Recent Grants

by Kathie Dyrenforth

The great joy of being a Trustee of The Tamworth Foundation is the ability to grant funding for the worthwhile projects of our many community nonprofit organizations. To receive these grant applications, to read them and to envision the hopes, dreams and aspirations of each applicant makes us so very proud to live in Tamworth. We share the Town of Tamworth with folks who care very much for their fellow citizens. Numerous year-round and summer residents in this town are involved in caring and providing the best quality of life for us all. It is a credit to the volunteers who tirelessly give their services and to the donors who make these financial gifts possible.

We feel very strongly about our focus on children. For seventy years The Tamworth Foundation has helped support the Tamworth Outing Club’s Junior Ski Program. The Red Cross Swim Program has received our grants since 1954. We have helped to provide enrichment programs for students at the K.A. Brett School through the PTA, The Community School and Tamworth Learning Circles; most recently a theater production at the Brett School.

The health and well-being of our neighbors is crucial, and to this end The Tamworth Community Nurse Association has been given grants to meet new healthcare initiatives. An important need that we funded was placing defibrillators in every public building, meeting space and recreational area in Tamworth. We have assisted The Tamworth Caregivers with providing mileage reimbursement for their volunteer drivers. An emergency heating fuel fund has been established at Tri-County CAP for Tamworth residents. Great Hill Fire Tower received a communications radio repeater at the request of the Tamworth Fire Department.

Given the opportunity to match grants is one of the pleasant challenges we encounter. The Tamworth Civic News challenged us to donate to The Food Center and we also met the challenge when The Dinner Bell at St. Andrew’s- in-the-Valley was fundraising for a new dishwasher.

The pursuit of educational opportunities is foremost in our minds, and we recently assisted The Cook Memorial Library with “One Book, One Valley,”The Chocorua Public Library with computer equipment and The Tamworth Scholarship Fund with grant money. Learners young and old enjoy books, audio and visual media, varied programs and computer services at our libraries, and the Tamworth Scholarships have helped local students attain higher education for many, many years.

Arts and recreation help make Tamworth a special place to call home. We are a community of many gifted artists, and we believe the arts and cultural leisure activities help to rejuvenate the spirit. We are fortunate to have our beautiful Tamworth environment in which to recreate. We give our support to The Barnstormers, Arts Council of Tamworth, Advice to the Players recently for Hamlet, Tamworth Outing Club and the Tamworth Conservation Fund to enable these groups to present the rich variety of activities so many of us enjoy.

The substance of Tamworth, a beautiful old village established in 1766, is reflected in its treasured historical buildings and villages. Roof repairs at both Union Hall and Chocorua Community Church and the Tamworth Village Project have all received grants toward significant historical restoration projects.

In addition to reverence for our past, our vision is focused well into the future in providing Tamworthies with the means to communicate and learn and thrive in our global community. With substantial financial assistance from The Foundation, our local internet service provider Tamworth Wireless was established. Project design, infrastructure installation and implementation of the network are successfully completed and hundreds of Tamworth residents are enjoying this new internet service.

With our best effort toward responsible, caring community stewardship, The Tamworth Foundation is pleased to receive and review grants throughout the year. Tamworth’s forty-eight nonprofit organizations work tirelessly to provide for our citizens, and it is an honor to help them reach their goals. Forms for applying for a grant can be found here. The Board of The Tamworth Foundation is also available to discuss creative innovations that your charitable group would like to pursue.