Statement of Mission, Approach and Values

Our Mission
The High Meadows Fund promotes vibrant communities and a healthy natural environment, while encouraging long-term economic vitality in Vermont.

Our Areas of Focus
The Fund supports leadership and innovation that:

• Reduces reliance on fossil fuels by encouraging energy efficiency and renewable energy;
• Improves the environmental sustainability and economic viability of agricultural enterprise and the security and affordability of Vermont’s food system;
• Encourages vibrant compact settlements surrounded by working farms and forests.

High Meadows is particularly attracted to initiatives where our three focus areas overlap.

Our Strategies

• Charitable grantmaking,
• Investigative research,
• Focused convenings,
• Investing for mission impact, and
• Direct engagement.

Our Approach

• We seek initiatives where innovation, private market forces and social entrepreneurship contribute to a project’s success and its broad impact.
• We value projects that emphasize community engagement.
• We are inspired by innovators and leaders who are grounded in practical and science-based approaches to environmental challenges and opportunities.
• We seek projects that will inform and inspire others, fill informational gaps, change behaviors, or strengthen emerging markets for services or products consistent with our mission.
• We work with our funding partners to establish practical, measurable outcomes because we believe that doing so will result in greater learning and make it more likely projects can be replicated or increased in size.
• We emphasize dialogue and collaboration.  Our intent is to be respectfully involved with the organizations we fund, both before and after a grant is made, and with our colleagues in the funding community.
• We look for opportunities to improve the lives and livelihoods of all Vermonters and we acknowledge that new opportunities may arise to do so in ways we haven’t anticipated.

Our Values
We place a high value on leadership, relationships, and the people behind the projects we support. We seek to maintain a culture of partnership and transparency, and we encourage collaboration among the organizations we support. We value the friends we make, the amazing things we learn, and the joy we experience by working with others who care deeply about respecting our natural environment and preserving Vermont’s distinct way of life while strengthening its economic vitality.  We also value partnerships and shared learning with other grantmakers and public policy leaders.

Our Grantmaking Process
The High Meadows board meets quarterly to discuss proposals that are submitted by invitation. For information about how to submit a letter of inquiry, please contact our Grants Administrator, Nina McDonnell: nmcdonnell@vermontcf.org