The Samara Fund Grants

The Samara Fund Grants is sponsored by Vermont Community Foundation. Supports transformational grants and scholarships for individuals and organizations working to advance the empowerment, health, and safety of LGBTQ+ and HIV-positive people in Vermont.

Samara Fund - Vermont Community Foundation The Samara Fund provides grants and scholarships to 2SLGBTQIA+ Vermonters.

image courtesy of Pride Rides The Samara Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation is a group of Queer and Trans Vermonters committed to a vision of transformational grants and scholarships to the people and groups throughout Vermont who demonstrate their dedication to the empowerment, health, and safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and HIV positive (2SLGBTQIA+) people.

Apply for a Grant or Scholarship What does the Samara Fund support? The Samara Fund grants to 2SLGBTQIA+ led projects and organizations in Vermont. We’ve taken time to pause, reflect, and queer up how we approach every aspect of our work as a fund over the last year.

We are emerging from our process clear that our purpose is to fund people, ideas, and small groups for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Vermont. What are the Samara Fund’s core values? Core values guide our work.

We are: Anti-racist and anti-oppressive by practicing intersectionality, power-shifting, and transformative justice both internally and externally. This includes being proudly trans-inclusive in every level of our work. Transparent with our community and funders about how we work.

Queering fundraising and redistributing wealth for a bigger impact on the Vermont 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Prioritizing accessibility, gratitude, and accountability while queering our work to make it fun, connective, and sustainable. What are the funding priorities?

Queer and trans-led projects and organizations Projects that center, are led by, and/or prioritize BIPOC and/or trans Vermonters Work that is harm reduction (including HIV/AIDS prevention and advocacy) Projects meaningfully working beyond Chittenden County What types of funding are offered?

General organizational support Project-specific support to organizations Emergent (unplanned) needs for organizations Sponsorship of queer events Scholarships for 2SLGBTQIA+ high school students committed to positive change for 2SLGBTQIA+ people who seek to enroll at a four-year college or university, a career or technical college, or a vocational program Who is on the Advisory Committee?

Lechelle-Antonia Gray, she/her, Burlington Hilary Ann Love Glass, she/her, Northfield Delanté Keys, they/he, Addison Skylar Maguire, they/them, Bristol Indi Schoenherr, they/them, Burlington What size are the grants? The Samara Fund will award grants up to $5,000. What is the grant term, deadline, and notification timeline?

Grant activities must take place within a year from when the grant is awarded to be eligible for funding. Applications will be accepted between February 10 – April 7, 2026. Applications must be received by 5PM on Tuesday, April 7 in order to be considered.

Applicants will be notified of grant decisions in June. Grant funds cannot cover activities that have already taken place; please keep the notification timeline in mind as you prepare your application. Emergent needs, new projects taking place before July, and/or sponsorships requests may be applied for at any point on a rolling basis.

The Samara Scholarship was established in 2000 as an investment in the future of Vermont students who oppose discrimination and prejudice and who stand for the elimination of homophobia. The Samara Scholarship is designed to recognize Vermont high school students who demonstrate, through personal experiences and/or public commitments, a dedication to the interests of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning community.

be a graduating high school senior or receiving a GED by the end of the current academic year plan to further formal education training in any area, be it academic, vocational, technical, or the arts, in the following academic year demonstrate, through personal experiences and/or public commitment, a dedication to the interests of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning community The awards vary by year but typically range between $1,000 and $2,000.

Grant Application Process All applications must be submitted electronically. Visit the Resources for Grantseekers section on our For Nonprofits page to learn how and to register for a new account. Or, access your existing account .

To help you prepare, preview a sample of the application . Please note that this is a PDF sample and not the actual application. To view and begin working on the application, login to the Online Grants Manager (OGM).

Scholarship Application Process The application process is completed through VSAC Scholarship Program’s unified application. For a printed copy of VSAC’s scholarships booklet, visit your high school guidance office in late October or email publications@vsac. org to receive a copy through the mail.

The VSAC application can be completed online: VSAC Scholarship Programs Toll-free: 1-888-253-4819 Burlington area: 655-9602 For questions about the Samara Fund and grant program, please contact Elisabeth Marx Email: emarx@vermontcf. org Phone: 802-388-3355 ext. 241 With questions about the Samara Fund and grant program, please contact Elisabeth Marx.

Email: emarx@vermontcf. org Phone: 802-388-3355 ext. 241 No gifts to the Vermont Community Foundation shall directly or indirectly subject the Vermont Community Foundation to a prohibited material restriction as defined by federal law.

All gifts are subject to a federally required amendment or variance power that permits the Vermont Community Foundation to vary from the terms and conditions of agreements with donors relative to the purpose, investment, and management of its funds subject to the procedural requirements of Vermont state law. In practice, the Foundation uses this variance power rarely and only if the needs of the community have shifted.

The Foundation will be in communication with donors should such a shift occur.