Shelburne Farms is excited to announce that it has met a Save America’s Treasures challenge grant that will allow the continuing transformation of Shelburne Farms into an educational and community resource through the completion of exterior repairs of the historic Breeding Barn.  

In fall 2021, Shelburne Farms was awarded a $500,000 Save America’s Treasures challenge matching grant from the National Park Service, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.  

To meet the challenge, Shelburne Farms secured several charitable gifts, including an anonymous pledge and a leadership gift from the Abra Prentice Foundation. Today, Shelburne Farms is excited to announce it has received a capstone gift of $500,000 from the Pomerleau Family Foundation that puts the organization over the top for completing the Save America’s Treasures challenge. The Pomerleau family gift was made in memory of Rita Pomerleau.  

“We are exceedingly grateful to board member Ernie Pomerleau and his sisters Patricia and Alice for this generous grant on behalf of the Pomerleau family. It allows us to unlock the Save America’s Treasures funds, and makes possible another major step in the transformation of Shelburne Farms into an inspiring campus for cultivating learning for a sustainable future,” said Shelburne Farms president, Alec Webb. “We see incredible future potential for integrating the Breeding Barn into the Shelburne Farms' education and community program activities as a spectacular and inspirational gathering space.” 

The award of $500,000 and the matching funds will be used to preserve the historic Breeding Barn at Shelburne Farms—one of America’s great barns—for educational, agricultural, and community events. A magnificent and architecturally significant building built in 1891 to breed and showcase horses, the Breeding Barn is a primary contributing structure to the 2001 designation of Shelburne Farms as a National Historic Landmark District. The Breeding Barn will serve as a space for reflection and as a seasonal gathering space to advance the nonprofit education mission of Shelburne Farms.  

The project is supported through the Save America's Treasures Grants Program, provided by the Historic Preservation Fund, as administered by the National Park Service, Department of Interior.