Vital Communities

Upper valley everyone eats - we implement the state-funded Vermont everyone eats (vee) model in the upper valley, providing meals to people in need of nourishing food while supporting local restaurants, farmers, and food producers. From september 2020 through march 2023, uvee distributed more than 200,000 meals to almost 128,000 vermonters, over half of which were seniors and reaching over 79,000 households. At $10/meal, this volume translates to over $2 million in much-needed income for participating local restaurants with over $521,000 going to local farmers and food producers.

Food & farm - we support upper valley farms and working lands to protect their natural resources, bolster regional self-sufficiency and food security, and help drive our economy. Projects include: sharing artful climate farmer stories that promote local farmers' positive role in climate resilience; we also support farm to school programming; and convene the upper valley farm to school network to connect food and farms with schools.

Outreach - with a commitment to equity for all, we promote the vision of a thriving and interconnected region. Projects include promoting vc programs through newsletters, our website, and social media; managing 35 public email community discussion lists for community-focused news and exchanges; and collaborating with area chambers on upper valley adventure trails' thematic tour itineraries.

Place-based learning - we support upper valley Communities to provide place-based education and experiences that foster ecological understanding and connection. Projects include managing valley quest, a local library of self-directed, place-based learning expeditions, and uvtpc, described above.

Corporate council - we convene business leaders to take action on issues impacting employers and employees and municipal leaders to address important issues facing our region. We also convene a municipal leaders group from hanover, lebanon, hartford, and norwich.

Civic leadership - we support upper valley community members who want to understand our region and its emerging challenges so that they can be inclusive and effective leaders. Projects include managing our year-long training program, leadership upper valley, and its alumni network, as well as coordinating the upper valley equity exchange of nonprofits working on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Economy - we support upper valley Communities in developing a resilient, self-reliant, and environmentally sustainable regional economy that serves all. Projects include hosting the local crowd upper valley, a community-based crowdfunding platform for local entrepreneurs, and supporting the local first business network with online listings and seasonal campaigns.

Transportation - we support upper valley Communities' efforts to create a safe, reliable, and multimodal transportation system that is affordable, increases community resilience, and minimizes climate impact. Projects include convening the upper valley transportation management association, as well as the statewide, climate-focused Vermont transportation efficiency network. We also piloted an e-bike subsidy project for low- and moderate-income residents, facilitated employer-based e-bike library or bikeshare programs, hosted the upper valley e-bike lending library, and promoted walk, bike, ride campaigns.

Fiscal sponsorships- financial activity of fiscally sponsored project, aggregated for financial statement purposes. Projects include:for 2022: wrlc - effective june 2022, white river land collaborative, llc (wrlc), a Vermont limited liability company, was transferred to the organization. Wrlc is a farmer-led, community driven project that aims to provide young farmers affordable land and housing, offer other support to the region's farmers and economy, generate green power, and provide community space.

Workforce housing - we support upper valley planners, developers, employers, municipal leaders, property owners, and community groups so that they can work together to create more places to live. Projects include hosting public housing breakfasts and roundtables that address housing solutions and promote action plans, organizing a multi-sector housing advisory committee, counting new homes annually in the upper valley and using the report to inform solutions, facilitating the upper valley housing fund, a $10 million project of the corporate council, and engaging upper valley Communities to examine and reform zoning and land use regulations.

Childcare - through the early care and education initiative (ece), Vital Communities is convening employers, employees, ece providers, parents, philanthropists, and advocates in workgroups to address (1) facilities and program models, (2) workforce recruitment and retention, and (3) advocacy at the state and local levels.

Climate adaptation - we support upper valley Communities to collaboratively manage the effects of climate change through proactive adjustments in ecological, social, and economic systems. Projects include the upper valley adaptation workgroup, upper valley adaptation forums, climate change leadership academy (2cla), and community-based climate resilience projects.

Energy - we support upper valley Communities to realize the goal of 100% renewable energy by 2050. Projects include engaging in grassroots efforts to equitably alleviate the energy burden for mobile home residents, and assisting ~40 town energy committees with surveys, showcases, and roundtables.

White river valley consortium working Communities challenge - we administer the white river valley consortium (wrvc), a collaboration of 14 towns from three different eastern Vermont counties working to identity and implement housing solutions for entry-level workers and beginning entrepreneurs.