Central Vermont Habitat for Humanity lands $150k grant from M&T Bank

April 14, 2025 | By Waterbury Roundabout 

Central Vermont Habitat for Humanity has landed a $150,000 grant from the M&T Charitable Foundation, the philanthropic arm of M&T Bank. 

Photo courtesy of Central Vermont Habitat for Humanity

The fund is awarding over $4.9 million to 51 nonprofit organizations across New England, Long Island, and Rockland County, New York, according to the announcement. 

M&T Bank has a Vermont branch in Waterbury and Central Vermont Habitat for Humanity runs its ReStore resale shop in downtown Waterbury as well. 

Zachariah Watson, executive director of Central Vermont Habitat for Humanity said the funding will support four affordable housing units in Greensboro and Randolph. “It will also serve as a cornerstone investment in a revolving fund that we’re developing to support not just this project, but many more in the future,” Watson said. 

The regional Habitat organization works to provide affordable, mortgaged homes as well as home repairs and disaster response. Support for those efforts from the organization’s Waterbury ReStore, which sells donated goods at discounted prices, providing low-cost essentials for consumers and reducing landfill waste. 

Dominique Goss, executive director of the M&T Charitable Foundation, said the foundation aims to support such nonprofits that are dedicated to advancing equity and creating positive change in their communities. “We look forward to seeing the progress of their work and the collective outcomes of our partnerships in the months and years ahead,” Goss said. 

First announced in May 2022, the Amplify Fund is a $25 million philanthropic investment created as part of the merger of People’s United Bank and M&T Bank. The Amplify Fund is a one-time supplemental charitable program to support nonprofits in the communities previously served by People's United, the grant announcement explains. 

The latest grant awards represented the third and final round of grants. Recipients were selected to represent entities that are “spurring economic growth and prosperity, with a particular focus on creating equitable change through homeownership, small business development and entrepreneurship,  career growth, and financial resilience,” the award announcement states. 

A full list of grant recipients is online on the Amplify Fund website. 

The M&T Charitable Foundation awards nearly $40 million in grants per year to thousands of nonprofit organizations focused on improving the quality of life in the areas the bank serves. M&T Bank Corporation is headquartered in Buffalo, New York. Its main banking subsidiary, M&T Bank, serves customers through branches in 12 eastern states from Maine to Virginia.