Vermont Changemakers Table distributes over $60,000 to BIPOC-led initiatives
BRATTLEBORO - The Vermont Changemakers Table, with contributions from the Vermont Community Foundation and the Johnson Family Foundation, has distributed 22 grants totaling $60,260 to provide unrestricted operating support for organizations and initiatives led by Black, Indigenous, and people of color across Vermont. Brattleboro organizations Atowi and the Root Social Justice Center were two of the recipients.
The Vermont Changemakers Table, convened by the Vermont Community Foundation and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, hosts an annual cohort of approximately 20 leaders under the age of 35 from across Vermont. The cohort collaboratively designs a grant round to deploy a pool of funds aimed at addressing community-level challenges across the state.
This year the 2021 to 2022 changemakers cohort prioritized supporting BIPOC-led work focused on meeting individual and community needs. The grants were designed to convey trust in Vermont’s leaders of color, recognize their knowledge of the communities they serve, and provide operational support.
Grant recipients represent a wide variety of BIPOC-led work, including anti-racist health care initiatives, celebration and preservation of Indigenous cultural practices, mutual aid for immigrant and new American communities, efforts to advance BIPOC land and food sovereignty, and much more.