Dear Friends,
2024 was an amazing year for Vermont Humanities, which makes it all the more shocking that we now find ourselves facing the existential threat presented by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and their unconstitutional attacks on the federal government including the National Endowment for the Humanities.
There is more on our response to this threat later in this report (see links below), but it would be irresponsible of us not to acknowledge up front that we are in a deeply destabilizing moment for our organization and for our democracy at large.
That said, 2024 was energizing and exciting. We wrapped up our 2023 Flood Recovery Program having delivered $400,000 in support to impacted Vermont cultural partners. We presented National Book Award Winner Malinda Lo to a wildly enthusiastic audience of young readers at Teen Lit Mob. We launched Vermont Reads: Gather by Ken Cadow on a year-long journey that has turned out to be the most successful Vermont Reads in the history of the program.
And once again, we increased support for grassroots grantmaking in all 14 Counties.
All this success came about due to the ongoing and growing commitment of our partners and donors. We are grateful for everything you did to make 2024, our 50th anniversary year, a record-breaking year.
While 2025 is presenting us with unprecedented challenges from the federal government, we have already seen that you, our local community members, will continue to recognize the value of this work here at home. Thank you.
Yours,
Christopher Kaufman Ilstrup
