Preserving and protecting the environment for generations to come.

Sandy and Sidney Van Zandt

Sandy, Sidney and Douglas Van Zandt have long held a deep, abiding love for Eastern Connecticut’s Great Outdoors – environments that showcase our state’s ocean waves, rocky shores, quiet forest, rugged mountains and rushing rivers.

For many years, Sandy and Sidney operated Van Zandt Sails, a sail-manufacturing company, while simultaneously undertaking around-the-world sailing voyages and supporting local environmental preservation efforts.

Sidney campaigned to save Groton’s Haley Farm from being developed into a private housing project; today, it is known as Haley Farm State Park. As founder of the Groton Open Space Association, she co-chaired the Bluff Point Advisory Council, which saved 800 acres from being developed into an amusement park and created Connecticut’s very first coastal preserve.

In recent years, the family has established two separate funds at our foundation to help ensure that the outdoor environments they treasure will be protected and preserved for generations to come.

The Sidney Faithfull Van Zandt Environmental Education Fund supports projects that teach New London County children and teens how to better understand humans’ role in the ecosystem and how to take better care of our environment.

As part of their joint estate plan, the family established the Sandy, Sidney & Douglas Van Zandt Fund. This Charitable Remainder Trust will provide each of them with income throughout their lifetimes. After they have passed on, a portion of the remainder will be donated to our foundation to issue grants to the Connecticut Forest and Park Association and other environmentally inclined nonprofits, as well as projects that support environmental education and the preservation of open space.

The family chose to establish their funds at the foundation because they wanted to ensure that committees of local people would decide how best to distribute grants.