A photo of a sunset with pink and orange skies at the bottom. The top is a blueish purple. Purple and white clouds are scattered throughout. White text: “A Message From Our Board.” The IAV logo is in the top left corner.

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Dear IAV Community,

After nearly 40 years of increasing access to the arts for Vermonters with disabilities, with heavy hearts, Inclusive Arts Vermont has sunset operations and programming, effective June 30, 2025. This date allowed IAV to honor all commitments for our current program year and ensured a thoughtfully executed closure.

In 1986, Inclusive Arts Vermont began its creative journey as Very Special Arts of Vermont, later VSA Vermont, and a proud member of the national VSA network, a program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. While that network has since dissolved, our mission has remained the same: to use the magic of the arts to engage the capabilities and enhance the confidence of children and adults with disabilities.

Guided by this vision, Inclusive Arts Vermont has served thousands of Vermonters for nearly 40 years with the goal of sparking opportunities for expression, joy, and inclusion through creativity. The incredible impact IAV has had throughout this time is vast. In the words of one of our recent exhibiting artists, “I credit IAV for being the opportunity that opened up my world and gave me the confidence in myself to pursue artistic and professional opportunities.”

While the Board and staff leadership have worked tirelessly to recover from many years of challenging financial circumstances, elements beyond our control in the present environment, including federal funding shifts, increased competition and changing priorities across the philanthropic landscape, rising costs of operation, and a lack of endowment or investments to sustain us in times of resource scarcity have led us to this tough, but necessary choice. With such continuing uncertainty, we felt this was the most respectful and caring path to ultimately take for our dedicated staff, as well as our mission, the fulfillment of which faces increasing constraints.

While this decision fills us with grief, we are confident that the organization’s positive impact will continue to live on. Throughout Inclusive Arts Vermont’s 39 years of work, we have advocated for a Vermont where any person with a disability can enter any arts organization or learning environment and fully participate to the extent that they desire. Though there is still much work to be done, we are confident that the practices and approaches we have instilled in the community will continue to ripple out and bring about meaningful change beyond our tenure.

We extend our deepest gratitude to the IAV community for your belief in our mission, support, and partnership over the years. We convey our profound appreciation for the steadfast funders, donors, contract partners, program sites, community partners, and exhibiting artists who placed faith and trust in us to deliver this work, collaborating with us in making a more accessible Vermont.

We also want to express our infinite gratitude to the remarkable staff of IAV. Their dedication, tireless effort, and passion for arts access have been the driving force behind our incredible impact. Each member of our Management Team and Teaching Artists, both present and past, have advanced our mission exponentially, leaving a lasting mark on our state and community.

Our commitment to accessibility does not end here. We are determined to honor IAV’s legacy. Prior to sunset, we ensured that all of our commitments for this program year were fulfilled. Beyond the program year, each of us will live out the values IAV has stood for in our own individual lives going forward, carrying all that we have learned from this work into each role that we hold in the future.

For further details on this decision, next steps, available resources, or who to contact with questions, please see our FAQ below.

With care and appreciation,
The Inclusive Arts Vermont Board of Directors

Closure FAQ

Why is Inclusive Arts Vermont sunsetting?

IAV has worked tirelessly to recover from many years of challenging financial circumstances and deficits. Despite many successes and positive strides toward greater sustainability, elements beyond our control in the present environment, including but not limited to federal funding shifts, increased competition and changing priorities across the philanthropic landscape as a whole, rising costs of operation, and a lack of endowment or investments to sustain us in times of resource scarcity have led us to this tough but necessary choice.

With such continuing uncertainty, we felt this was the most respectful and caring path to ultimately take for our dedicated staff, as well as our mission, the fulfillment of which faces increasing constraints. June 30, 2025 was intentionally selected as the effective date of our dissolution in order to allow IAV to honor all commitments for this program year and ensure a thoughtfully executed closure.

Can IAV continue to exist in another form?

The Executive Director and Board of Directors have explored many options for IAV’s continued work, including but not limited to merging with other entities. However, we ultimately found that these options were not viable and decided to proceed with sunsetting by June 2025. However, we remain committed to ensuring that our mission and values continue to impact the communities we have served beyond our sunset date.

What will happen to IAV’s programs?

All scheduled IAV programming was carried out through June 30, 2025. At that time, our programs concluded.

How will IAV’s closure impact current contracted partners?

We have honored all program commitments to contracted partners through June 30, 2025. All contracted partners were informed of this decision and we worked with each one-on-one to ensure an organized transition.

What does this mean for me as a program participant?

We value the creativity and connection we had with each of you this program year in our Adult Arts Education, Collaborative Arts Integration Residencies (K-12), Exhibitions, Professional Development, Start With the Arts (Early Childhood) programs. As of June 30, 2025, all Inclusive Arts Vermont programming has now concluded. For resources that may be of value for the future, please see below.

Why wasn’t this information shared sooner?

As an organization, we have always striven to be transparent about our financial circumstances. Regular practices included publishing our annual reports, annual 990s, and audited financial statements to the Public Documents page of our website, providing accurate data in applications and reports to grant funders, communicating with donors, and more. The decision to sunset was a difficult one, and there were times when the situation felt uncertain. During those times, we did our absolute best to strike a balance between transparency and ensuring our program participants and partners received services with the stability and consistency they deserve.

How can I help during this transition?

Thank you to all who made a sunset gift to ensure we could carry out a thoughtful wind down process that allowed for fulfillment of all program commitments and a period of transition for our dedicated staff. Effective June 15, 2025, we are no longer accepting further contributions, but extend our deepest gratitude to all who supported us over the past 40 years.

I recently made a donation. How was my gift used?

Thank you tremendously for your recent support! Your contribution ensured our early childhood, K-12, adult arts, exhibitions, and professional development programs could continue to serve Vermonters with disabilities without interruption through the end of June. It also ensured that our core operating expenses could be covered leading up to a thoughtful sunset. Again, we are deeply grateful to you for making this possible.

Who can I contact with questions?

For lingering questions following our June 30 sunset date, please contact sarah@inclusiveartsvermont.org or 802-556-3668.

What are some other organizations in the community that can serve as a resource in IAV’s absence?

This list is by no means exhaustive, but is offered as a starting place:

Disability Service Organizations

Arts and Humanities Organizations – Vermont

Arts Organizations – New England, National and International