Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus
The Vermont Historical Society stands to lose its largest grant because of an executive order from President Trump. The $175,029 grant helps educate 191 historical societies across Vermont.
“That executive order was like a punch in the gut to the staff,” said Stephen Perkins, executive director of the Vermont Historical Society.
The grant was terminated on April 8. The organization had fewer than four weeks to prepare for the cut.
It also would have led to the immediate layoff of one staff member. But thanks to the donors Marilyn Blackwell, Lola van Wagenen and George Burrill, the program will continue into the fall.
Whether the program continues after that may depend on two lawsuits challenging the legality of Trump’s order.
On March 14, Trump signed an executive order on “continuing the reduction of the federal bureaucracy.” It called for the imminent defunding of seven government entities, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
That institute is an independent federal agency that supports libraries, archives and museums across the country. It was the source of the Vermont Historical Society grant.
At the national level, a lawsuit is challenging whether these cuts are legal. The American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees labor union filed the lawsuit in April.
“We certainly are in support of both lawsuits, the one you reference as well as the suit brought by a number of state attorneys general,” Perkins said, including Vermont’s.
“We believe we have a contract with the federal government, executed in 2024, that was illegally cancelled,” Perkins said.
The Vermont Historical Society is a statewide nonprofit, in existence since 1838. The society’s vision is to share collective stories so that Vermonters can increase their knowledge of this state’s complex past and inform the present.
The society runs on a mix of revenue. It receives funding from the state, as well as individual member donations. It also applies for a wide range of grants, including from the federal government.
All of the grants that the Vermont Historical Society receives are competitive grants, rather than formula funding. The society must complete a rigorous application and review process and then receives funding based on the merit of its proposal.
The Vermont Historical Society has received several grants from the federal institute over the last few years.
When the institute was cut, it felt like an insult to those in the field, said Andrew Liptak, public relations and guest services coordinator at the Vermont Historical Society.
“The big thing is that these funding cuts are a result of an election. This is a choice that some American public has made,” Liptak said.
Perkins said the program has been altered to wrap up by October.
“This means we won’t be able to conduct a second year cohort of museums and libraries,” he said. “If IMLS funds become available either due to a court case or through appeal, we will continue the program as designed.”