The Hayes Foundation will be closing its doors in 2023. Our final application deadline of June 1 will be for grants for summer and fall 2023 programs. It has been an honor to have served the students and organizations of Rutland County for the past 40 years. As part of our closing, we have committed major gifts to two Rutland-County organizations that serve county students. Look for further announcements later in the year.
In 1982, The Walter Hayes, Sr., Beulah Buffum Hayes & Walter H. Hayes, Jr. Foundation (now known simply as "The Hayes Foundation") was organized to provide educational and financial support for bright and motivated children living in Rutland County, Vermont. Walter H. Hayes, Beulah Buffum Hayes, and their son Walter Hayes Jr. were residents of the Rutland area for many years. Mrs. Hayes taught children in several communities and Walter Jr. attended public schools through his graduation from Rutland High School in 1940.
The Hayes Foundation is a private, 501(c)3 nonprofit foundation originally created for the purpose of carrying out the intentions expressed in the will of Walter Hayes Jr., specifically, to assist in the education of the youth of Rutland County, Vermont, with a special emphasis on assistance to intellectually gifted children. The foundation made its final round of individual grants in the spring of 2023.
To help area families find out about programs and information that may be available for them and their children, we have compiled a comprehensive (but by no means definitive) list of resources for academic and arts enrichment in addition to general gifted resources for parents and educators. We hope you will find it to be helpful.