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 |
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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 |
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Windsor County Partners | PALS Program at Windsor School (new site) | School-based | 8 | $5,000 |
Second-Year Implementation Grants |
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Mentoring Agency | Program | Program Type | # of Matches | Award Amount |
Chittenden County |
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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 |
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Mentoring Agency | Program | Program Type | # of Matches | Award Amount |
Statewide |
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The DREAM Program | The DREAM Program | Community-based | 214 | $19,100 |
Everybody Wins! Vermont | Everybody Wins! Vermont | School-based | 530 | $39,250 |
Multiple Counties |
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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 |
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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 |
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United Counseling Service | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bennington County | Community and School-based | 57 | $14,950 |
Caledonia County |
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Northeast Kingdom Youth Services | JUMP Mentoring Program | School-based | 15 | $2,150 |
Chittenden County |
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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 |
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No programs applied for funding. If you are interested in starting a program, please contact Mobius! | ||||
Franklin County |
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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 |
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Grand Isle Community Services | Grand Isle County Mentoring Program | School-based | 42 | $9,600 |
Lamoille County |
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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 |
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The Mentor Connector | The Mentor Connector | Community-based | 102 | $24,500 |
Washington County |
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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 |
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See “Multiple Counties” section of the “Ongoing Support” grants. | ||||
Windsor County |
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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
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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.
- Professional Development
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.