In August 2009, Senator Patrick Leahy announced that the Richmond Historical Society has received a $25,000 Village Revitalization Initiative Grant to complete the installation of a fire safety sprinkler system in the Old Round Church.  Village Revitalization Initiative Grants are distributed jointly by Senator Leahy and the Preservation Trust of Vermont, with funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  The Old Round Church  is one of five historic buildings in Vermont to receive these federal grants designed to help keep village downtown areas healthy and active.  This grant money will enable the Richmond Historical Society to complete the structural repair and enhancement portions of the Round Church Renovation Project in 2010.

In 2005, the Richmond Historical Society launched a multi-year Round Church renovation and enhancement project, the most significant work to the church since the major repairs undertaken in the 1970’s and early 1980’s to restore the building after it was found unsafe for use.

In the first phase of the current project, completed in January 2006, the belfry was repainted and the church received a new red cedar shingle roof.  A $15,000 matching grant from the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation helped to finance this phase of the project.

Work for phase two of the project began during the summer of 2006 and included replastering and repainting the interior of the church and adding handrails to the balcony stairwells. In 2007 and 2008, the church’s exterior was repainted and work was begun on painting and reglazing the building's many windows. Most of the remaining pipes for a fire safety sprinkler system were  installed, a water line was brought to the building and the underground control room  for the sprinkler system was  constructed.  Federal grant money will be used in 2009 and 2010 to install the pump and other controls to activate the sprinkler system.

Other project goals include adding improved lighting around the front entrance and landscaping the parking field and adjacent grounds. Total cost for the project is estimated at $235,000.

The Round Church is owned and managed by the Richmond Historical Society, a community-based non-profit organization, and staffed entirely by volunteers.  Significant public support is needed to enable the RHS to keep the Round Church safe, attractive, and open to visitors for years to come.  To contribute to the Round Church Renovation Project, please send a check to the Richmond Historical Society, P. O. Box 453, Richmond, VT 05477.