Fanny Holt Ames and Edna Louise Holt Fund: Housing Initiative Grant

Overview

Our Purpose

Innovative ideas, multi-sector partners, and creative solutions. At HRiA, we improve population health by catalyzing social change within and among individuals, institutions and communities.

As a public health institute, a belief and commitment to equity is central to our work. We believe that good health is a right, not a privilege. So, how do we as a society attain health equity? How do we ensure health and safety in the places where we live, work, and play? How do we ensure equitable access to information, fair distribution of resources, adequate investment in biomedical research, and empowerment of citizens? This is our work.

For HRiA, health equity is where population health, policy, research, and practice come together. We work at the junction of these approaches helping clients and funders in private philanthropy; local, state, and federal government; community organizations; and health care systems address and solve some of the nation’s most fundamental health challenges.

Our Vision

A world where social conditions and equitable resources foster healthy people in healthy communities.

Our Mission

To help people live healthier lives and create healthy communities through prevention, health promotion, policy and research.

Fanny Holt Ames and Edna Louise Holt Fund

The Fanny Holt Ames and Edna Louise Holt Fund (the Holt Fund) was created at Edna Louise Holt’s instructions, and established in 2000, with Bank of America as the Trustee. Miss Holt and her sister were longtime residents of Grafton, Vermont; they held a deep and abiding concern for the health and well-being of the residents in the communities where they lived. The Fund’s objective is to meet the health and medical needs of Grafton, Vermont and surrounding towns with primary consideration given to Grace Cottage Hospital. The Trustee has contracted with Health Resources in Action to support the charitable purpose of the Holt Fund.

To date, the Holt Fund has invested more than $18.7 million in programs to improve community health outcomes in Grafton, Vermont and surrounding towns. The 2025-2026 grant application process is Open for Traditional and Housing grant opportunities.

Grant Category

Traditional:

* Small Grants – Applicants may apply for single-year grants of up to $15,000 for discrete projects or programmatic expenses. Applicants must complete the parts of the online application required for small grants.
* Large Grants – Applicants may apply for single- or multi-year requests (up to three years) of over $15,000 for program or project support, operating expenses (for organizations with annual budgets less than $1 million), or capital support.

Housing Initiative:

* Established in 2019 in response to community input and demonstrated need to invest in initiatives or projects related to housing as a social determinant of health.
* Applicants may apply for a single- or multi-year request (up to three years), up to $100,000 per year

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

* As guiding principles, the Holt Fund:
* Awards grants on a competitive basis to nonprofit 501(c)3 public charities as defined by the Internal Revenue Service Code
* Makes grant decisions based upon the needs of the communities, recognizing that needs evolve over time
* Focuses its resources on programs and organizations that will have a positive and lasting impact on the largest number of people
* The Holt Fund is seeking to support initiatives aimed at improving health by addressing housing in Windham and Windsor County, with a focus on the town of Grafton and surrounding communities: 
* Andover
* Athens
* Brookline
* Chester
* Grafton
* Jamaica
* Londonderry
* Rockingham
* Springfield
* Townshend
* Westminster
* Weston
* Windham
* Funding of up to $100,000 per year for up to 3 years is available.
* The Holt Fund is open to funding in a wide range of topics including but not limited to prevention, intervention, or policy, systems and environmental change strategies.