Domestic Grantmaking

We support organizations working toward positive social and environmental change in the communities where we live, work, and sell our products. We are currently redesigning our grantmaking program and expanding our priority areas to better meet the needs of our new employee communities and brands. The new program will be in place in early summer 2010. Please check this site at a later date to learn about our new program.

Here are some recent grantmaking highlights :

Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) | www.cotsonline.org :
We invested $60,000 over a three-year period to support COTS’s Homelessness Prevention and Housing Retention Program. Through this program, low-income families that have fallen no more than two months behind on rent, due to a contingency such as a medical emergency or short term disability, receive financial support and housing services to get them back on their feet.

National River Cleanup™ | www.americanrivers.org:
We contributed $25,000 to support the National River Cleanup™ 2008, a program sponsored by American Rivers, Inc. (www.americanrivers.org). Since 1992, volunteers have removed more than 1,000 tons of waste and debris from over 100,000 miles of American streams and rivers.

The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp | www.holeinthewallgang.org
We granted $25,000 to The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, whose mission is to provide children with cancer and other serious illnesses a camping experience of the highest quality, while extending year-round support to their families and health-care providers. Our grant enabled ten seriously ill children from low-income families to enjoy an empowering weeklong camping experience.

Vermont Council on Rural Development | www.vtrural.org
We gave $25,000 to the Vermont Council on Rural Development to support the Council on the Future of Vermont project, a statewide dialogue that invites all Vermonters to define their common values, develop a shared future vision for the state, and set priorities for action.

Green Up Day | www.greenupvermont.org
We granted $10,000 to support Green Up Vermont’s Green Up Day. Green Up Day began in 1970, when Vermont was the first state to designate a date to coordinate a statewide environmental cleanup. Green Up’s mission is to promote stewardship of our state’s natural landscapes and waterways and the livability of our communities by involving people in Green Up and raising public awareness about the benefits of a litter-free environment.