Through the 2017-2018 Vermont Mentoring Grants funding cycle, MENTOR Vermont (formerly Mobius) awarded 31 grants, totaling $331,700, to support adult-to-youth mentoring programs throughout the state. This funding supported 103 new and existing program sites and 1,565 adult-to-youth mentor pairs in communities across Vermont.

MENTOR Vermont also awarded three scholarships, totaling $3,900, for agencies to send a staff member to the 2018 National Mentoring Summit in Washington D.C.

These grants were made through funding support from The Permanent Fund for Vermont’s Children, the A.D. Henderson Foundation, and the Vermont Department for Children and Families. The criteria for this year’s granting process was determined collectively by our funding partners, MENTOR Vermont staff and board, and the Program Leadership Council.

Grant Award Recipients

First-Year Implementation Grants
Mentoring Agency	Program	Program Type	# of Matches	Award Amount
Multiple Counties
Laraway Youth & Family Services	Laraway Youth & Family Services Mentoring Program (Counties served: Caledonia, Lamoille, Orleans, Washington)	School-based	5	$8,000
Youth Development Program	YDP Connections (Counties served: Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Lamoille, Rutland, Washington, Windham)	Community-based	5	$8,425
Orange County
Randolph Area Mentoring	Randolph Area Mentoring Program	Community-based	6	$10,000
Windsor County
Windsor County Partners	PALS Program at Windsor School (new site)	School-based	8	$5,000
Second-Year Implementation Grants
Mentoring Agency	Program	Program Type	# of Matches	Award Amount
Chittenden County
Baba Tree International	Crossroads: Where Cultures Meet	Community-based	18	$6,200
Champlain Valley School District	Connecting Youth Mentoring (new site at Champlain Valley Union High School)	Community-based	27	(Included as part of Continuing Support Grant below)
South Burlington School District	SB Mentoring (new site at South Burlington High School)	School-based	7	(Included as part of Continuing Support Grant below)
Continuing Support Grants
Mentoring Agency	Program	Program Type	# of Matches	Award Amount
Statewide
The DREAM Program	The DREAM Program	Community-based	214	$19,100
Everybody Wins! Vermont	Everybody Wins! Vermont	School-based	530	$39,250
Multiple Counties
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Vermont	Big Brothers Big Sisters of Vermont (Counties served: Chittenden and Windham)	Community and School-based	110	$18,500
The Collaborative	The Collaborative Mentoring Program (Counties served: Bennington, Windham and Windsor)	School-based	7	$1,900
Spectrum Youth and Family Services	Spectrum Mentoring Program (Counties served: Chittenden and Grand Isle)	Community-based	80	$15,250
VSA Vermont	High School Mentoring Program (Counties served: Chittenden and Washington)	Community and School-based	5	$3,200
Addison County
Addison Northeast Supervisory Union	Lincoln Mentors	Community-based	17	$5,100
Addison Northeast Supervisory Union	Monkton Mentors	Community and School-based	12	$3,000
Addison Northeast Supervisory Union	Mt. Abraham Mentoring Program	Community-based	18	$5,350
Addison Northeast Supervisory Union	Starksboro Mentoring Program	Community-based	28	$7,850
Bennington County
United Counseling Service	Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bennington County	Community and School-based	57	$14,950
Caledonia County
Northeast Kingdom Youth Services	JUMP Mentoring Program	School-based	15	$2,150
Chittenden County
Champlain Valley School District	Connecting Youth Mentoring	Community and School-based	166 (139 school-based and 27 community-based)	$24,900 (includes funding for implementation grant listed above)
Essex CHIPS	Essex FriendCHIPS	School-based	18	$4,050
King Street Center	Junior Senior Buddies	Community-based	64	$13,000
Milton Community Youth Coalition	Milton Mentors!	Community-based	20	$6,300
South Burlington School District	SB Mentoring	School-based	60 (7 in second-year high school site)	$12,000 (includes funding for implementation grant listed above)
Essex County
No programs applied for funding. If you are interested in starting a program, please contact Mobius!
Franklin County
Franklin County Caring Communities	Cornerstone Mentoring, Friends for Lunch, Royal Lunch Bunch, and Watershed Mentoring	Community and School-based	35	$9,075
Grand Isle County
Grand Isle Community Services	Grand Isle County Mentoring Program	School-based	42	$9,600
Lamoille County
See “First-Year Implementation” and the “Statewide” section of the “Ongoing Support” grants.
Orange County
The Mentoring Project of the Upper Valley	The Mentoring Project of the Upper Valley	Community-based	20	$8,000
Orleans County
See “First-Year Implementation” and the “Statewide” section of the “Ongoing Support” grants.
Rutland County
The Mentor Connector	The Mentor Connector	Community-based	102	$24,500
Washington County
Cabot Connects Mentoring	Cabot Connects Mentoring	Community-based	12	$3,700
Twinfield Together Mentoring Program	Twinfield Together Mentoring Program	Community and School-based	41	$12,300
Washington Central Friends of Education	Girls/Boyz First Mentoring	Community and School-based	40	$14,000
Windham County
See “Multiple Counties” section of the “Ongoing Support” grants.
Windsor County
Ottauquechee Community Partnership	Mentor and Buddy Program	School-based	20	$4,900
Windsor County Partners	Let’s Do Lunch, and Partners Always Lend Support	Community and School-based	42	$12,150
Received Scholarships to Attend National Mentoring Summit
Mentoring Agency		Scholarship Amount
Spectrum Youth and Family Services		$1,300
The DREAM Program		$1,300
Youth Development Program		$1,300

Total Funding Awarded: $337,440

These Grants Were Designed to Fund:

• A planning process by a committed agency or group of diverse community members for the purpose of creating a quality mentoring program in an under-served area of Vermont.
• A planning process by an established agency or program for the purpose of expanding its service area to include new program sites or youth populations.
• The first-year implementation of new adult-to-youth mentoring programs.
• The growth of new adult-to-youth mentoring programs in their second year of implementation.
• Continuing support for established adult-to-youth mentoring programs that are:
  • Meeting nationally-recognized best practices and have successfully completed the Quality Mentoring System process.
  • Participating in MENTOR Vermont’s K-12 Mentoring Initiative by collaborating with other programs to support mentoring matches having the opportunity to continue meeting through the mentee’s high school graduation.
  • Collecting youth outcome data using common questions from the Vermont Mentoring Surveys in the following key areas: resiliency; pro-social skills; future aspirations; connectedness to community; and attitude toward school.

Criteria for Determining Grant Eligibility

MENTOR Vermont considers the following criteria before bringing grants to the grant review committee using a scale of “inadequate” to “excellent.” Applicants that are deemed “inadequate” are not brought to the grant review committee for potential funding.

• The quality of program practices: for established programs, having successfully completed the Quality Mentoring System process.
• Geographic location of program, and availability of other funding resources in the region.
• The sustainability of the mentoring program: the diversity of revenue sources, costs per match in alignment with Vermont costs for new and established programs (program type was taken into consideration), and overall financial stability of the program and/or agency.
• The diversity and level of engagement by the program’s advisory committee.
• Participation in collaborative statewide initiatives and conversations.
• Use of a quality program management system that tracks priority outcomes (use of the Vermont Mentoring Database is not required).
• Collaborative vision of creating mentor matches that last through high school graduation, through participation in Mobius’ K-12 Mentoring Initiative with other programs in their area.
• Tracking and sharing of priority data on program and youth outcomes.
• Efficient and effective use of resources.
• Achievement of past grant outcomes.

Criteria for Determining Grant Awards

The grant committee considered the following criteria when making grant award decisions:

• Location: Where in Vermont does the applicant serve? Does the applicant’s location limit its funding options?
• Program Type: Community-based, school-based, site-based, etc.
  School/District Mergers: Is the applicant managing a school-based program or programs in a district or supervisory union that is experiencing a school and/or district merger?
• Weeks of Programming: How many weeks of programming does the applicant run per year?
• Agency Structure: Is the applicant part of a larger agency, part of a school system, or a standalone non-profit?
• Past Grant Performance: If the applicant has received funding through the Vermont Mentoring Grants in the past, has the applicant met past grant goals?
• Program Growth: Net-new matches are not a requirement for funding. To promote closing the Vermont mentoring gap, programs that are able to sustainably grow their program to reach more youth may receive a larger grant award. Net-new matches will be measured based on past match totals and past grant goals.
• Program Size: Applicants that support a large number of matches can expect to receive a larger grant award. However, the funding per match for a larger program may be lower than the ratio for smaller programs.

For full grant guidelines, please visit the Vermont Mentoring Grants page.

Funding Amounts

• New Program Planning: $1,000-$4,000.
• First-Year Implementation: $10,000 max per program site.
• Second-Year Implementation: Typically half of first-year grant award.
• Continuing Support Grants: No limits (but must fall within suggested funding per match range as outlined in the grant guidelines).
• Additional Funding:
  • Professional Development
    Outside of the program funding process, mentoring agencies were eligible to request a $1,300 scholarship to support a program staff member attending the National Mentoring Summit. MENTOR Vermont was able to award three of these scholarships for FY 17-18.
  • Full Adoption of the Vermont Mentoring Surveys
    Outside of the program funding process, agencies who committed to their programs administering all of the questions from the Vermont Mentoring Surveys to their mentors and mentees, and receive the required return rate, will receive additional funding of $5 per match, with a minimum award of $100 and a maximum award of $1,000.

Grant Committee Members

Amanda Churchill, Vermont Department for Children and Families
Nate Formalarie, Cabot Creamery Cooperative/MENTOR Vermont Board
Eddie Gale, A.D. Henderson Foundation
Elizabeth Haag, Evaluation and Program Consultant
Jamie Lofy, Permanent Fund for Vermont’s Children

For information about previous Vermont Mentoring Grant funding cycles and grant awards, visit the Vermont Mentoring Grants page.