What We’re Up To

New Hampshire Tomorrow

The Foundation is investing in four proven focus areas to increase opportunity for New Hampshire’s kids — from cradle to career.

• The public good that is public education is being imperiled in New Hampshire

  Public K-12 schools deliver on the very American promise of an education for all — no matter how much money your parents have, or where you live, or the color of your skin or if you get around on your feet or in a wheelchair. But the public good that is public education is being imperiled in New Hampshire in ways that put children’s education and the well-being of our communities and our economy at risk.

• We’re not saying “goodbye,” Tym

  After 13 years at the Charitable Foundation, Tym Rourke to join national healthcare consulting firm to advance health equity and integrated behavioral healthcare.

• New Hampshire Tomorrow 2020 progress report

  Events of 2020 exacerbated inequities, increased urgency for work to ensure that young people are able to reach their potential.

Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund

One of the largest permanent rural philanthropies in the U.S. is strengthening communities and spreading economic opportunity.

• Stories of community resilience

  The people, communities and nonprofits of the North Country have responded to this time of great challenge with great resilience. Read more in the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund 2020 Report to the Community.

• Meet Sonya Salanti

  Sonya Salanti of Bethlehem has joined the Charitable Foundation as director of the Neil and Louise Tillotson Funds. She talked to the Foundation’s Lois Shea about the joy of applying her skills in the place where she lives, the Tillotson Funds’ work during COVID – and how volunteering to park cars in the rain helped connect her to her new hometown.

• Trail Finder put trails — and local businesses — on the map

  Trail Finder puts up-to-date, trail-manager-sourced information for multiple outdoor activities at users' fingertips, along with information about local businesses — from inns to bike shops to breweries. Grants from the Foundation's Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund are supporting the service.

Substance Use Disorders Portfolio

The Foundation has made a long-term commitment to reduce substance use among New Hampshire youth.

• Request for Proposals: Evaluation of the Foundation’s investments in substance use prevention

  Proposals due by Monday, March 15.

• Using telemedicine to deliver on the mission

  Nonprofit community health centers and recovery support centers around the state have quickly implemented telemedicine technology to continue to safely deliver critical services. Grants from the Community Crisis Action Fund have connected them with the computers, cameras, software, improved wifi and cell phones to make it happen.

• Remembering Charlie DeGrandpre

  Longtime Charitable Foundation board member and regional advisor helped to structure charitable gift that has made a significant difference for people struggling with substance use disorder in New Hampshire.

Wellborn Ecology Fund

The Wellborn Ecology Fund is dedicated to increasing environmental and ecological science knowledge in the Upper Valley.

• Helping schools pivot to outdoor learning

  As schools began to close this past spring, educators across the state scrambled to figure out how to keep teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Programs supported by the Wellborn Ecology Fund have been helping schools move to more outdoor instruction for years, and more schools are now making "outdoor classrooms" a regular part of the school day.

• Chipmunk Game Theory 101

  The latest installment of "The Outside Story," sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, explains how eastern chipmunks have evolved to be energy maximizers, seeking to strike the optimal balance between energy gain per cheek-pouch load of food and number of trips back to the burrow.

• Nearly $300,000 in grants will support place-based ecology education

  The Wellborn Ecology Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation supports place-based ecology education in the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont