Community Heart & Soul Inc
Community Heart & Soul Inc is a private foundation based in Shelburne, Vermont. It supports the development and use of the Community Heart & Soul model, a resident-driven process for helping small cities and towns identify community priorities and take action toward their future.
Community Heart & Soul Inc at a glance
In short: Community Heart & Soul Inc gave $220K across 10 grants in 2025 (avg $22K), top state Washington. 80% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $220,000
- +633.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 10
- +233.3% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $22,000
- +120.0% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $10,000
- Total assets
- $22,482,025
- -1.8% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 80% first-time grantees (8 of 10, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Washington (45% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Community Heart & Soul Inc
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. For the Seed Grant Program, communities are directed to contact the organization, get matched with a Certified Heart & Soul Coach, complete the guided Getting Started activities, and then apply. No deadline is stated.
- Contact
Mailing address: 120 Graham Way 126, Shelburne, VT 05482
Phone: (802) 495-0864
Website: https://www.communityheartandsoul.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Community Heart & Soul Inc funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Innovia Foundation ($100K). Together the top 10 received $220K.
Grant Size Distribution
37 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 36 grants of 37 (97%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation is based in Shelburne, Vermont. Its 2025 grants supported projects in Washington, Montana, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, and Colorado. The filing reports that grant dollars went to recipients in Washington (45%), Montana (14%), Ohio (9%), Pennsylvania (9%), and Michigan (9%); the listed shares do not account for all grant dollars.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Community Heart & Soul Inc open to new grantees?
80%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 8 of 10 grantees (80%) were first-time recipients. With only 10 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 10 points. First grants averaged $24K; repeat grants $15K. How we count
Medians: $10K first-time, $15K repeat.
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2021–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2021 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $30K (2024) to $220K (2025). In 2025 it made 10 grants totaling $220K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Innovia Foundation Spokane, WA | Washington and Idaho Heart and Soul | $100,000 |
| Montana Community Foundation Helena, MT | Montana Heart and Soul | $30,000 |
| Pennsylvania Humanities Council Philadelphia, PA | Pennsylvania Heart Soul | $20,000 |
| Legacy Foundation Merrillville, IN | Cedar Lake, in Heart and Soul | $10,000 |
| Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque Dubuque, IA | Peosta, IA Heart and Soul | $10,000 |
| Village of Arlington Arlington, OH | Arlington, Oh Heart and Soul | $10,000 |
| Village of Arcadia Arcadia, OH | Arcadia, Oh Heart and Soul | $10,000 |
| Barry Community Foundation Hastings, MI | Nashville, Mi Heart and Soul | $10,000 |
| Community Foundation of St Clair County Port Huron, MI | Yale, Mi Heart and Soul | $10,000 |
| Kremmling Area Chamber of Commerce Kremmling, CO | Kremmling, Co Heart and Soul | $10,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $22,482,025 | $776,174 | $3,676,378 | $220,000 | 10 | $3,419,741 | $641,767 |
| 2024 | $22,883,213 | $3,129,564 | $3,348,524 | $30,000 | 3 | $3,055,714 | $2,859,535 |
| 2023 | $21,667,313 | $3,237,228 | $2,841,506 | $130,000 | 10 | $2,633,505 | $542,071 |
| 2022 | $19,269,336 | $5,326,037 | $3,018,227 | $90,000 | 9 | $2,739,936 | $2,702,456 |
| 2021 | $24,018,040 | $3,509,139 | $2,243,453 | $50,000 | 5 | $1,945,841 | $2,347,390 |
| 2020 | $21,802,608 | $913,741 | $2,358,602 | — | — | — | $803,425 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The organization’s stated mission is to help residents and elected officials shape their communities’ futures by adopting the Community Heart & Soul practice. Its website describes that practice as engaging residents in identifying what they value about their community, what future they want, and how to work toward it.
The 2025 filing describes training communities, partners, and Heart & Soul coaches; promoting awareness and adoption of the model; and providing a limited number of matching seed grants for startup expenses. Its grants have supported organizations with different roles. For example, Innovia Foundation describes itself as a community foundation serving its region, while the Montana Community Foundation says its purpose is to foster a culture of giving so Montana communities can flourish. Pennsylvania Humanities Council says it puts the humanities in action to create positive change in lives and communities.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation reported 10 grants totaling $220,000. Grants ranged from $10,000 to $100,000, with a median of $10,000. The largest awards were $100,000 to Innovia Foundation for “Washington and Idaho Heart and Soul,” $30,000 to Montana Community Foundation for “Montana Heart and Soul,” and $20,000 to Pennsylvania Humanities Council for “Pennsylvania Heart Soul.”
Other 2025 grants included $10,000 each to Legacy Foundation for Cedar Lake, Indiana; Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque for Peosta, Iowa; the Villages of Arlington and Arcadia, Ohio; Barry Community Foundation for Nashville, Michigan; Community Foundation of St. Clair County for Yale, Michigan; and Kremmling Area Chamber of Commerce for Kremmling, Colorado.
The foundation’s Seed Grant Program offers $10,000 for eligible resident-driven groups to launch the model and requires a $10,000 cash match from the municipality or a partnering organization. Communities must complete guided Getting Started activities with a coach before applying. The application describes eligible communities as those with a population under 30,000 and allows a local government, an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity, or an informal resident-led group to serve as lead applicant. Applicants are asked about community readiness, goals, partners, and the results of a “Hopes for the Future” conversation; all participating municipalities are expected to submit a letter of support.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Lyman Orton as chair; Janice Izzi as vice-chair; Mark Sherman as president; Christopher Byrne as secretary/treasurer; Carol Bertrand as director of finance; and Tony Wood, Nancy Van Lilligen, and Roberta Mayer as directors.
Community Heart & Soul Inc is led by Mark Sherman, President since 2022 (on filings since 2020); 5 of 8 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Mark Sherman
President
Executive Director → President, 2022
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$94K (2020) → $261K (2025)
Lyman Orton
Chair
On filings since 2020
4 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Carol Bertrand
Director of Finance
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$94K (2020) → $125K (2025)
Tony Wood
Director
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
$2K (2020) → $2K (2025)
Nancy Van Lilligen
Director
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
$2K (2025)
Roberta Mayer
Director
New on the 2025 filing
2 hrs/week
$2K (2025)
Janice Izzi
Vice Chair
Director → Vice Chair, 2023
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Christopher Byrne
Secretary & Treasurer
On filings since 2022
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (7)
- Former: Jody Fried (2021–2024) — Director
- Former: Susan Kirkpatrick (2020–2021) — Secretary & Treasurer
- Former: David Leckey (2020) — Executive Director
- Former: Ed McMahon (2020) — Director
- Former: Jared Duval (2020) — Director
- Former: Scot Spencer (2020) — Director
- Former: Tom Daniels (2020) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $261K, to Mark Sherman (President). 5 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Community Heart & Soul Inc
How much does Community Heart & Soul Inc give each year?
Community Heart & Soul Inc gave $220K across 10 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $30K across 3 grants.
What is Community Heart & Soul Inc's typical grant size?
Community Heart & Soul Inc's median grant in 2025 was $10,000, and its average grant was $22,000, across 10 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Community Heart & Soul Inc that year got $24K on average.
Where does Community Heart & Soul Inc give grants?
Community Heart & Soul Inc's top state is Washington, with 45% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Montana (14%) and Ohio (9%).
Does Community Heart & Soul Inc give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 10 grants with a stated purpose on Community Heart & Soul Inc's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support.
Who are Community Heart & Soul Inc's largest grantees?
Community Heart & Soul Inc's largest 2025 grantees include Innovia Foundation ($100,000), Montana Community Foundation ($30,000) and Pennsylvania Humanities Council ($20,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 68% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Community Heart & Soul Inc?
Community Heart & Soul Inc reported $22.5M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Its revenue that year was $776K.
What does Community Heart & Soul Inc fund?
The organization’s stated mission is to help residents and elected officials shape their communities’ futures by adopting the Community Heart & Soul practice. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Community Heart & Soul Inc?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Community Heart & Soul Inc's EIN?
Community Heart & Soul Inc's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 03-0346513. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Community Heart & Soul Inc accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(2)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS July 7, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Community Heart & Soul Inc funds
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Community Heart & Soul Inc funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/community-heart-and-soul-inc-morg_4c018aa056aa4ae1aeb20bb9c4600985
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_030346513_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Community Heart \& Soul Inc funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/community-heart-and-soul-inc-morg_4c018aa056aa4ae1aeb20bb9c4600985},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-20. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Community Heart & Soul Inc's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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