The Walter Cerf Community Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation Announces $150,500 in Grants to Support Arts, Education, Historic Preservation, and Social Services

The Walter Cerf Community Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation recently awarded $97,000 in grants to 25 organizations in its 2025 competitive grants round. These awards build upon an additional $53,500 distributed in first-year payments to the fund’s multiyear cohort, bringing the total grantmaking for 2025 to $150,500. The fund is pleased to support one applicant with a large, single-year grant award: the town of Whiting has been awarded $10,000 to support the restoration of their town hall. Additional grants include a combination of awards to organizations supporting youth and families, education, historic preservation, arts, health, and community enrichment in Addison County and statewide.

The Walter Cerf Community Fund makes grants to address charitable needs in the state of Vermont, with the majority of funds given to organizations serving Addison County and Brandon. Priority areas of the fund include the arts, education, historic preservation, and social services, reflecting the pattern of giving established by Walter Cerf over many years.

Born in Leipzig, Germany in 1907, Mr. Cerf spent most of his youth in Berlin. He relocated to the United States in 1937 as a refugee of Nazi Germany. After becoming a U.S. citizen, he served in military intelligence and developed a deep appreciation for the preservation of art, culture, and local history. In 1947, he began a 25-year career as a Professor of Philosophy at Brooklyn College, eventually retiring to his summer home in Leicester, Vermont in 1972.

During the last 20 years of his life, Cerf made gifts exceeding $10 million to more than 100 different organizations in Vermont. At his death in 2001, a permanent endowment, the Walter Cerf Community Fund, was established at the Vermont Community Foundation. The fund makes grants annually in Walter’s name and will continue the generosity of this remarkable man who cared deeply about the vitality of communities in Addison County, northern Rutland County, and beyond. Visit vermontcf.org/cerf to learn more.

2025 Grant Recipients

• Camp Thorpe, $2,500
• City of Vergennes Recreation Department, $5,000
• Eddy Farm School for Horse and Rider Corporation, $2,500
• Ethan and Mary Baker Allen Daughters of the American Revolution Chapter, $2,500
• Fort Ticonderoga Association, $3,000
• Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History, $5,000
• Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, $5,000
• Lund Family Center, $2,500
• Middlebury Area Land Trust, $3,500
• Middlebury Community Chorus, $2,500
• Middlebury Community Music Center, $2,500
• Red Clover Children’s Center, $2,500
• Rutland Area Art Association Chaffee Art Center, $2,500
• SolarFest, $2,500
• The Vermont Granite Museum of Barre, $5,000
• Town Hall Theater, $5,000
• Town of Salisbury/Salisbury Free Public Library, $5,000
• Town of Starksboro, $5,000
• Town of Sudbury, $5,000
• Town of Whiting, $10,000
• Turning Point of Addison County, $2,500
• Vergennes Opera House, $5,000
• Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, $2,000
• Vermont Historical Society, $5,000
• Vermont Humanities Council, $3,500

Multi-year Grant Recipients

• Addison Central Teens, $5,000
• Addison County Community Action Group, $5,000
• Addison County Community Trust, $5,000
• Addison County Home Health and Hospice, $5,000
• Addison County Readers, $4,000
• Open Door Clinic, $5,000
• Elderly Services, $5,000
• John Graham Shelter, $5,000
• Middlebury Studio School, $3,5000
• Opera Company of Middlebury, $3,500
• Preservation Trust of Vermont, $5,000
• Shelburne Museum, $2,500

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The Vermont Community Foundation was established in 1986 as an enduring source of philanthropic support for Vermont communities. A family of more than 1,000 funds, foundations, and supporting organizations, the Foundation makes it easy for the people who care about Vermont to find and fund the causes they love. The Community Foundation and its partners put nearly $80 million annually to work in Vermont communities and beyond. The heart of its work is closing the opportunity gap—the divide that leaves too many Vermonters struggling to get ahead, no matter how hard they work. The Community Foundation envisions Vermont at its best—where everyone can build a bright, secure future. Visit vermontcf.org or call 802-388-3355 for more information. Give where your heart lives.