VT Irene Flood Relief Fund

As you may remember, a little band by the name of Phish held a little concert at the Champlain Valley Exposition back in September …. and raised an amazing $835,000 for Irene recovery.

The group’s WaterWheel Fund, in association with the Vermont Community Foundation, just announced it’s first round of grants to Irene relief and recovery organizations around the state, and we’re pleased to say that the Vermont Irene Flood Relief Fund was among those recipients.

This $150,000 award will help us continue giving out grants to small businesses in need well into the winter. Needless to say, we could not be more thankful to Phish, the WaterWheel Fund and the Vermont Community Foundation for their support of our efforts.

Read the Vermont Community Foundation press release on the Phish grants at vtdigger.com.

Vermont Public Radio aired a story this morning on Irene recovery efforts.

VPR correspondent John Dillion reports that various organizations have brought in around $7 million since the flooding in late August. The Vermont Community Foundation oversees $3.3 million, while local groups have raised $2 million. Another $1.6 million has been raised by the Vermont Long Term Disaster Recovery Group, a body appointed by Governor Peter Shumlin in late September to steer long-term recovery efforts.

Dillon also spoke with Vermont Irene Flood Relief Fund founder Todd Bailey, who says:

“There’s a real need to support businesses with grants as opposed to loans so that they can get some recovery effort going quickly instead of having to go through that process of acquiring loans that may take a long time or may be an interest rate or a lien that they can’t afford.”

The Vermont Irene Flood Relief Fund has so far raised over $350,000 for small businesses across the state.

If you missed the original broadcast, we encourage you to listen on the VPR website. You’ll find the audio link at the top of this page.

The Vermont Irene Flood Relief Fund has just announced its latest round of grants, with 48 more small businesses receiving a total of $86,500.

This brings the total disbursements up to $289,000 to 167 separate businesses, spread across 10 of the State’s 14 counties.

Since early September, the Fund has received 239 requests for assistance from businesses estimating $25 million in losses. Only about 20% of these losses are covered by insurance.

So far, the Fund has received donations from individuals, businesses and foundation from across the country. In recent weeks, we’ve received two major grants: $50,000 from the Argosy Foundation and $30,000 from the Newman’s Own Foundation. These donations, combined with continuing support from individuals and businesses, means the Fund can continue its work into the critical winter season.

Read the full story here.

As recovery efforts continue to move forward, the VT Irene Flood Relief Fund has reviewed nearly 200 grant applications from many small businesses showing more than $18 million in damages from Tropical Storm Irene.  To date, the advisory committee has made first round grant awards to businesses from Wilmington to Waterbury; 54 applicants have received more than $107,000 out of the nearly $250,000 that has been generously pledged by individuals and organizations. Additional pledges continue to come in, but much more effort is required in order to meet the needs of the applicants seeking assistance.

Read the full press release here.

This past weekend brought a bunch of great events to support the Vermont Irene Flood Relief Fund: the Michael’s on the Hill fundraising dinner, the Barre Jazzercise & Zumba extravaganza, the Burlington Business Association Social, the Annie Selke Book Signing and Gourmet Lunch at Stowe Kitchen Bath & Linens…we have just been astonished by the creativity, the fun, the artistry being shown by all of you hosting fundraisers and events and sales on behalf of the Fund and in the support of Vermont’s small-business owners and employees.

Stay tuned, because much, much more is on the way!

The Vermont Irene Flood Relief Fund held its first press conference today to discuss the need for aid to small businesses and to outline the progress of Fund over the last three weeks.

The event was held at Waterbury Service Center, one of many small businesses damaged in the floods. Asked how a grant could help him today, owner Albert Caron said would allow him to replace a tire machine and get him back to work changing tires for the winter driving season.

The Fund has raised $105,000 from more than 225 donors since it was founded in the days after the remnants of Hurricane Irene caused widespread flooding across Vermont. Starting this week, the committee overseeing the Fund will begin reviewing grant applications. They will keep distributing grants as long as they have the money to do so.

Read the official press release here.

The Vermont Irene Flood Relief Fund invites any Vermont small business impacted by the recent floods to apply for a grant from our Fund in amounts up to $5,000.

Applications will be reviewed by the Committee in the order they are received beginning September 12, 2011 and continuing until contributions are exhausted.

Please complete the application

Vermont Irene Flood Relief Fund Grant Application

and send it as an email attachment to director(at)vtirenefund(dot)org

We’re pleased to announce the committee that will oversee the distribution of your generous contributions to the Vermont Irene Flood Relief Fund:

• Andrea Cohen – Executive Director, Vermont Businesses For Social Responsibility
  

• Kate Paine – Executive Director, Women Business Owners Network and Principal, Kate Paine Associates

• Shawn Shouldice – Principal, Capital Connections

• Andrew Brewer – Owner, Onion River Sports

• Charlie Wilson – Chairman, Vermont Alliance of Independent Country Stores

• Hal Cohen – Executive Director, Central Vermont Community Action Council (CVCAC)

• Todd Bailey – Associate at KSE Partners

The Committee will outline the application and grant-making process later this week.