The McClure Foundation Announces $5 Million Grantmaking Commitment to College and Career Training in Vermont through 2027
Today, the J. Warren and Lois McClure Foundation (McClure Foundation) announced a precommitment of at least $5 million in grantmaking over the next five years to connect people in Vermont to promising jobs through expanded access to college and career training. The commitment comes as the McClure Foundation anticipates a milestone of 15 years of exclusive focus on postsecondary education next year.
“Vermont can count on us to stay focused on our vision of college and career training systems as drivers of equity and resilience,” says Barbara Benedict, president of the McClure Foundation. “We believe career-connected, public postsecondary education is a public good, and we will continue illuminating those pathways for people in Vermont.”
The McClure Foundation is a supporting organization of the Vermont Community Foundation, which also identifies college and career training as a key area of impact for Vermont philanthropists interested in closing the state’s opportunity gap—the divide that leaves many Vermonters struggling to build bright, secure futures no matter how hard they work. During the pandemic, the Community Foundation, its supporting organizations including the McClure Foundation, and its fundholders contributed more than $6 million in grants to make college and career training more accessible in Vermont.
“With this commitment, we continue the collaborative and creative spirit of giving practiced by our founders, Lois and Mac,” says Carolyn Weir, executive director of the McClure Foundation. “The next five years will offer momentous opportunity to improve the affordability and accessibility of career pathways in Vermont, and philanthropy can light the way. People in Vermont deserve no less—and Vermont needs their talent.”
To learn more about the McClure Foundation and how its grantmaking supports a Vermont where college and career training drive equity and resilience, visit mcclurevt.org, email cweir@vermontcf.org, or call 802-388-3355.