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The Garden Hill Fund is a program of the Mountain School Alumni Committee. Grants from the Fund support the good work of Mountain School graduates of all ages as they bring to life the mission of the school—to reach beyond the self and focus on the common good—in their own communities and the larger world.
Background: In a survey of Mountain School graduates in 2012, the idea of creating a mechanism that would allow the school’s graduates to support each other's good work in the world was widely endorsed. 82% of respondents said they would consider contributing to such a fund, and 53% said they would consider applying to it! The only caution expressed repeatedly was that the new fund should not decrease donations to the Mountain School’s Annual Fund. In 2013, ten graduates, ranging from Spring ’85 to Spring ’97, made generous gifts of $5,000 each in order to launch the new Fund, which the Alumni Committee decided to name after the Mountain School’s iconic landmark and symbol of growth, community, and aspiration: Garden Hill. The first grants were awarded in the fall of 2013. Garden Hill Grants continue to be awarded on a twice-yearly basis, each fall and spring, through a selection process that involves both a committee of graduates as well as current students. Read more... |
Annual grant application due dates are as follows: Fall round: September 15 Spring round: March 1 
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Grants from the Fund support the good work of Mountain School graduates of all ages as they bring to life the mission of the school—to reach beyond the self and focus on the common good—in their own communities and the larger world.
A Mission-Based Program:
The Garden Hill Fund is a response to two missions. The first is the mission of The Mountain School itself: The Mountain School cultivates a diverse and interdependent community of scholars who learn to know a place and take care of it. Through collaborative learning and shared work, students emerge from their semester prepared to reach beyond the self and focus on the common good.
Implicit in this mission is that it is realized in the adult lives of the school’s graduates, in their ongoing and various efforts to “reach beyond the self and focus on the common good.”
The second is the mission of the Mountain School Alumni Committee: The Mission of the Mountain School Alumni Committee is to support a dynamic community of Mountain School graduates by connecting them to each other and helping them carry forward the intellectual curiosity, celebration of place and commitment to service we associate with The Mountain School.
Thus the processes and systems of the Fund are designed to connect Mountain School alumni across the generations, and give them opportunities to know about and support each other’s good work. (Current students are part of the process of reading and rating proposals.)
Mountain School graduates may apply for Garden Hill Fund Grants of up to $10,000, or Mini-Grants of up to $2,000 for projects that benefit “the common good” in a range of ways.
Project Criteria:
Some Examples:
We are also open to other creative responses to the two missions.
Application Criteria:
The Garden Hill Fund is a response to two missions. The first is the mission of The Mountain School itself: The Mountain School cultivates a diverse and interdependent community of scholars who learn to know a place and take care of it. Through collaborative learning and shared work, students emerge from their semester prepared to reach beyond the self and focus on the common good.
Implicit in this mission is that it is realized in the adult lives of the school’s graduates, in their ongoing and various efforts to “reach beyond the self and focus on the common good.”
The second is the mission of the Mountain School Alumni Committee: The Mission of the Mountain School Alumni Committee is to support a dynamic community of Mountain School graduates by connecting them to each other and helping them carry forward the intellectual curiosity, celebration of place and commitment to service we associate with The Mountain School.
Thus the processes and systems of the Fund are designed to connect Mountain School alumni across the generations, and give them opportunities to know about and support each other’s good work. (Current students are part of the process of reading and rating proposals.)
Mountain School graduates may apply for Garden Hill Fund Grants of up to $10,000, or Mini-Grants of up to $2,000 for projects that benefit “the common good” in a range of ways.
Project Criteria:
- Creative responses to the Mission of the school and the spirit of the alumni initiative. (We would like to fund a diverse set of projects.)
- Projects that have a clear positive impact on other people
- Tangible results within a reasonably short time span
- Skill-building in the graduate, which can be used in further endeavors
- Lean and realistic project budgets
- Ongoing impact of the project when possible
Some Examples:
- A college summer of service;
- A “big idea” from a recent college graduate who needs some seed money to investigate it;
- A community-based project that exemplifies the idea of “knowing and caring for a place,” brought by a graduate who volunteers time and expertise where he or she lives;
- A new program in the civic sector that needs seed money, brought by a graduate who has a leadership role in a non-profit organization
We are also open to other creative responses to the two missions.
Application Criteria:
- Detailed description of project, including desired impact
- Well-written application that speaks to both the Alumni Committee and current students reading the applications
- Itemized budget with detail for each expense, including a budget that accounts for the possibility of receiving partial funding