Orton Family Foundation

About the Orton Family Foundation With an entrepreneurial spirit and funding derived from the profits of The Vermont Country Store, Lyman Orton and Noel Fritzinger established the Orton Family Foundation in 1995 as a resource for small cities and towns grappling with change and searching for solutions. An active resident of Weston, Vermont and a pr... oud seventh generation Vermonter, Lyman saw that many communities around the state were unprepared for growth and lacking the information and tools needed to steer the change toward a vibrant, sustainable future. The Foundation began by developing a GIS-based 3D visualization and decision-support tool, CommunityViz®, which has helped hundreds of communities across the US imagine new possibilities for growth and change. The Foundation now emphasizes the Community Heart & Soul process, a planning methodology that uses broad citizen engagement to build economically resilient and socially vibrant communities based on towns' unique local character.Read More