Free funder guide · Vermont · Last checked 27 September 2026
Which Vermont environmental funders actually accept applications
Most private foundations in Vermont have already told the IRS they won't read your proposal. This page explains how to spot them, and lists 12 secular funders of environmental and conservation work in Vermont that do take applications, with what they fund, what they have given, and when they next open.
Most Vermont private foundations that take applications and made environmental grants also gave to a church, a YMCA or another religious charity in their latest filing, so they are not listed here. The list leans on the Lake Champlain Basin Program, Vermont's state conservation and recreation programs, the Vermont Community Foundation's place-based funds and a few New England conservation funders.
From my own read of IRS filings, September 2026
In Vermont, 70 of the 108 private foundations with $1 million or more in assets tick the box on their tax return saying they don't accept unsolicited requests. That is 65%.
That leaves 38 larger Vermont foundations that say they will read an application. It is a lower share of closed doors than in New Hampshire (66%, 137 of 208) and Maine (66%, 124 of 189), counted the same way.
How I counted: every private non-operating foundation with a Vermont address on the IRS Exempt Organizations Master File (September 2026 release) reporting assets of $1 million or more, checked against its most recent e-filed Form 990-PF (tax years 2024 to 2026, almost all 2024 or 2025). Operating foundations, which mostly run their own programs, are left out, as they were for New Hampshire and Maine. Counting them too gives 68% (89 of 131).
What the checkbox means
One small box on the tax return tells you whether to bother.
Every private foundation files Form 990-PF with the IRS each year. Part XIV, line 2 of that return has a checkbox. A foundation that ticks it is telling the IRS, in writing, that it chooses its grantees itself. A proposal sent to it is usually wasted work.
"Check here if the foundation only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds."Form 990-PF, Part XIV, line 2
A foundation that leaves the box empty has to fill in lines 2a to 2d instead: who receives applications, what form they should take, any deadlines, and any limits on who or what it funds. For many small family foundations, those four lines are the only published guidelines they have.
The box does not tell you whether a foundation funds your kind of work. For that, read line 3a, the list of grants it actually paid. Check both before you write a letter of inquiry. Any foundation's return can be read free on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
12 funders
Open to applications, and funding environmental work in Vermont.
Every funder below is secular, says it accepts applications (on its website or its tax return), and has paid grants to environmental or conservation groups in its most recent filing. Government programs are the exception: they file no tax return. Community foundations are listed by the program that fits environmental groups. Grant examples come from each funder's latest IRS filing unless the funder's own site is named.
Verified date on the funder's own site on 27 Sept 2026Expected based on last cycle; next not yet postedRolling applications any timeFiling only no website; from the tax return, confirm firstCheck site next date not posted; open their page
Statewide and regional public grantmakers
01
Lake Champlain Basin Program: Clean Water, Habitat and Land Conservation Grants
Vermont's part of the Lake Champlain basin, most of western and northern Vermont
EPA-funded grants, run with NEIWPCC, for nonprofits situated and working in the basin. Three rounds are open now: clean water projects that cut pollution reaching the lake, habitat and native species projects (riparian planting, wetland and aquatic habitat, species surveys), and land or conservation easement purchases that protect water quality and habitat.
Typical grant
Clean water up to $50,000 (small), $50,001 to $200,000 (large), planning up to $100,000; habitat up to $50,000 (small) or $50,001 to $175,000 (large); land conservation $100,000 to $3,000,000 per proposal (its site).
Next deadline
Clean water: September 29, 2026, 5 p.m. Verified. Habitat and native species: October 23, 2026, 5 p.m. Verified. Land conservation: December 9, 2026, 5 p.m. Verified. Its education and outreach rounds are listed to open in October and November 2026.
How to apply
Online through the program's Foundant portal; one proposal per organization per category (land conservation allows several).
Vermont Housing and Conservation Board: Conservation Projects
statewide
State funding for land trusts and other conservation nonprofits to buy land or easements: natural areas with rare species habitat, public access to trails and water, greenways, working forests and state-significant farmland. Individual landowners apply through a land trust.
Typical grant
Farmland capped at $550,000 per application (its site). June 2026 awards include Trust for Public Land $815,000 (1,488-acre Wintergreen Forest), Winooski Valley Park District $746,000 (Winooski River mouth shoreline), Upper Valley Land Trust $252,000 (Houghton Hill Natural Area), Middlebury Area Land Trust $150,000 over three years (conservation manager) and Bull Creek Common Lands $80,000 (Athens Community Forest).
Next deadline
Applications for the January 27, 2027 board meeting are due October 28, 2026 Verified. The Board meets in January, March, May, June, October and December, each with its own application deadline.
How to apply
Application form and Excel budget on its site; VHCB asks applicants to talk with its conservation staff before applying, and farmland projects start with a pre-application.
Federal highway trail funds run by the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation for building and maintaining public recreational trails. Nonprofits, towns and other public bodies can apply.
Typical grant
Up to $50,000, with a recommended minimum of $7,500 and a 20% match; about $500,000 expected in the 2027 round. It pays by reimbursement (its site).
Next deadline
2027 round: pre-applications due November 20, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Verified; full applications due January 31, 2027 Verified.
How to apply
Email the pre-application documents (workplan, budget form, maps) to [email protected]; the same materials also serve the state's Land and Water Conservation Fund round.
State outdoor recreation grants, this round for project development and promotion: design, scoping and planning that unlocks other funding, plus marketing of local recreation assets. Part of the money is reserved for trail planning. New grantees are prioritized.
Typical grant
$7,500 recommended minimum to $50,000 maximum, no match required; $275,000 available (its site).
Next deadline
2027 round, per the program's anticipated timeline: pre-applications due December 13, 2026; full applications due February 17, 2027 Expected. Application materials are to be released by October 6, 2026, so confirm the dates then.
How to apply
Pre-application once the materials are posted; a planning webinar is scheduled for October 8, 2026.
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation: Northeast Forests and Rivers Fund
Washington, DC · New England, including all of Vermont, and parts of New York
Competitive grants to restore forests, grasslands and river habitat for native birds and freshwater fish: young forest management, fish passage and barrier removal, riparian and in-stream restoration. Nonprofits can apply.
Typical grant
$75,000 to $300,000 (2025 request for proposals). Its February 2026 awards include Massachusetts Audubon Society $299,600 for grassland management in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Next deadline
The last request for proposals had full proposals due June 26, 2025, with awards announced February 19, 2026. No 2026 request for proposals is posted on the program page Check site.
How to apply
Online proposal in NFWF's Easygrants system when a request for proposals is open.
Yarmouth, ME · Maine and northern New England, including Vermont
Project grants to organizations whose main purpose is wildlife, habitat, environmental protection or outdoor stewardship. The Northern Forest comes first; Vermont land trusts, trail groups and nature centers get grants every round.
Typical grant
Not published. Vermont grants on its 2026 list: Northern Rivers Land Trust $25,000 (Buffalo Mountain Town Forest), Green Mountain Conservancy $15,000 (Newfane Village Nature Preserve), Thetford Trails Team $10,000, Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center $10,000 (watershed education). Past grantees wait 24 months before reapplying.
Next deadline
April 1 and October 1 each year, 5 p.m. ET Verified. Next: October 1, 2026, then April 1, 2027.
How to apply
Online portal only; no letter of inquiry. Staff answer questions before you apply.
Vermont Community Foundation: Green Mountain Fund and other place-based funds
Middlebury · Lamoille and Orleans counties; Woodstock area; Northeast Kingdom
Three VCF funds with an environmental lane. The Green Mountain Fund (Lamoille, Orleans and neighboring communities) lists connecting people to the environment, sustainability and Vermont's climate goals among its focus areas and takes general operating requests. The Laurance and Mary Rockefeller Fund supports the physical and cultural environment of Woodstock and seven nearby towns. The Northeast Kingdom Fund funds locally led projects in Caledonia, Essex and Orleans counties.
Typical grant
Green Mountain Fund $500 to $5,000; Rockefeller Fund $1,000 to $5,000; Northeast Kingdom Fund up to $5,000 (its site).
Next deadline
Green Mountain Fund: any time, decisions in eight to ten weeks Rolling. Rockefeller Fund: September 1 to October 13, 2026, 5 p.m. Verified. Northeast Kingdom Fund: the 2026 window ran June 2 to July 21; next about June to July 2027 Expected.
How to apply
VCF's Online Grants Manager (Foundant); one application per fund.
Vermont Community Foundation: Deerfield River Enhancement Fund
Middlebury · Deerfield River watershed, southern Vermont and western Massachusetts
Watershed conservation, low-impact recreation and education facilities, and monitoring in the Deerfield River basin: volunteer monitoring, trail work, field trips, workshops and public access improvements. Run jointly with the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts.
Typical grant
$2,000 to $10,000 (its site).
Next deadline
Competitive round every four years; VCF expects to open the next cycle in November 2026, with awards in spring or summer 2027 Expected.
Vermont Community Foundation: South Lake Champlain Fund
Middlebury · Lake Champlain south of Crown Point, Vermont and New York
Research and education projects about the southern lake: youth programs on its ecology and heritage, environmental health research, and local-expert projects. It does not fund lobbying or advocacy.
Typical grant
Five to nine grants a year: one to three of $5,000 to $7,500, the rest $1,000 to $3,000 (its site).
Next deadline
The 2026 window ran February 10 to March 24, 2026. Next about February to March 2027 Expected.
Auburndale, MA · New England and upper New York State
Community-based land trusts and nature groups: land acquisition, trails and public access. It does not fund routine operating budgets.
Typical grant
$500 to $25,000, most $2,000 to $15,000 (its site). Vermont grants in its 2024 filing: Bull Creek Common Lands $25,000 (110-acre acquisition), Green Mountain Conservancy $20,000, Putney Mountain Association $20,000 (159 acres with public access), Vermont Youth Conservation Corps $15,000, Green Mountain Club $10,000 (trail crews).
Next deadline
Proposals and one-page concept papers any time; the directors meet regularly through the year Rolling.
How to apply
Email a full proposal (Philanthropy Massachusetts common application accepted) or a one-page outline first to [email protected].
Boston, MA · mostly New England (grantees in its filing)
One-time grants for land conservation and the conservation, study and appreciation of nature. Money goes to the purchase price or direct costs of land and easements, or to discrete projects; not to overhead, structures, signage or stewardship funds.
Typical grant
Usually up to $15,000 (its site). Its filing for the year to September 2025 includes Putney Mountain Association $11,965; other grants that year went to land trusts in Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Next deadline
Preliminary applications due March 15 and September 15 by 5 p.m. ET Verified. The September 15, 2026 round has closed; the next deadline is March 15, 2027.
How to apply
Request access to the online preliminary application by email ([email protected]); final applications are by invitation.
No website; everything here comes from its 2025 tax filing. A small Montpelier foundation that gave five general support grants in 2025, two of them to environmental education and outdoor groups.
Typical grant
Median $25,000 across its 5 grants in 2025. Examples: North Branch Nature Center $30,000, Ascutney Outdoors $12,500.
Next deadline
None, per the filing Filing only.
How to apply
A written request is required; grants go to 501(c)(3) organizations only. Address: Macleay Foundation, 184 Westwood Drive, Montpelier, VT 05602 (the filing's contact).
It is not exhaustive and it is not a ranking. Deadlines and guidelines change, so open each funder's own page before you start. Grants are competitive, and past grant sizes describe what a funder gave, not what it will give you. I list secular funders only.
The full version
Want this done for your own organization?
A Funding Roadmap ($1,200, flat fee) gives you ten to fifteen funders matched to your mission, place and size, the grants each one paid to groups like yours, how to apply, and a 12-month grant calendar. Every deadline is labeled the same way as on this page.
Email me your organization's name, rough budget and what you'd like funded. You'll get a written reply within two business days.
You fill in a short intake questionnaire, then answer one round of written follow-up questions.
About three weeks later you get the roadmap, a two-page note on how to use it, and 14 days of email questions.
Everything happens in writing. There are no calls or meetings.