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.

• From chaos to thriving

  CASA volunteers bring stability and consistency to children who need it most. Judges refer a child to CASA when the state opens a child protection case. A volunteer CASA advocate is a child’s representative through court proceedings, developing a trusting relationship and offering extensive information to help judges decide what is best for the child.

• Speaking up for North Country children and families

  "A New Hampshire for All" means that we need all voices from all corners to truly move forward.

• Nashua High Class of 1963 has started something big

  A scholarship fund for graduating seniors, started through a crowdsourced effort at a 50th class reunion, continues to gain momentum — and will help Nashua's young people in perpetuity.

Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund

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

• Two North Country teachers honored for dedication, excellence

  Gail McVetty of Lancaster Elementary School and Marc Salmin of White Mountains Regional High School have been awarded Louise Tillotson Teaching Fellowships for 2023.

• Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund awards $916,000 through its application grantmaking programs to support efforts in the North Country

  Large, Local, Dash and Empower Coös Youth application grant programs support essential needs for individuals and families, a healthy workforce ecosystem, environmental stewardship, and more.

• Tillotson Fund awards more than $1.9 million for North Country communities

  Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund grants support essential needs for individuals and families, a healthy workforce ecosystem, environmental stewardship, and more.

Substance Use Disorders/Behavioral Health Portfolio

An integrated response to mental health and substance use disorders is key to promoting health and well-being — and to saving lives.

• Arts improving mental health for NH youth

  Mental health challenges are affecting many young people. The Magnify Voices Expressive Art Contest gives youth the opportunity to use visual arts, writing and video to address those challenges through artistic expression.

• Helping people in recovery thrive

  It’s not enough to simply serve those in recovery, we need to also identify the people who use drugs in our community and listen to their trauma, meet them where they dream and do so with compassion, radical acceptance and dignity.

• A New Hampshire where children can thrive

  Camp Mariposa Nashua, run by the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua, helps lessen that burden for children whose young lives have been deeply affected by a family member’s substance misuse.

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