EQUiTY & JUSTICE

VERMONT Grant Program

For 2025, we will target the $300,000 dollars allocated to this program to support Vermont non-profit organizations experiencing adverse impacts to their work and their communities as a result of federal actions.

Requests for funding may be submitted at any time throughout the year and will be evaluated quarterly or sooner. We will consider requests for up to $15,000. 

Priority will be given to organizations that work with immigrants, refugees, LGBTQ+, low-wage labor organizers, and racial justice. 

Applications should address needs that have arisen as a direct result of federal actions and policies. We will consider requests to help with preparation and planning that could include legal support, tax reporting and accounting support, security needs, deportation defense, etc.  Because our grants are small and our funding so limited, we are not in a position to offer grants to fully backfill the loss of federal funding.

DEADLINE:
Applicants may submit a request for Rapid Response funding at any time through the year.

Requirements
Priorities
Areas not funded
Application Process
Deadlines
Faqs

Requirements

TO BE CONSIDERED FOR FUNDING, EACH APPLICANT ORGANIZATION MUST BE:

Located in Vermont AND
A Non-Profit 501(c)3 organization OR
Represented by a fiscal agent with 501(c)(3) status

PrioritIES

SPECIAL PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT WORK WITH TARGETED GROUPS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

Immigrants & Refugees
LGBTQI+ people
People of Color
Low-wage labor organizers
Women & Girls

We will consider requests for emergent needs including, but not limited to:

Legal support
Tax reporting and accounting services
Security needs
Deportation defense
Strategizing and planning support
Communications
Community responsiveness and support
Emergency needs

Areas Not funded

Unfortunately, we cannot consider requests for:

Research
State agencies
Businesses or business associations
Religious or proselytizing activities
Organizations or programs that are focused or based outside the state of Vermont

ApplicAtion Process

CAREFULLY REVIEW THE

Eligibility Requirements

TAKE NOTE OF ALL THE ITEMS LISTED ABOVE

CREATE AN ACCOUNT

OR LOGIN TO YOUR EXISTING ACCOUNT

APPLICATION SYSTEM LOGIN ▸

APPLY

Deadlines

Applicants may submit a request for Rapid Response funding at any time throughout the year.

Frequently asked Questions

Due to staff limitations we are not able to meet with potential applicants. We encourage all potential applicants to review our grant partners page to better understand the type of organizations we fund and our typical giving amounts. If, after thoroughly reading all of the information detailed on this website, organizations have additional questions, they are welcome to email or call the Foundation directly.

For 2025, we have made a change to the grant program, although typically the Vermont Equity & Justice grants are offered one cycle per year and an organization would be able to apply up to three years before taking a break. This year we will have the process open throughout the year and an organization can apply regardless of how many years they have been funded through the grant program. However, an organization can be funded only once through the grant program within this same grant year.

No. We will only consider one application at a time across our grant program options, and thus recommend researching each program to ensure your organization applies to the most targeted program for your needs. If you have been denied from one grant program, you may still apply under another grant program, provided the work is aligned within the grant guidelines.

All our grant decisions are recommended by teams of Ben & Jerry’s employees.

Yes, we will be in touch with every organization to share our decision, funded or not funded. Notifications are sent through the grant portal system. Please ensure your inbox has our contact information as a “Safe Sender.”

The grant program will have rolling reviews throughout the year, however, we anticipate we will have many requests for our Employee Grantmaking Committee to review. We give them about 6 weeks to thoroughly read through all requests and allow for time to request any additional items that might be needed in their review.

The grantmaking meetings are expected to take place in cycles of approximately 6 weeks. If you haven’t heard from us by then, please feel free to reach out for a status update.

We do not accept mailed applications and support materials. All applications must be submitted online through our grants management system. You will need to first register your organization before applying online through the grant program. You can learn more about the grant system, how to register and apply here (New Dashboad). Please note that we do not accept additional support materials through the mail, as we do not have means to share it across the entire team. Please save your postage.

An organization should only be registered once in our online grant portal. If the organization does not have a record of their login details, please get in touch with the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation and we will add you to the list of contacts and provide you with a login. If you have already registered the organization and created an account and are worried that you cannot see the organization history, please contact us and we will connect you to the correct account. Please contact Dana Jeffery at 802-495-1378 or info@benandjerrysfoundation.org. We will attempt to resolve any issues during our usual business hours Mon-Fri 8am to 5pm, EST

Grant Partner Highlights

PAST Grant Partners

The documents below feature lists, by year, of the organizations and programs we’ve funded in the past. Not only is it inspiring to see all of the impactful work happening around Vermont, reading through these brief descriptions is a great way to better understand the types of projects that qualify for Vermont Equity & Justice Program funding.