Supporting Family Farms Enduring the Lasting Impacts of the 2023 Severe Weather & Floods
Vermont Business Magazine The Dig Deep Vermont campaign, a grassroots all-volunteer initiative, concluded its public-facing efforts on June 30 after a successful six-month run that has seen more than 70 micro-grants awarded to family farms across the state. This effort was launched to help farmers recover from the severe storm damage that struck Vermont in 2023, resulting in a financial need amounting to millions of dollars. While the public campaign has ended, donations can still be made by sending them to the Vermont Community Foundation, earmarked for the Dig Deep Vermont campaign.
The initial recovery effort from the 2023 floods generated significant contributions from the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA), the Vermont Community Foundation, and the State of Vermont. These collective efforts laid groundwork for Dig Deep Vermont to solicit Vermonters and travelers to Vermont to further address gaps in recovery funds required.
The end of the campaign came just prior to another round of flooding and storm events of July 2024. Campaign organizers express their deep sympathy and support for those impacted and encourage anyone willing to help with recovery of our state’s farming community to visit the Vermont Community Foundation. If you are a farmer impacted by this year’s flooding, please visit the VAAFM website at https://agriculture.vermont.gov/flood for more recovery information.
About Dig Deep Vermont™
Dig Deep Vermont was established to secure online donations. The platform leveraged the support of many volunteers', companies', and organizations' services and time, resulting in a robust system that may serve as a model for future disaster response initiatives. This system facilitated contributions from approximately 225 donors, with donations ranging from $5 to several thousand dollars.
With fundamental backing from the GIVIO Charitable Foundation and the Vermont Farm Bureau, the campaign successfully raised $170,000, and distributed micro-grants to 78 farms with grants ranging from $500 to $3,300. The final disbursements were mailed this month.
Campaign Highlights
Collaborative Effort: Dig Deep Vermont’s success was made possible through the collaborative efforts of SKI VERMONT, the Association of Vermont Credit Unions, The Vermont Broadcasters Association, The Vermont Chamber of Commerce, and various businesses, including US PR, Farrell Distributing, Co-op Insurance, Image Relay, Driven Studio, and Farm Credit East.
Community Impact: The micro-grants provided support for Vermont farmers to meet critical needs such as feed costs and operational expenses. Recipients expressed heartfelt gratitude, highlighting the emotional and practical relief the funds provided:
- "It made such an emotional difference to cover feed costs last month."
- "Right now, $1,000 feels like there's light at the end of the tunnel."
- "It wasn't near enough, but it sure feels like thousands to know my neighbors cared enough to contribute."
Looking Forward
The campaign leaders emphasize that the Dig Deep Vermont platform is now prepared to serve as a template for future disaster response efforts. The model system was developed with the aim of enhancing individual donation support at the county level. Going forward, the system can be redeployed.
“We took the fall to build the web-based system and launched in late January 2024,” remarked campaign co-chair Joe Bergeron, President of the Association of Vermont Credit Unions. “We built a whole new system of support for individual donations using QR codes and mobile technology. We were proud to modestly complement the crisis response handled so well by the State of Vermont, the Northeast Organic Farming Association, and the Vermont Community Foundation, among others.”
Although the Dig Deep Vermont campaign has ended, those willing to assist farms and farmers recovering from 2023 severe weather and flooding can still help. Campaign organizers recommend visiting the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets website to find assistance programs that are currently operating at https://agriculture.vermont.gov/flood/recovery-funding-opportunities.
Key Partners include:
The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) facilitates, supports, and encourages the growth and viability of agriculture in Vermont while protecting the working landscape, human health, animal health, plant health, consumers, and the environment.
Vermont Association of Broadcasters (VAB) is the non-profit trade association that unites, celebrates, and advocates for the more than one hundred free, over-the-air broadcast television and radio stations dedicated to serving our communities.
Association of Vermont Credit Unions (AVCU) The Association is a non-profit corporation which provides Vermont credit unions with a variety of professional trade association services. Since 1947, in Vermont and nationwide, AVCU has promoted the credit union movement and a favorable public attitude toward credit unions.
Vermont Ski Areas Association (Ski Vermont), a non-profit trade association serving alpine and cross-country ski areas, is a proud ambassador of the thriving winter tourism industry in Vermont, where the legislature has designated skiing and snowboarding as the official state sports. Ski Vermont’s mission is to help maintain an environment in which the state’s ski areas can grow and prosper.
The following companies who built this campaign have worked together for more than 15 years:
About Givio
Givio Inc., is a charitable giving technology company on a mission to make giving and fundraising easy and more impactful. Through its Charitable Banking™ solution and the Givio mobile app, Givio simplifies charitable giving, to any of the nation’s 1.6M nonprofits. Most recently, Givio joined Cabot to provide an individual fundraising system for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, to raise money to amplify the organization’s 50 year mission as a catalyst for self-supporting communities through cooperative economic development, land retention, for Black farmers, as well funding the preservation of the History of racism against southern black farmers.
About Image Relay
Image Relay, a Certified B Corporation, is inspired by helping brands and organizations tell their stories. The Vermont-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) company offers a unified DAM and PIM solution. Customers can efficiently store, access, and share their brand-approved, up-to-date product information and digital assets with Image Relay - SOC-2 compliant and used by over 400 companies with 100,000 users globally.
About Driven Studio
Driven Studio is a full-service creative agency based in Burlington, Vermont that specializes in graphic design, video production, copywriting, and studio photography. We’re proud to be a Certified B Corporation – because we believe that business should be a force for good.
About USPR Network
Unified Strategies Public Relations Network (USPR) is an international network of Public Relations and marketing communications professionals, born out of a strong desire to provide clients with cost-effective solutions for all their communications needs.
Source: August 22, 2024 | Montpelier, VT -– The Dig Deep Vermont
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