Canaday Fields of Interest Grants

Canaday Fields of Interest Grants

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Canaday Family Charitable Trust
Amount: US $20,000 - US $270,000
Last Updated: December 20, 2025

Summary

The Canaday Family Charitable Trust primarily aims to support Vermont-based not-for-profit organizations that enhance the lives of children and families, advocate for environmental conservation and education, and address economic and racial inequalities. Grants are provided for innovative projects that produce measurable impacts, focusing on sustainability, self-sufficiency, and community engagement. The Trust emphasizes funding projects rooted in Vermont's unique context, promoting initiatives that empower local families and foster significant improvements in their quality of life.

Overview

The primary purpose of the Canaday Family Charitable Trust is to encourage and support not-for-profit organizations that work in Vermont to improve the lives of children and families, promote environmental conservation and education, and reduce economic and racial inequality. The foundation seeks to fund innovative programs with clear, measurable goals for creating unique and significant improvements in the lives of children and in the environment. The Trustees favor programs that advance the following Canaday Family values: Making a differenceHaving a measurable impactSustainabilityBuilding knowledge, skills, & valuesPromoting self-sufficiencyAdvancing racial equity Fields of Interest Children And Youth Services Grant areas include, but are not limited to, children’s education, health, housing, and insofar as it is in keeping with the Trust’s charitable nature, advocacy for children. Projects may directly benefit Vermont children, or might engage in public education on children’s issues or in research to identify, characterize, and measure children’s needs. Environment Grant areas include, but are not limited to, quality of land, water, and air, land use, waste disposal, biodiversity, sustainability, community involvement, and education. Vermont already has some of the most stringent environmental laws in the country; research into non-regulatory means of achieving environmental goals is encouraged. Economic Opportunity Consistent with its support for programs that benefit Vermont’s children, the Trust’s newest area of interest makes grants to programs that increase the standard of living for Vermont families. This has included job training programs, community organizing for affordable health care, and programs that encourage affordable housing and development. Programs supported share the Trust’s value of responsible environmental stewardship The trustees have established a set of informal guidelines: When a project has activities partly inside and partly outside of Vermont (for example, the project’s boundaries are watershed-driven, as opposed to political), we will consider funding the Vermont portion of the project, but other funding must be found for the non- Vermont portion.We provide operating funding for existing organizations by invitation only. Proposals for funding for capital purchases (e.g., equipment) are considered. We are open to experimental projects even when a successful outcome is not assured, provided the impact of the projects is significant. We believe that a failed project that discovers why it failed may in the long run be more valuable than a successful project that learns nothing from its success.Specificity, clarity, and brevity are encouraged. A proposal for a school curriculum project should identify teachers, administrators, parents, and others who have requested and will be prepared to support the project. Familiarity with programs previously funded by the Canaday Family Charitable Trust is assumed and proposals for similar work should explain how that work expands or improves previously-funded work. For example, proposals for restorative justice programs should incorporate the policy work by Voices for Vermont’s Children in this area.We provide operating funding for existing organizations by invitation only. Proposals for funding for capital purchases (e.g., equipment) are considered.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. The Foundation supports organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and are not classified as private foundations under Section 509(a) of the Code.

Ineligibility

Projects that duplicate or extend work done in other states, or that carry Vermont-based work outside the state are of less interest than projects that spring from the unique physical, human, and political landscape of Vermont.  The Foundation does not award grants to individuals, capital campaigns, or endowments. We generally do not provide operating funding for existing organizations.