Heat Fund Update

Blog#243-5/11/25

HEAT FUND UPDATE
By
Richard Davis

The 20th year of the Windham County Heat Fund has made it clear that we need to maintain our efforts. The need is growing. When Daryl Pillsbury and I started the fund we thought it would only need to continue for a few years because the cost of home heating fuel was so high. We quickly learned that the cost of fuel was not the most important factor in the equation.

As the United States economy has widened the gap between the have’s and have not’s average Americans struggle to pay their bills. Paying for fuel to heat their homes often takes a back seat to paying the rent, buying food and medicine and paying for other basic necessities.

Our goal has always been to raise $50,000 a year and we exceeded that this year. Over the past 20 years we have raised over one million dollars and provided help in about 2000 cases, whether individuals or families.

We ask people to fill out an application and we try to vet all applications as best we can, collaborating with Southeast Vermont Community Action (SEVCA) and other human service organizations. We work closely with the front line people in the offices of local fuel dealers. They are part social workers and they know many of the trials and tribulations of their customers.

The heat fund has no web site. We do not solicit funds by mail. Sending a reminder to local media outlets a few times a year has been adequate to remind people to help us and most people send us a check every year. This community is not only very generous but extremely faithful in contributing to our efforts.

At the end of this heating season our funds were too low to help a number of people. Eugene Uman, Sarah Ozga and the people who support the Vermont Jazz Center put together a fundraiser for us in March sponsored by the generosity of Mark Anagnastopulos and Janet Zinter and we raised $6700. We were able to meet the needs of people who ran out of fuel assistance allocations and we have a little left over for next year.

The heat fund received $53,836 from 113 donors, including 105 individuals, seven corporations, one church and three grantees. Fuel assistance was given to 107 individuals/ families and we paid $49,624.09 for all kinds of fuel. We only give money to fuel dealers, not individuals. Most years we have no overhead because Daryl and I take no salary and we pay for things such as stamps out of our own pockets. This year we had to pay $710 for the Jazz Center fundraiser expenses, but that was our only expense.

We want to thank all of people who helped us this year including Dave Snyder and Sarah Coffey, The Brattleboro Sunrise Rotary, the local Postal Workers Union and the Guilford Community Church.

We had hoped that it would be business as usual next year and our regular supporters would be enough to meet the needs of Windham County’s more vulnerable residents. Sadly, that will not be the case because the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has been gutted and it looks like there will be no federal help for fuel assistance next year.

Trump fired all of the employees who administer the program and that means that, although the funds are available, there is no one to administer them. I am trying to find out how many Windham County residents receive LIHEAP money and how much flows into our county. The state of Vermont receives $21 million each year. There are 14 counties in the state and if distribution is based on that number equally our county would need $1.5 million to make up the shortfall.

Daryl and I are exploring ways to supplement our fundraising this coming year but we will not be able to come close to the $1.5 million figure. Senators Welch and Sanders are making efforts to fix the LIHEAP problem, but it is not clear if their efforts will succeed.

You will hear from us soon about our plans to prevent misery and death for the Windham County residents who have relied on LIHEAP money to stay safe and warm in the winter.

Donations are always appreciated and may be sent to Richard Davis, 63 Cedar St., Brattleboro, VT 05301 or directly at Brattleboro Savings and Loan.