Current News

by Dan Smith, President and CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation People are tired of politics. Fear, mistrust and polarization have that effect. Trust is the connective tissue of civic structures, and the trend at every level is to trust leaders and each other less and less. As elections increase in intensity, we should reassess what needs to get done (policy) and how we choose to do it (civic design and approach to leadership). Community and democracy thrive with a sense of shared fate and the potential for progress. Polarization and stalemate offer neither. In Vermont, the need to focus on demographic imbalance, housing, health care, adapting to dramatic weather events, and creating the conditions for a strong economy require a political system that functions as we were taught it might instead of how it currently does. 

Vermont Business Magazine Alison Lane and Andrew Silva opened their pastry shop, Mirabelles, in South Burlington, Vermont, in 1990. Rooted in the European tradition, Mirabelles serves flaky breakfast pastries, show-stopping cakes, and a menu of other delights. Mirabelles has been named the best bakery in Vermont every year since 2006 by the readers of Seven Days, Vermont’s largest independent newspaper.

by Ivy Enoch Earning a college degree is challenging, especially for Vermont students who balance school, jobs, and family while working to put food on the table. Fortunately, a new policy change now makes it easier for Vermont’s community college students to access 3SquaresVT, the state’s name for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), to help with grocery expenses so they can focus on success in school. As of October 1, 2024, Vermont’s Department for Children and Families adopted a policy that eliminated a prohibitive work activity requirement for community college students seeking to gain eligibility for 3SquaresVT. This policy change recognizes that mandating work requirements is simply not effective at incentivizing work, because 80% of CCV students are already employed while pursuing their degree. 

Vermont Business Magazine 2024 was a banner year at Vermont State Historic Sites. New data released today by the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development’s Division for Historic Preservation shows 80,678 people spent $512,053 at seven Vermont State Historic Sites during the 2024 season. Spending is the result of admission fees (charged at six sites) and sales at six gift shops. The seven Vermont State Historic Sites accepting visitors during 2024 were Bennington Battle Monument, Mount Independence in Orwell, Chimney Point in Addison, Senator Justin Morrill in Strafford, President Calvin Coolidge in Plymouth Notch, President Chester A. Arthur in Fairfield, and Hubbardton Battlefield.

Vermont Business Magazine Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice (CVHHH) in Barre raised $6,190 on Giving Tuesday, December 3, 2024, thanks to a generous match challenge from J.A. Gould Plumbing & Heating. In 24 hours, thirty-five donors contributed $4,690. An additional $1,500 match from J.A. Gould Plumbing & Heating brought the Giving Tuesday total to $6,190 to support home health, hospice, long-term care, and family-child health care at Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice (CVHHH).

Vermont Business Magazine Community Bank’s community development program has been nationally recognized with a 2024 ABA Foundation Community Commitment Award from the American Bankers Association Foundation. Community Bank was chosen for its efforts in the volunteerism category and was presented with the award during ABA’s annual convention Oct. 29 in New York City. In 2023, Community Bank broke records for volunteerism and philanthropic investments across its network of more than 200 branches in Upstate New York, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont and Western Massachusetts.  Last year, more than 500 bank employees served on nonprofit boards and committees and spent more than 16,000 hours volunteering to help customers and community members. 

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Federal Credit Union successfully completed its 2025 Giving Tuesday campaign, donating a total of $15,000 to Vermont non-profits. The campaign was administered by the Vermont Federal Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable foundation established to uplift the Vermont community and bolster organizations dedicated to aiding those in need. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Windham Foundation, a nonprofit based in Grafton, VT that works to enhance Vermont's economic, cultural, and civic life, is pleased to announce the recipients of their most recent round of grants. Twenty-four Vermont-based nonprofits received a total of $71,000 in financial support. Funded projects included efforts to address food insecurity, youth-led barn and trails restoration projects, a community nurse program and out-of-school educational opportunities. 

Vermont Business Magazine Small businesses are the heartbeat of our community, all year long. During the Season of Small Business, the Vermont SBA encourages every American to show their appreciation for these tireless engines of our economy by choosing to shop, dine, and entertain small. We ask you to choose to shop locally in Vermont for unique gifts this holiday season and support the small businesses in your community!

Vermont Business Magazine Staff at Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont are celebrating management’s recognition of their union, United Justice Workers-VT, AFT-Vermont. Over the summer and fall of 2024, nearly 100 professional and non-professional staff at the legal aid non-profit organizations Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid organized their union, United Justice Workers-VT with AFT Vermont. Across both organizations, staff work side by side to fight for low-income Vermonters facing civil legal problems, such as eviction, foreclosure, disability services, bankruptcy, and other legal issues commonly afflicting disadvantaged groups in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine Beginning today, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) welcomes applications from Vermont agricultural and forestry businesses for Trade Show Assistance Grants (TSAG). These grants provide businesses with funds to exhibit and sell their Vermont products at trade shows targeting out-of-state buyers. Trade shows are opportunities to promote Vermont’s incredible food, forestry, and agricultural products to people from around the region and the world. They provide excellent opportunities to network with wholesale buyers and expand into new domestic and international markets. Funding may be used to reimburse up to 50% of the following expenses: travel; marketing assets and booth design; registration fees; booth fees; furnishings; utilities; shipping/freight; and other marketing costs (samples, printing, etc.). Trade show(s) must target buyers outside of Vermont and be in the business to business/wholesale format. Direct-to-consumer shows are not eligible for TSAG funding. 

Vermont Business Magazine Today, Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak announced that Charles Dillard, AICP is serving as the Director of Burlington’s Office of City Planning. Most recently, Dillard served as Burlington’s Interim Director and Principal Planner in the Office of City Planning. Dillard’s appointment was confirmed in a unanimous vote by the City Council on November 18, 2024. Dillard holds a Master’s in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina, and a Master’s in Landscape Architecture from the University of Toronto. Prior to joining the City of Burlington, he worked as a planner in both New York City and the City of Raleigh, North Carolina.