Victor wins $100k Grant!

This past Spring the City of Victor applied for a very coveted Heart and Soul grant with the help of VARD and Stephanie Thomas (Grant Writer). What do you know, we won! Check out the press release below and keep coming back to this blog for more info about the upcoming process.


ORTON FOUNDATION BEGINS $10 MILLION HEART & SOUL COMMUNITY PLANNING INITIATIVE

Four towns in New England and Rocky Mountain regions selected for a program moving community planning back into the hands of citizens

July 25, 2008

Middlebury, VT -- The Orton Family Foundation has committed $10 million in cash and staff over the next five years in a major new initiative to stem the tide of “anywhere USA” development and help communities strengthen their unique spirit of place as they face growth and change.

Biddeford, ME; Damariscotta, ME; Golden, CO; and Victor, ID (all under 23,000 in population) are the first communities to be awarded $100,000 each plus Foundation staff support to help them tap into their own citizens’ wisdom about what is best for their towns.

For decades, most planning has been top down, with economic growth a driving force behind many land use decisions. “We should challenge the single-minded notion that if it’s good for the economy, approve it,” said Lyman Orton, Board Chair and Founder of the Foundation. “After all, are we just an economy, or are we a society?” Values-based Heart & Soul Community Planning entrusts the future of a town to those who know it best—its citizens.

While growth sustains towns, it can lead to disastrous results without the awareness of an empowered citizenry with a strong identity. In a Heart & Soul planning approach, as many local people as possible first identify the qualities that make their town special. Then those qualities and places most valued are broadly acknowledged and used as touchstones in revising ordinances, reviewing projects and making decisions.

In a series of gatherings, events, meetings, interviews and polling, the four towns will learn to take action to protect and strengthen those assets for the future. In addition to its grants, the Foundation contributes expertise and training on using innovative tools such as CommuntyViz™ visioning and analysis software, keypad polling, online surveys and other ways to increase citizen participation.

“We believe a diversity of citizens have the wisdom and ability to steer the change in their communities,” said Bill Roper, President and CEO of the Foundation. “Through our Heart & Soul initiative, we’re giving people the power and confidence to engage and enhance their unique places for many years to come.

In a collaborative effort with citizen’s groups, non-profits, developers, municipal governments, the planning community and others across the country, the Orton Family Foundation aims to transform planning so that residents can live, work and play in the places they cherish, and ensure that their towns are thriving and livable for their grandchildren.

”We build partnerships to build and sustain community,” said Roper. “We’ve found that when towns have some skin in the game, they are even more determined to work hard for lasting results.” That means each town provides matching funding in a combination of dollars and in-kind contributions. Volunteers, every town’s greatest asset, bring hours of their time and talent to the table, and other partnerships are formed to bring as many views and abilities to the table as possible. The communities were chosen after responding to the Foundation's Request for Proposals.

Nationally, the Foundation is working with many other individuals and organizations to build a Community Heart & Soul network of practitioners, citizens and towns to share ideas, lessons and successes and seed the kind of change that will put the future back into the hands of local residents.

The Orton Family Foundation, based in Middlebury, Vermont, serves cities and towns under 50,000 in population in the Northeast and Rocky Mountain West. It was created in 1995 by Lyman Orton, owner of the Vermont Country Store, and is supported with profits from the Store.

For more information contact:

Joh Barstow, Director of Communications
The Orton Family Foundation

802.388.6336
PO Box 111
Middlebury, VT 05753
communications@orton.org
www.orton.org