen our community, but we will also build a reserve fund that over time will have significant assets that we can draw on when it’s needed most. The fund will provide a safety net to help our friends and neighbors through difficult times.

The silver lining to the pandemic is that we are now in a position where we can build upon what we’ve learned and create a long-term resource for our community. An anonymous donor is challenging our community with a $12,000 matching gift for all donations made by Dec. 10. In addition, all who donate in that time period will be entered into a raffle for two Vail winter fun day packages.

• Donations of all sizes are appreciated. To donate or for more information, visit stowecommunityfund.org. Other ways to donate: Send a check to Friends of Stowe Vibrancy, P.O. Box 482, Stowe VT 05672, and include “Stowe Community Fund” in memo line; or donate stocks, mutual funds or bequests through the Vermont Community Foundation.

We are asking you to join us in building the Stowe Community Fund as a permanent philanthropic resource supporting the people and community of Stowe. Together, we can meet the Stowe Community Fund’s founding year goal of $100,000.

Leigh Pelletier is a member of the Stowe Community Fund board, along with Candace Elmquist, Billy Adams, Leslie Anderson, Jeff Clarke, Elise McKenna and Heidi Scheuermann.