DUMMERSTON — The Landmark Trust USA, a nonprofit focused on historic preservation, has been awarded a matching grant of $75,000 from The 1772 Foundation, a private foundation.
The challenge grant is the first step in The Landmark Trust's Expansion Campaign, launching this spring.
Since 1991, The Landmark Trust has been preserving historic properties through creative, sustainable uses for public enjoyment and education. The Trust restores vacant or underutilized historic properties and makes them available as short-term vacation rentals, using the rental income to ensure long-term maintenance and preservation.
With offices in Dummerston, the nonprofit organization currently has five restored properties in southern Vermont, including Rudyard Kipling's Naulakha, built in 1893.
Under the leadership of Executive Director Susan McMahon, The Landmark Trust USA is expanding its reach beyond Vermont, beginning with the spring 2020 opening of the Essex Library, built in 1938 in Tiverton, R.I. The grant from The 1772 Foundation will enable the organization to evaluate the potential of historic properties in New England and beyond.
The 1772 Foundation, based in Providence, R.I., plays a leading role in promoting historic properties redevelopment programs nationwide.
At their quarterly meeting, the trustees of the Foundation awarded 27 grants totaling $1,648,000. Individual grants ranged in amounts from $10,000 to $150,000. It was named in honor of its first restoration project, Liberty Hall in Union, N.J., which was built in 1772 and is the ancestral home of the Livingston and Kean families.
The late Stewart B. Kean was the original benefactor of The 1772 Foundation. The 1772 Foundation works to ensure the safe passage of historic buildings and farmland to future generations.
More information about The 1772 Foundation may be found at www.1772foundation.org. To learn more about The Landmark Trust USA, visit landmarktrustusa.org.