Fund for North Bennington

about the fund for north bennington

The Fund for North Bennington, Inc. is a tax-exempt, non-profit corporation dedicated to enhancing community life in and around the Village of North Bennington, Vermont. It is principally engaged in the preservation of undeveloped land for purposes of conserving natural resources, maintaining agricultural uses, and providing opportunities for public recreation. The Fund also supports community efforts in education, social services, planning, the arts and historic preservation.

Through all its activities, The Fund seeks to maintain and strengthen the special physical character and social fabric of the community. The Fund relies on donations from the public to support its operations. The Fund was founded in 1992 by William R. and Ethel "Babs" McCullough Scott. Their wisdom and vision remain an inspiration.

As a steward, The Fund owns 344 acres of woods and farmland in North Bennington and its environs. These are open for public access, and are widely used by community members for walking, running, birdwatching, and cross-country skiing. Portions of the property have been used to pasture horses and heifers, and fields are managed with planned rotations of hay and feed crops. The Fund has also established a stewardship fund for conservation of important lands in the Village, and holds conservation easements on land along the Walloomsac River. Click here for more about the Fund's conservation activities. Click here for a map of the Fund's property around the Mile-Around Woods, and here for a map of the Fund's property near Lake Paran and along Paran Creek. The Fund also maintains a collection of historic and contemporary photographs of the Village of North Bennington. Click here for examples from our collection.

As a grantmaker, The Fund assists community initiatives in and around the Village of North Bennington. Past awards helped to support string music and Shakespeare in the public school, foster adult literacy, restore historic buildings, underwrite artistic performances, plant shade trees along Village streets, and assist a wide variety of other projects. For more information about grants from The Fund, please click here.

As a developer of resources, the Fund works with charitable donors to build capital funds for the long-term benefit of North Bennington. We hope to nourish community initiatives over generations. For more information about donations to The Fund, please click here.

The Fund is governed by six trustees. The current board president is Robert E. Woolmington. The other current trustees are David Aldrich, Marjorie Manning, Christine Graham, Joseph McGovern and Robert Howe.

The Fund is qualified as a tax-exempt, public charity under IRC Sec. 501(c)(3), and as a Vermont land preservation organization under 10 V.S.A. Sec. 6306(b). It is the beneficiary of two agency funds administered by the Vermont Community Foundation.

To see The Fund's governance documents and recent tax filings, please click here.

For more information, please explore this web site, or feel free to contact us. This web site is made possible by a generous donation of server capacity by SoVerNet.