Donate to the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall!
If you’d like to donate by mail, or by bequest, or from a “Donor-Advised Fund”, please scroll down the page. If this “donate” button does not work, please use the one on the Home page, and if you don’t mind, let us know, with an email to: fccghvt@gmail.com, and we will fix it!
2025 Fall Appeal
Every year, in the fall, the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall sends out letters to people on our list of donors. On Nov. 16, several of us gathered in the Lower Level of the Grange Hall and addressed letters, adding personal notes, and then mailed out letters just before Thanksgiving. We feel honored that we have had a reliable and wide-spread group of regular donors, as well as one-time donors, who have consistently helped us to fund the Grange Hall improvement projects we’ve accomplished over the years–see the list below for our history. We are motivated to continue to use the donated funds wisely, in ways that will benefit all Grange Hall users! If you’d like to see the 2025 Fall Appeal letter, click this link.
Our 2025 project: Improved Indoor Air Quality in the Main Hall
We have found that our insulation and air-sealing efforts in the Hall have been very effective! During the Covid-19 pandemic, we learned much more about the importance of effective air-filtration, and the need for controlled introduction of fresh air into the Hall. We found by using particle meters and CO2 meters that when there are people actively using the Hall, we don’t have nearly as good air quality!
Our project (which started with electrical work on Nov. 28) will improve both aspects. To supply fresh air, we are having an “Energy-Recovery Ventilator” installed in the attic space. This unit will exhaust air from the Main Hall, and replace it with fresh, outdoor air. The “energy recovery” unit will transfer as much heat as possible from the exhaust air to the incoming air. The incoming air will be filtered with MERV 13 filters, which will remove pollen and even wildfire smoke from the air being pulled in. There will also be a duct heater, that will warm the incoming air up to the thermostat set-point before blowing it back into the Hall, using a long, 14″ diameter duct just below the ceiling. The ERV will only run when the room is occupied, controlled by CO2 and occupancy movement sensors.
We are also going to have a commercial air-purifier installed, hung from the ceiling. This unit is made by the same company, Iso-Aire, which supplied the roll-around air purifier we have in the Lower Level. Both units use pre-filters, and a 12″ deep HEPA filter to remove particles down do 3 microns from the air, and recirculating the cleaned air. Both units are much quieter than the home-made “Room Air Filter Boxes” which we hung from the ceiling in 2021. While those are not “loud”, we found that a number of Hall users found them noisy enough to be distracting. The new, ceiling-hung unit will be run by a timer, so that it will only be on when the Hall is rented.
The Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall has been awarded a grant from the State of Vermont Cultural Facilities grant fund, which is administered by the VT Arts Council. This grant will pay for half of the approximately $50,000 cost of this project. The other half will come from funds donated by you to the Friends! Your tax-deductible contribution will make a difference! Click the “Donate” button at the top of this page any time.
Every fall, we also send out a mailing asking for contributions in an End of Year Appeal. To download a PDF of the letter mailed out by the Friends for the 2024 end-of-year appeal, click this link: 2025 Fall Appeal.
Take a look at the list of projects we’ve already done to improve the Grange Hall:
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Since being founded in 2012, The Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall, have planned, fund-raised for and project-managed numerous projects to improve the Hall. As much as possible, we use the funds generously donated by people who support our community hall to match grant funding, which we’ve gotten from the VT Arts Council, the Recreational Facilities grant program, and the Preservation Trust of Vermont.
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In previous years: the Friends have raised money for many other significant upgrades to the Grange Hall, which have greatly increased the usefulness, attractiveness and rentability of the Hall. Most of the following Grange improvements were funded with a blend of community member donations and grant funds. We have used the donations to leverage the grants–at least doubling the impact of dollars donating to the Friends!
2025: With the help of an anonymous donor, we purchased a very quiet air-filtration unit from Iso-Aire, which produces the same amount of filtered air as the fan-filter units we still use upstairs, with about half the noise. The Iso-Aire runs continuously in the Lower Level–check it out! The ventilation project we’ve applied for a grant for in 2025 will include a similar, but ceiling-mounted unit for the Main Hall, so we can remove the 4 Room Air Filtration Boxes we have up there.
2023: With the help of a grant from the VT Arts Council and its “Cultural Facilities Grant Program”, we were able to install a wheelchair lift in the Hall, which allows everyone to reach all three levels of the Hall: Stage, Main Floor and Lower Level. We also rebuilt the wall between the Main Hall and the original entrance foyer, bringing the wall and the double doors up to the Fire Marshal’s specifications.
Also in 2023, this time with the help of a grant from the Preservation Trust of VT, we were able to get the entire exterior of the Hall professionally scraped and painted. It’s never looked better!
With the help of cellulose expert and Grange friend Bill Hulstrunk and a small but dedicated crew of volunteers, we dense-packed cellulose into the walls of the Main Hall. This will save us on our heating bills, and also reduce moisture passing through the walls–which will help our beautiful paint job last longer.
We had the driveway and parking lot re-graded in spring 2023–and it helped us survive the huge July rainstorm with no damage!
In August and September, the Challenge Fundraiser dedicated half of the money raised to flood relief. We used over $2,700 for gift cards, which were distributed to 41 Berlin residents who lived in mobile homes which were ruined by the flooding on July 10-11, 2023.
2022: We replaced the inadequate closers installed on the ADA entrance doors. The new closers are adjusted to slow the door closing to meet ADA standards.
Also in 2022, when our old (1953 original?) oil furnace had to be replaced unexpectedly, we researched options and decided to install a wood-pellet furnace to heat the Grange! We also had a stainless-steel chimney liner installed. Besides greatly reducing our carbon footprint, we are confident that fuel costs will be noticeably lower, and will stay lower while oil prices will continue to go up. A low-interest loan from the VT State Grange made this decision much easier.
2021: We replaced the old plywood-panel wood double-doors in the old entrance with two new, insulated fiberglass doors, with greatly improved weatherstripping, and insulated glass panels in the upper halves. This makes the entrance much more inviting, and connects the foyer to the world outside visually. We installed push-button locks on this set of doors, and also on the ADA entrance doors. This allows our volunteer Rental Agent to just give out a code to renters, rather than having to deliver and retrieve keys–a real saver of time and energy!
In 2021, we also installed a new, efficient, quiet exhaust fan for the Main Hall. Its 3 speeds can push out up to 4,300 cubic feet per minute, providing about 4 air-changes per hour, during times of the year when we can open windows and doors. For other times, we built and installed “Room Air Filter Boxes“–4 for each floor. These combinations of box fans and MERV 13 filters can remove a large percentage of airborne particles, of the size of COVID aerosols. While noisier than we would wish, they provide a way of filtering and recirculating the air, during times when it’s too cold to open windows and use the exhaust fan.
2020: The “Second Stage” project provided a major upgrade to our lower level. With the help of a grant from the VT Arts Council’s “Cultural Facilities Improvement” grant program we made renovations that save us heating costs, give us cleanable, attractive floor, wall and ceiling surfaces, get rid of leaks and moisture, and reduce humidity. Steps for the project began with installation of interior perimeter drainage, going to a sump were any water is pumped out and continued with installation of foam insulation on the inside of the poured concrete basement walls and foaming of the ceiling joist ends. After that, sheetrock and “FRPs“–Fiberglass Reinforced Panels–were installed over the insulation, new ceiling tiles were installed, new carpet squares installed over the concrete floor, new trim installed and painted, and a dehumidifier (draining to the sump) was put in place.
2015: New bathrooms in the basement level replaced the original, cramped, hard-to-clean cubicles. We also added an ADA-accessible bathroom downstairs, installed water-fountains in the upstairs foyer, and put baby-changing stations in bathrooms on both floors. And we bought more floor mats to allow complete coverage of the main Hall floor.
2014: We bought new floor mats to protect the wood floor of the Main Hall, and rebuilt fire egress from the Lower Level–which helped us get the legal occupancy of the basement raised from 49 to 100!
2013: New windows for the main Hall and the basement–with insulated glass and good weatherstripping!
2012: New hardwood floor (local maple) for the Main Hall after nearly 60 years of dancing and other uses wore out the 1953 original. Several handy folks repurposed the worn floorboards as spoons, picture frames, pens, cutting boards and a mandolin!
What is our Next Big Project?
Our next set of projects are what we are calling “Building Essentials”. Our 2025 “Challenge Fundraiser” and our “Fall Appeal” will raise funds to make our Hall more healthy and comfortable. These changes won’t be so visible, but will make it an even nicer place for dances, meetings, celebrations, classes, parties, rehearsals, and all the other activities that keep the Grange Hall a vital part of the community!
Specifically, we are planning to provide better fresh-air ventilation via heat-recovery ventilation systems and quieter air filtration units, to improve the air quality indoors–both to reduce COVID transmission risks, and to reduce CO2 build-up indoors. We appreciate all contributions, large and small!
Thank you! Together we can do this!
Donations to the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law, and are used to support repairs, maintenance, improvements to the Grange Hall, and the operations of the Grange. For donations from your Donor Advised Fund please contact Patty Giavara at fccghvt@gmail.com or 802-279-6103. Please note: this “donate” button is not a way to pay for rentals of the Grange Hall; please mail rental payments to: Capital City Grange, PO Box 234, Northfield Falls 05664.
Donate by Mail
Make your check payable to “Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall” or FCCGH and mail it to:
FCCGH
PO Box 192
Northfield Falls VT 05664
Donate by Bequest
Consider making a charitable bequest to the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall. By including a bequest to the Friends in your will or living trust, you are ensuring that the Grange can continue its mission for years to come.
It is as simple as one or two sentences. You can leave an amount of money, a gift contingent upon certain events, or a percentage of your estate to the Friends. Take care of your family first, yet imagine what a gift of $10,000 or more could do to improve the hall!
Long-term wish list items:
- Remodel the kitchen, making it fully accessible, as well as improving ventilation and storage.
- Install quality sound equipment available for use by all hall renters.
- Install Solar PV panels to provide power to the Grange Hall
- Install heat pumps to further reduce our carbon footprint, and to provide some cooling on the hottest days.
Bequest Examples:
To leave a specific dollar amount to the Friends of the Capital City Grange:
“I give twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) to the Friends of the Capital City Grange in Berlin, Vermont.”
To leave a percentage of the estate:
“I give ten percent (10%) of my estate to the Friends of the Capital City Grange in Berlin, Vermont.”
To leave all or a portion of the estate remainder (the balance of the estate after the payment of specific bequests, debts, taxes and other estate expenses):
“I give to The Friends of the Capital City Grange, all (or a portion of) the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, both real and personal, to be used for the general purposes of the Friends (or insert a specific designated purpose).”
The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. Figures cited in examples are for illustrative purposes only.
The Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose purpose is to ensure the long term sustainability of the Hall on Northfield Street in Berlin as a venue for the public performance of and participation in traditional dance, music, song, and other arts and as a meeting place in Central Vermont for individuals and organizations. The FCCGH supports the maintenance, improvement and public promotion of the Capital City Grange Hall.