The Martha’s Vineyard Community Foundation is awarding $600,000 in grants this year, the largest amount in its history, up from $530,000 last year.
Awarded through the foundation’s 2025 Community and Impact Grants program, this year’s funding level marks a 13 percent increase from 2024, and will support projects of 54 nonprofit organizations across the Island. The projects will support the community in various ways, from food and language access to the arts.
“Our local nonprofits are facing enormous challenges, given changes at the national level,” Paul Schulz, executive director of Martha’s Vineyard Community Foundation, said in a release. “The direct impact is beginning to be felt here on the Vineyard by the nonprofits providing so many essential services. We saw this in this grant cycle, where 61 nonprofits asked us for more than $1,000,000 in grant support. Our board members did an outstanding job in allocating our funding.”
Elizabeth Bennett, program manager at the foundation, said the grant funding comes from a mixture of fundraisers, accounts set up by Islanders for certain causes, and contributions from board members.
The foundation highlighted that the “common thread” among the nonprofits’ proposals was to make a “significant positive impact on the lives of Islanders.” Here is the list of nonprofits and what category they won funding for:
Accessibility
- Camp Jabberwocky
- Island Autism Group
- Mass Audubon/Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary
- Misty Meadows Equine Learning Center
- The Great Blizzards of Massachusetts Special Hockey
Arts and cultural enrichment
- Circuit Arts
- Island Community Chorus
- Islanders Write
- Mariposa Museum & World Culture Center
- Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society
- Martha’s Vineyard Diversity Coalition
- Martha’s Vineyard Museum
- The Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing
- Vineyard Preservation Trust
- West Tisbury Library Foundation
Children’s services
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts
- Friends of Children’s Cove
Educational opportunity
- Aquinnah Cultural Center
- Chilmark Preschool
- Garden Gate Child Development Center
- Island Children’s School
- Martha’s Vineyard Ocean Academy
- Penikese Island School
- Sail Martha’s Vineyard
- Sassafras Earth Education
- Vineyard Montessori School
Elder services
- Healthy Aging MV
- Island Elderly Housing
- Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living
Environmental initiatives
- Biodiversity Works
- Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society
- Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group
- Vineyard Conservation Society
Food security
- Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands
- First Congregational Church of West Tisbury
- Grace Church
- Island Grown Initiative
- Martha’s Vineyard Boys & Girls Club
- Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust
- United Methodist Church of Martha’s Vineyard
Health services
- Cape Wellness Collaborative
- Health Imperatives
- Hospice & Palliative Care of Martha’s Vineyard
- Martha’s Vineyard Cancer Support Group
- Martha’s Vineyard Hospital
- Vineyard Health Care Access Program
Housing
- Harbor Homes
Language access
- ACE MV
- Communication Ambassador Partnership (CAP)
Other community groups
- Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard
- Community Action Committee of Cape Cod and the Islands
- Friends of MVY Radio
- M.V. Mediation
- Vineyard House
