The University of Vermont Health Network is committed to advancing the work of not-for-profit community organizations that align with our vision: "Working together, we improve people’s lives." 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. We hope these questions will help you as you are applying for sponsorship from us.

Sponsorship requests may be submitted by external community non-profit organizations seeking financial or other kinds of support. We do not fund events by the UVM Health Network 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 Network 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 4-5 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 the Network and members of Network Shared Service departments including Employee Wellness, the Children’s Hospital, Community Health Improvement, the 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 the UVM Health Network 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 the UVM Health Network.

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 University of Vermont Medical Center, the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital, or the University of Vermont Health Network. The Sponsorship Review Committee reviews and advises on awards for these organizations. Specific details will be in your award email.

Our sponsorships range from $500 - $5000, 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.