MONTPELIER, Vt.—VSECU is distributing $100,000 in grants to seven Vermont nonprofits significantly impacted by COVID-19.
Ranging from $5,000 to $25,000, the grants will help preserve and create job opportunities, support local economic development, and further important community services.
The grants are funded by Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s Jobs for New England Recovery Grant program. The program was specifically created in 2020 to provide member financial institutions with grants to support local small businesses and nonprofit organizations experiencing significant losses because of the pandemic.
"VSECU is always looking for ways to support our members, create an inclusive economy, and help our local communities prosper,” said Gregory Huysman, VSECU’s director of business lending and services. “We are grateful to FHLBank Boston for being such a great community partner and helping us increase our impact on Vermonters’ quality of life. We look forward to our continued partnership through FHLBank Boston programs."
“We are pleased that VSECU was able to successfully access grant funding through the Jobs for New England Recovery Grant Program to support and provide some financial relief to organizations that are contributing to the overall health and well-being of Vermont residents,” said Kenneth Willis, senior vice president, director of housing and community investment at FHLBank Boston. “Too many local businesses and nonprofit organizations have experienced severe hardship because of the pandemic, so we are proud that we have been able to offer some assistance.”
Grant recipients include the Vermont Performing Arts League, Central Vermont Humane Society, Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD), The Center for Arts and Learning, Vermont Employee Ownership Center (VEOC), Washington County Youth Service, and Catamount Film and Arts.
"An organization like ours is based on the principle of people coming together as a group to learn, experience and interact with others in the ways they choose. We suddenly had to reinvent the ways we do everything to continue our mission safely through this pandemic,” said April Werner, executive director of the Vermont Performing Arts League. “It caused significant financial strain on us and finding out that VSECU was aware of our struggles—and wanted to help!—was an unanticipated and heartwarming surprise.”