Lyme COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund

The Lyme Foundation announces an important new resource immediately available for Lyme citizens, families, and businesses challenged by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thanks to a generous donation from longtime Lyme residents Bayne and Jeanie Stevenson, the Lyme Foundation has established the Lyme COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. The Fund will provide direct financial assistance to individuals, families, and businesses adversely affected by the pandemic. The initial size of the Fund is $50,000.

Individuals and families, whether Lyme residents or residents of another town working for a business located in Lyme, may apply for grants of up to $1,000, based on needs and available funding. Applicants will need to include information on current and expected future financial needs. Businesses applying for a grant will use separate application, and will also need to supply information on their current and expected future financial needs. Grant amounts for businesses will depend on needs and available funding. Applicants must clearly indicate how the pandemic and/or economic downturn has adversely affected them.

Applications for both grants are available on the Lyme Foundation website, www.lymefoundation.org. You may pick up a paper application at the Lyme Town Offices or outside the Lyme Post Office/Lyme Home and Hardware. You may also request an application be mailed to you by calling the Lyme Community Help Line at 795-0603 or emailing lymecovidrelief@gmail.com. Completed applications may be mailed to The Lyme Foundation at P.O. Box 292, Lyme, N.H. 03768, emailed to lymecovidrelief@gmail.com, or submitted online through the Lyme Foundation website.

Grants for individuals and families will be reviewed by members of the Pearl Dimick committee. Business grant applications will be evaluated by an ad hoc Lyme Business committee comprised of current and former Lyme residents with relevant skills and experience and led by a member of the Lyme Foundation board. Depending on the number and amount of grant requests, the Lyme Foundation Board may also review grant requests for either type of grant. The applications and award discussions will be kept confidential, and information will be shared only among members of the Pearl Dimick committee, the Lyme Business committee, or the Lyme Foundation Board as appropriate.

Not-for-profit organizations in Lyme or serving Lyme residents which are interested in applying for grant funding from the Lyme Foundation should continue to use the Foundation Grant application currently available on the Lyme Foundation website. The Lyme Foundation Board will expedite review of grant applications related to COVID-19 relief.

Please share this news with your neighbors and friends, particularly those who might benefit most from this important new town resource. If you are interested in donating to the Lyme COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund, donations may be made online or mailed to The Lyme Foundation at P.O. Box 292, Lyme, N.H. 03768. Checks should be made out to the Lyme Foundation with “COVID-19 Relief Fund” in the memo line.

The health, safety and well-being of the Lyme community have been the Lyme Foundation’s concern for more than 30 years. Now, as Lyme faces one of our greatest challenges, we are grateful for the opportunity provided by this generous donor to together work for the common good once more.

Swan Grants Awarded

The Lyme Foundation began April by announcing $300,000 in grant awards made possible by a gift from the estate of Freda and Hank Swan, longtime residents of Lyme who sought to support the Lyme community by advancing the work of the Lyme Foundation.

The funded projects and receiving organizations include:

  • The purchase and installation of a digital carillon in the Lyme Congregational steeple. (Lyme Congregational Church)

  • Supporting the Community Care of Lyme’s Director position, enabling CCL to focus on service expansion and development. (CCL)

  • Partnering with the Town of Lyme and private donors to raise money for the construction of a new fire station. (Lyme Fire Department)

  • Helping with construction of a cub rehabilitation and education building at the Kilham Bear Center. (The Kilham Bear Center)

  • Support for critical infrastructure projects at the Converse Free Library. (Converse Free Library)

  • Helping fund the stabilization and renovation of the barn on the Lyme Historians’ property. (The Lyme Historians)

  • Funding major repairs to the Grant Brook bridge on a snowmobile and hiking trail near the Lyme Common. (Upper Valley Land Trust; Lyme Pinnacle Snowmobile Club)

  • Helping fund increased hours for Parish Nurses to serve the Lyme community. (Parish Nurse Program)

  • Funding improvements and additions to the Lyme Recreation facility at Post Pond. (Lyme Recreation Committee.)

Formed by the Lyme Foundation board to evaluate grant requests for the Swan gift, the Swan Committee spent many months soliciting ideas from the community and evaluating the final grant applications before announcing their decisions. With 2019 being our 30th anniversary, the timing of the Swan Grants is particularly appropriate, as we continue to fund projects and programs that help maintain and enhance the quality of life here in Lyme.

Lyme Foundation Receives $500,000 Gift: Gift will support current grant-making and special one-time grants in 2019

The Lyme Foundation has received an unrestricted gift of approximately $500,000 from the estate of Freda and Hank Swan, longtime residents of Lyme who were active in the community and wanted to support the Lyme Foundation. 

After careful deliberation, the Lyme Foundation has decided to use this gift to support both its ongoing work as well as special, one-time initiatives that will support its mission, which is to “maintain or enhance the quality of life in Lyme, NH.”

Specifically the Lyme Foundation will target $200,000 of the Swan gift to its general fund to support its annual grant-making program. Each year the Lyme Foundation commits approximately $35,000 - $40,000 for such purposes, with most grants in the range of $1,000 to $5,000. This gift will increase the Foundation’s annual grant-making budget by approximately 25% per year.

In addition, the Lyme Foundation expects to allocate $300,000 in 2019 from the Swan gift for one-time grants that will have a significant impact on the quality of life in Lyme. 

A special committee has been formed to encourage, support, consider, and recommend grant proposals for the Swan grants. The committee is comprised of current board members as well as members of the Lyme community. Before issuing application guidelines for these one-time grants, the committee will devote two months to listening and engaging with Lyme residents to get their ideas about what might maintain or enhance the quality of life in Lyme.

“We want to solicit as many interesting ideas as possible from the community before we formally prepare and release application guidelines,” said Peter Glenshaw, Chair of the Lyme Foundation. “We want to be open to new ways that these funds could be used as well as non-traditional recipients of these funds.”

Ultimately all decisions for the Swan grants will be made by the Trustees of the Lyme Foundation. The current timeline calls for the applications guidelines to become available in mid-November 2018, with applications due in January 2019 and awards made by the end of March 2019.

Additional information about the Swan committee and the process for making the special one-time grants are available on the Lyme Foundation website.
 

Call for grant applications (deadline April 28, 2018)

The Lyme Foundation supports and funds projects and programs that promote the quality of life in Lyme. 

If you know of any group in town that might benefit from a grant from The Lyme Foundation, please refer them to our website for information: lymefoundation.org/grant-application.  

The next application deadline is Saturday April 28, 2018.

Full information about the Lyme Foundation's mission, its board of trustees, history and recent news may be found at www.lymefoundation.org

Nominate the next Lyme Citizen of the Year

The Lyme Foundation is collecting nominations for 2018's Citizen of the Year.

Please contact Jeff Valence, Chair of the Nominating Committee for the Lyme Citizen of the Year, with your nominee. Be sure to include the nominee's name, your name, and a brief rationale as to your nomination.

The nomination window will close as of Friday, February 2nd.

Past recipients include:
2017 Peggy Little and Paphanh Sithavady
2016 Nancy Grandine
2015 Ken Uline
2014 Bev and Earl Strout
2013 Michael Hinsley
2012 Jean and Mike Smith
2011 Charles Balch
2010 Patty Jenks
2009 Carola Lea
2007 Bill Murphy
2006 Laura DeGoosh
2005 Betty Lee
2004 Fred Phillips
2003 Albert Pushee
2002 Don and Julia Elder
2001 Becky Franklin
2000 Kenneth Elder
1999 Dorcas Chaffee

Thank you for your time.  The Lyme Citizen of the Year will be announced at the Lyme Town Meeting on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 9am at the Lyme School Community Room and Gymnasium.

2018 Grant Application Deadlines announced

Here are the deadlines by which applications to the Lyme Foundation must be submitted in 2018.

  • Saturday January 13
  • Saturday April 21
  • Saturday July 14
  • Saturday September 15

In most cases, decisions regarding a grant application by the end of the following month. For example, if you apply by January 13, 2018, the Board will likely make its decision about your application by the end of February 2018.

We look forward to your grant submission!

Support the Pearl Dimick Fund

The Pearl Dimick Fund provides small grants to individuals who experience unanticipated financial challenges. 

Winter brings our highest level of requests, particularly for help buying heating fuel. We are never able to meet 100% of the need. To augment our yearly disbursement from the Fund, we ask for your support each year. All of the funds you contribute go directly to support individuals in Lyme who need your help. 

To make a donation, please send a check payable to "The Pearl Dimick Fund" and mail it to the Lyme Foundation, PO Box 292, Lyme, NH 03768.

And if you know of someone who might benefit from support from the Pearl Dimick Fund, please contact our Chair, Katy Sherreib at 795-2831 or kathleen.sherrieb@dartmouth.edu.

Thank you!

Call for new grant applications

The Lyme Foundation’s mission is to support and fund social, educational, recreational, and other programs that maintain and enhance the quality of life in Lyme.  Applications for the 2017 autumn round of grants are due by September 9, 2017, and the Foundation’s grants committee will answer questions and provide assistance to an applicant unsure of any detail.

Guidelines and instructions for grant applications may be found here.

Applications (or any questions) may be submitted via email to grantapplication@lymefoundation.org, or by mail to The Lyme Foundation, Attn: Grants Chair, PO Box 292, Lyme, NH 03768.