Vermont Women's Fund

What Vermont Women's Fund does

The Vermont Women's Fund is a Vermont-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit and component fund of the Vermont Community Foundation, founded in 1994 as the first and largest philanthropic resource in the state dedicated exclusively to advancing opportunities for women and girls. The Fund operates with a small staff of 1–10 employees under the leadership of Director Emily Bush and is governed by a Council of approximately 15 women from across Vermont who advise on grantmaking, fundraising, and strategy. Its primary product is an annual competitive grant program that awards up to $15,000 per grant to nonprofit organizations serving women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals; in the 2026 cycle it distributed $411,650 across 43 grantees against a record $1.3M in requests, with cumulative grantmaking exceeding $5 million since inception.

The Fund's product surface extends beyond grantmaking into three named initiatives. This Way UP (launched 2021) is a digital survey platform and interactive database that catalogued 3,432 women-owned businesses across Vermont and produced the state's first gender-disaggregated economic dataset, quantifying $2.4B in business output and 6,494 jobs. The LEEP Toolkit is a free, Excel-based resource (Equity Management Tool, Pay Equity Playbook, Compensation Philosophy Worksheet) that enables small-to-mid-size employers to conduct in-house gender and racial pay equity reviews. Change The Story, a multi-year initiative concluded March 31, 2022, was a co-developed partnership with the Vermont Commission on Women and Vermont Works for Women that produced five status reports, a Business Peer Exchange, and the Male Champions for Change program.

The Fund is funded through tax-deductible individual donations ($10–$1,000+ range), corporate matching gifts, planned giving/bequests, and investment returns on a permanent endowment that was doubled from $3M to over $6M via the "When Women Thrive" campaign completed in 2022. Distribution channels include the Vermont Community Foundation's Online Grants Manager (for applicants), the Classy online giving platform (for donors), an annual celebration event, and an active social/earned media presence. There is no proprietary technology platform powering grantmaking or fundraising — operations rely on shared infrastructure provided by the parent Vermont Community Foundation.

Name

Vermont Women's Fund

Legal name

The Vermont Women's Fund

Website

https://vermontwomensfund.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Vermont Women's Fund is a Middlebury, Vermont-based nonprofit (founded 1994) and component fund of the Vermont Community Foundation that awards grants of up to $15,000 to nonprofits advancing economic security and opportunity for women and girls statewide, supported by a $6M+ endowment and donor contributions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Women's Philanthropy / Grantmaking Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Women's philanthropy
• Grantmaking foundation
• Nonprofit grantmaking
• Gender equity funding
• Community foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Middlebury

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible charitable donations from individuals supporting gender equity causes in Vermont. Donations range from $10 to $1,000+.
2. Endowment Investment Returns: Investment income from a permanent endowment that has grown to over $6 million following the successful 'When Women Thrive' campaign.
3. Planned Giving: Bequests, beneficiary designations, and charitable trusts that provide sustained support beyond a donor's lifetime.
4. Corporate Matching Gifts: Employer matching gift programs where corporations match employee charitable contributions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Vermont Women's Fund provides annual competitive grants of up to $15,000 to nonprofit organizations across Vermont that advance opportunities for women and girls, alongside operating statewide initiatives (This Way UP, LEEP Toolkit, Change The Story) that address economic security, pay equity, childcare access, and gender-disaggregated data gaps. It is funded through individual donations, planned giving, corporate matching gifts, and an endowment that has grown to over $6 million, and is governed by a statewide Council of women leaders who review grant applications each January through March.

Product overview

The Vermont Women's Fund operates as a philanthropic organization rather than a technology company. Its primary offerings include the This Way UP initiative—a digital survey platform and database identifying women-owned businesses in Vermont—and the LEEP Toolkit, a downloadable Excel-based resource for employers to conduct pay equity reviews. The fund also runs the Change The Story initiative (now concluded), which produced research reports and resources on women's economic status in Vermont. The Competitive Grant Program distributes funding to nonprofits supporting women and girls statewide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• This Way UP: Initiative to identify and map women-owned businesses in Vermont through an online survey platform, providing the first comprehensive data on women business ownership in the state.
• Change The Story
• Leaders for Equity and Equal Pay (LEEP) Toolkit

Products and services

• Competitive Grant Program Annual competitive grant program awarding grants of up to $15,000 to nonprofit organizations in Vermont that support economic security, opportunity, and health and well-being for women+, girls, and gender-diverse individuals. Applications are accepted January through March via the Vermont Community Foundation's Online Grants Manager and reviewed by the Vermont Women's Fund Council.
• This Way UP Digital interactive database and survey initiative that identifies and maps women-owned businesses across Vermont, providing real-time aggregated data on women's entrepreneurship. The initiative identified 3,432 female-identified businesses from every county in Vermont, documenting $2.4 billion in economic contribution and 6,494 jobs generated.
• LEEP Toolkit (Leaders for Equity and Equal Pay Toolkit) Free downloadable resource for small to mid-size Vermont employers (under 400 employees) to conduct in-house DIY gender and racial pay equity reviews. Includes an Excel-based Equity Management Tool (EMT), Pay Equity Playbook, Compensation Philosophy Worksheet, Pay Equity Plan Template, and Performance Rubric.
• Change The Story VT Multi-year initiative (2015–2022) that aligned philanthropy, policy, and program to fast-track women's economic well-being in Vermont. Produced five status reports on women's work, wages, business ownership, and leadership roles, the Business Peer Exchange, Let's Talk conversation cards, Male Champions for Change program, and the Leaders for Equity and Equal Pay (LEEP) cohort and toolkit.

Quantifiable outcome

• $5+ million in grants awarded since 1994
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Vermont Community FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Vermont Women's Fund is a component fund of the Vermont Community Foundation. Hosted in their Middlebury offices, with shared infrastructure including the Online Grants Manager for grant applications. The Foundation provides operational support and administers donations.
• Vermont Commission on WomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner in the Change The Story initiative (2015-2022), a multi-year effort to align philanthropy, policy and program to fast-track women's economic well-being in Vermont. Also partner in Women, Work, & Wages 2026 Report.
• Vermont Works for WomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner in the Change The Story initiative and co-presenter of the Women, Work, & Wages 2026 Report launch event. Organizations work together on initiatives addressing women's economic security.
• HulaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for the Show Her the Money film screening event. Hula hosted the premiere screening of the documentary about women receiving venture capital funding, with panel discussion featuring Catherine Gray.
• Sadowski Consulting ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated the Leaders for Equity and Equal Pay (LEEP) Toolkit in partnership with Change The Story initiative, Vermont Women's Fund, Vermont Commission on Women, and Vermont Works for Women.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Maine Women's Fund: Statewide women's fund providing grants to Maine nonprofits serving women and girls. Closest geographic and scale comparable to Vermont Women's Fund.
• Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts: Regional women's fund investing in gender equity through grantmaking in western Massachusetts. Comparable small-scale, regionally-focused model.
• New Hampshire Women's Foundation: Neighboring state women's foundation advancing gender equity through research, policy, and grantmaking. Highly comparable model serving a small New England state.

Others

• Vermont Community Foundation: Parent organization and host of the Vermont Women's Fund's operations. Provides office space, grants management, and back-office infrastructure — a key operating partner rather than peer.
• Women's Funding Network: Network of women's foundations and funds globally; provides infrastructure, peer learning, and advocacy for organizations like Vermont Women's Fund. Ecosystem enabler rather than competitor.

Direct peers

• Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona: Regional women's foundation funding programs that empower women and girls. Comparable single-state grantmaking model with research and advocacy components.
• Texas Women's Foundation: Texas-based foundation investing in women and girls through grantmaking, research, and advocacy. Highly comparable as a state-level women's philanthropy with similar programs and metrics.
• Women's Foundation of Colorado: Statewide grantmaking foundation dedicated to advancing gender equity through research, advocacy, and grantmaking to nonprofits — a direct functional peer operating at a larger scale.
• New York Women's Foundation: Long-standing women's foundation funding grassroots organizations serving women and girls. Comparable mission and grantmaking model though at much larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• Ms. Foundation for Women: National women's foundation supporting grassroots movements through grantmaking and capacity-building. Direct overlap on gender-equity grantmaking with broader geographic scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC564wfyY0LY4FofMTdDu1mA
• Facebookfacebook.com/VermontWomensFund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vtwomensfund
• Instagraminstagram.com/vtwomensfund
• Xx.com/vtwomensfund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Vermont Women's Fund