Matching Grant from The 1772 Foundation Will Support the Trust’s Expansion

We are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded a matching grant of $75,000 from The 1772 Foundation, a private foundation. The challenge grant is the first step in our Expansion Campaign, launching this spring.

Under the leadership of Executive Director Susan McMahon, The Landmark Trust USA is expanding its reach beyond Vermont, beginning with the summer 2020 opening of the Essex Library, built in 1938 in Tiverton, Rhode Island. The grant from The 1772 Foundation will enable the organization to evaluate the potential of historic properties in New England and beyond.

Based in Providence, Rhode Island, The 1772 Foundation 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 amount from $10,000 to $150,000.

“Support for historic properties redevelopment programs continues to be a key granting priority of The 1772 Foundation,” said President B. Danforth Ely. “This year, we received many more grant applications than in the past from organizations across the country. To stretch its resources as far as possible, the foundation favors collaboration with local partners to leverage funds and achieve the greatest possible neighborhood impact.”

Mary Anthony, Executive Director of The 1772 Foundation, observed, “Active real estate intervention of the kind practiced by historic properties redevelopment funds is critically important to historic preservation and, by extension, economic revitalization, neighborhood development, equitable housing, and Smart Growth. The entrepreneurial approach greatly increases the number of historic buildings saved, often as adaptive reuse projects.”

The 1772 Foundation was named in honor of its first restoration project, Liberty Hall in Union, New Jersey, 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.