Vermont Community Foundation

What it reported doing in 2024

The Vermont community foundation inspires giving and brings people and resources together to make a difference in Vermont. A family of hundreds of funds and foundations, the foundation provides the advice, investment vehicles, and back-office expertise that make it easy for the people who care about Vermont to find and fund the causes they love. The foundation also provides nonprofit endowment management and planned giving services. In 2024, the foundation had nearly $68 million at work in the community through grants, mission investments, and programmatic activity.the heart of the community foundation's work is closing the opportunity gap - the divide that leaves too many vermonters struggling to get ahead, no matter how hard they work. Over the next four years, the foundation is prioritizing grants and investments that: ensure Vermont families have what they need to keep their loved ones healthy and safe; provide vermonters access to educational opportunities throughout their lifetime; build community resilience; support physical, mental, and emotional health; and advance equity, strengthen belonging, foster creativity, and promote democracy.the foundation envisions Vermont at its best - where everyone has the opportunity to build a bright, secure future.the foundation supports effective philanthropy, which includes grantmaking, investment management, and administrative support throughout the state of Vermont. The foundation offered these services to four supporting organizations in 2024, resulting in supporting fee revenue and grants to these supporting organizations to further these supporting organizations to further their mission.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 86.5%; rating input score 87
• Fundraising efficiency: $30.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 31st percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
• Grant itemization coverage: 94.9%; rating input score 95; 27th percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Limited
• Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -8.8%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.3; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 16.4% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings