University of Vermont Health is committed to advancing the work of not-for-profit community organizations that align with our vision: reimagining rural health in ways that will benefit our communities for generations to come and keep exceptional care close to home. One way we support this work is by setting aside funds annually to sponsor organizations and events that help advance the health of our communities.
Sponsorship Requests
Sponsorship requests are evaluated using standard scoring criteria, with an emphasis on how funds will address and advance health equity, our community health needs assessments, the social determinants of health and local impact.
We receive many sponsorship requests every year and unfortunately, we cannot always meet every request, even if your organization meets all of our criteria. Our Sponsorship Committee will carefully weigh how requests address the priority needs of the community we serve. Please be advised: due to our limited resources, we are unable to sponsor sports teams.
Your event may be sponsored by UVM Health or one of our local health care partners. If we agree to sponsor your organization, details will be provided with your award notification.
Please apply at least two months in advance of your event to allow time for review and to coordinate advertising in programs, tabling and attendance at events and other details with key players from within UVM Health.
Requests will be reviewed monthly on a rolling basis by the Sponsorship Review Committee.
Getting Set Up for Your Application
We’ve recently transitioned to an online application process, through a platform called Foundant. With this platform, our Sponsorship Review Committee will have more tools at their hands to make evaluations easier, and we hope it’s easier for community partners as well.
To set up your organization in the Foundant | Sponsorship Online Request Platform:
- If you do not already have an account set up in the UFoundant platform, please visit the site to set one up. Click the Create New Account button and follow the directions.
- You can email StaciAnne Grove if you are stuck; she will gladly assist you. Foundant also has a video for assistance in setting up an account.
Contact Us
For sponsorship inquiries, please contact Karen Vastine.
For information and questions related to the application process, please contact StaciAnne Grove.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sponsorship requests may be submitted by external community non-profit organizations seeking financial or other kinds of support. We do not fund events by UVM Health health care partners.
Sports teams, requests that benefit an individual or family, political candidates, events or organizations outside our service area, field trips, tours, employee teams or UVM Health fundraising events.
We ask for applications to come in early enough to review and respond appropriately. This allows time for payment processing, ad design if needed, coordinating people to attend or volunteer at the event and other logistics. For more complex events (i.e. where there might be a service opportunity or speaking role), we encourage applications to be submitted even sooner, ideally four to five months out.
Great! We’d love to work with you given the right timing and available resources. Collaboration on events leads to more dynamic participation. This is part of why we ask your organization to apply early enough — so that if there is interest in deepening our sponsorship as a partnership opportunity, we can facilitate collaboration — whether helping with panel discussions or a volunteer presence.
Sponsorship requests are reviewed quarterly by members of the Sponsorship Review Committee. This committee, led by Karen Vastine of the Government and Community Relations team, is composed of members from various health care partners throughout our health system and members of our Shared Service departments including Employee Wellness, UVM Children’s Hospital, Community Health Improvement, the UVM Cancer Center and others. The committee scores every application and then discusses each to make a determination.
Our funding decisions are driven by how community partners score in their application. Special attention is paid to both the depth of partnership with UVM Medical Center and/or UVM Health and how the organization is addressing social determinants of health. The results of the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) drive the committee’s priorities. The CHNA occurs every three years and is a process that our hospitals completes with numerous community-based partner organizations to learn more about the significant health needs in the communities of UVM Health.
The Sponsorship Review Committee meets monthly to review Sponsorship Requests as they are received on a rolling basis. Submitting your application by the 20th of the month ensures that it will be considered by the end of the second week of the following month. Recipients are notified shortly afterwards of the decision and the next steps if given an award.
Depending on available funding, you may receive notification that your event is being sponsored by the UVM Medical Center, UVM Children’s Hospital or UVM Health. The Sponsorship Review Committee reviews and advises on awards for these organizations. Specific details will be in your award email.
Our sponsorships range from $250-$3500, with the average award being approximately $1400. Because of limited funding and the broad community need for unrestricted funds, we cannot offer more than one sponsorship to an organization per year.
Sponsorship will always be contingent on the availability of funds. Furthermore, as noted above, our funding decisions are driven by our level of partnership, Social Determinants of Health and priorities as defined in the Community Health Needs Assessment for our area. As such, sometimes priorities shift, and we cannot guarantee future funding based on previous awards.