about the fund for north bennington, inc.

The Fund is dedicated to enhancing community life in and around the Village of North Bennington, Vermont. We seek to maintain and strengthen the special physical character and social fabric of the community. We rely on donations from the public to support our work.

As a steward, The Fund owns 423 acres of woods and farmland in and around North Bennington. Trails on these properties are widely used by community members for walking, running, birdwatching, and cross-country skiing. Fields are managed for crop rotation and grazing livestock. The Fund has partnered with Vermont Land Trust to assure perpetual conservation of the land.

As a grantmaker, The Fund assists community initiatives in and around North Bennington. Past awards helped to support string music in the public school and Shakespeare performances by children, foster adult literacy, restore historic facades, underwrite artistic performances, plant shade trees along Village streets, provide Lake Paran memberships for low-income families, and to assist a wide variety of other projects.

As a developer of resources, The Fund works with charitable donors and accepts bequests to build capital funds for the long-term benefit of North Bennington. We hope to nourish community initiatives over generations.

The Fund for North Bennington, Inc. 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). The Fund has established two endowment funds with the Vermont Community Foundation. One provides annual support for all of The Fund’s activities. The second supports acquistion and stewardship of conserved lands in and around the Village.

The Fund is the sole member of The Left Bank, LLC. This limited liability company owns the former First National Bank of North Bennington building at the intersection of Bank and Main streets. Acquired as a gift from Merchants Bank, the building has been redeveloped as part of The Fund’s programmatic mission to assure preservation of the building’s historic character, to provide community event space and as an incubator for local enterprise.

The Fund is governed by six trustees. The current board president is Robert Woolmington. The other current trustees are Christine Graham, Joseph McGovern, Robert Howe, Elizabeth Manning and Amy Newbold.

The Fund was founded in 1992 by William R. and Ethel “Babs” McCullough Scott. Their wisdom and vision remain an inspiration.