Concrete Foundation Inc.

Concrete Foundation Inc. is fundamentally an operating foundation, not a conventional grantmaking institution. Despite holding $104.5 million in assets, the organization directs the overwhelming majority of its annual spending — typically $6.2M to $9.8M — toward running its own flagship programs: the Craftsbury Outdoor Center's Nordic skiing operation (November through April) and the internationally recognized Craftsbury Sculling Center. Post-graduate development teams in Nordic skiing, sculling, biathlon, and running round out the program portfolio.

External grantmaking is minimal by design. In FY2024, the foundation awarded only $1,673 to outside organizations — a $923 check to Albany Community Trust and $750 to Hardwick Emergency Rescue Squad. Over the multi-year grantee record, the largest identified external recipient (excluding a $4M Fidelity Charitable transfer) is Center For An Agricultural Economy, which received $5,222 across two grants. The typical external grant is $100–$4,000.

The giving philosophy, to the extent it can be discerned from 990 data and grantee patterns, centers on hyperlocal Vermont community organizations: food pantries, local rescue squads, farmers markets, Nordic ski clubs, and community trusts in Orleans County. This is neighborly giving, not programmatic philanthropy.

First-time applicants should understand that no formal application process exists — the foundation's own records list application instructions as "none." There are no open RFPs, no published deadlines, and no grants portal. The governance structure is three uncompensated directors — Richard A. Dreissigacker (President), Julia H. Geer (Secretary/Treasurer), and Stephen P. Magowan — who likely make all external grant decisions informally. Any realistic path to funding requires a direct personal relationship with one of these individuals, ideally through the Craftsbury Outdoor Center or the surrounding community.

Understanding Concrete Foundation Inc.'s financials requires distinguishing between program expenditures and external grantmaking — two figures the IRS 990 treats differently but which are often conflated in foundation databases.

Program expenditures (internal operations): The foundation spends $6–$9.8M annually running its own programs. The four main program lines from the most recent 990 are: Craftsbury Sculling Center ($1,751,011), Nordic Skiing at Craftsbury Outdoor Center ($1,675,240), Sculling Small Boats post-grad team ($256,538), and Nordic Skiing Green Team ($257,797). These are not grants to outside organizations.

External grants paid (actual outgoing grants to third parties): - FY2024: $1,673 (Albany Community Trust $923, Hardwick Emergency Rescue Squad $750) - FY2022: $6,718 - FY2021: $3,206 - FY2020: $4,005,040 (dominated by a $4,000,000 transfer to Fidelity Charitable — Concrete Giving Account, likely a donor-advised fund contribution rather than a direct grant) - FY2019: $100 - FY2018: $5,398 - FY2014: $230,000

Excluding the anomalous FY2020 Fidelity transfer and FY2014 outlier, the median annual external grant total is roughly $4,800, distributed across 2–6 recipients. Median individual grant: approximately $750–$1,000. Range: $100–$5,222 (excluding outliers).

Geographically, 11 of 12 identified grantees are in Vermont (91.7%), with 1 in Ohio. All Vermont grantees cluster in Orleans County (Craftsbury, Hardwick, Albany areas). Asset growth trajectory: $25.6M (2012) → $42.9M (2015) → $76.5M (2018) → $90.7M (2020) → $104.5M (2024). Revenue averaged $13.4M from 2012–2021 but has moderated to $8–$10M in recent years, now driven more by investment income ($4.5M in FY2024) than contributions.

The peers below are matched by total asset size (~$104M), all classified as Philanthropy & Grantmaking foundations. This comparison highlights how unusually operational Concrete Foundation Inc. is relative to asset peers that primarily make external grants.

Concrete Foundation Inc. stands apart from its asset peers in a critical way: it is an operating foundation that delivers programs directly, whereas most foundations of this size make substantial external grants annually. The Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation in Massachusetts offers the closest model of what a comparably sized conventional grantmaker looks like — with millions flowing to external organizations each year. Concrete Foundation's external grantmaking of under $7,000/year represents less than 0.007% of its assets, far below the ~5% minimum distribution that private foundations are typically required to satisfy. Its operating program expenditures likely count toward that distribution requirement, explaining the divergence.

No press releases, news articles, or public announcements from Concrete Foundation Inc. were found in web research conducted in April 2026. The foundation maintains an extremely low public profile, with no social media presence, no grants page, and no active communications infrastructure identified.

The most significant recent development is asset growth: total assets rose from $103.6M (FY2022) to $104.5M (FY2024), sustained by strong investment returns ($4.49M in investment income in FY2024 alone). Annual revenue has shifted from primarily contribution-dependent ($9–$11M in contributions during 2015–2021) toward investment-income-led ($4.49M investment income, $3.67M program service revenue in FY2024), suggesting the Craftsbury Outdoor Center's earned revenue is increasingly central to financial sustainability.

The board of directors — Richard A. Dreissigacker (President), Julia H. Geer (Secretary/Treasurer), and Stephen P. Magowan — has remained stable across multiple 990 filings with no known leadership transitions. All three serve without compensation. The staff roster as of FY2024 includes approximately 22 employees, with Chasidy Lamare (Office Manager, $60,836), Andrea Carpentier (Bookkeeper/HR, $60,765), and Donald Darling (Maintenance Manager, $58,986) as identified salaried staff. No new program announcements or major grant initiatives were identified in the public record for 2025–2026.

Given the nature of this foundation, conventional grant application advice does not apply. Concrete Foundation Inc. has no formal application process, no published grant guidelines, no RFP cycles, and no grants portal. The following tips are specific to this funder's actual operating reality:

1. Verify alignment before any outreach. This foundation's external grants go exclusively to organizations in Orleans County, Vermont — Craftsbury, Hardwick, Albany, and immediate surroundings. If your organization is not physically located in or directly serving this community, do not pursue this funder.

2. Target mission adjacency, not mission match. The foundation cares about Nordic skiing, rowing, athletic development, and its local Vermont community. Successful grantees include a food pantry ($4,000), agricultural economy nonprofit ($5,222), local rescue squad ($750), a Nordic ski club ($1,000), and a farmers market ($100). These share a community connection more than a thematic one.

3. The only path is personal relationships. With a three-person board making informal decisions and no application infrastructure, funding flows through personal connections to Richard A. Dreissigacker, Julia H. Geer, or Stephen P. Magowan. If you cannot identify a warm introduction through the Craftsbury Outdoor Center's network, staff, athletes, or donors, your chances are negligible.

4. Keep requests very small. The realistic ask range is $100–$5,000. A request above $5,000 to an outside organization has essentially no precedent in the foundation's grant history (excluding the anomalous Fidelity DAF transfer).

5. Frame around community benefit, not program impact. Given the grantee list, these appear to be neighborly, relationship-based gifts. A proposal emphasizing your service to Craftsbury/Hardwick residents, connection to the outdoor/agricultural community, or emergency need will resonate more than a detailed theory of change.

6. Do not mistake asset size for grantmaking capacity. $104.5M in assets does not signal availability for outside applicants — this foundation spends that asset base on its own operations.