Governor Phil Scott unveiled his proposal to add $3 million to the base funding for the Vermont’s Working Lands Enterprise Initiative for Fiscal Year 2022 on Tuesday, Jan. 26, during his annual budget address. The Vermont Working Lands Coalition celebrated this proposal this week and encouraging Vermont legislators to support the significant one-time investment. “We…

Feb. 1, the Vermont Community Foundation (VCF) announced that it has partnered with the Community College of Vermont (CCV) to expand pathways to promising jobs for high school seniors across the state. To help the Vermont high school class of 2022 chart and start their career training, the Community Foundation will offer $1,000 in stipends…

By Anne Wallace Allen/VTDigger The Vermont Department of Labor will reissue about 180,000 of the 1099 tax forms mailed to unemployment insurance recipients Friday, Jan. 29. Some of the forms contain the wrong person’s private information, including names, addresses and social security numbers. Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington said Monday, Feb. 1, the department started receiving…

Funding is now available for organizations and projects across the state of Vermont through the Spark Connecting Community competitive grant program at the Vermont Community Foundation. Spark supports projects that nurture community and build social capital. The program prioritizes community resilience and strength, increased civic engagement, and collaboration among organizations. The first round of 2021…

By Lisa Lynn/Vermont Sports As Governor Scott outlined in his annual budget address Tuesday, Jan. 26, outdoor recreation is going to see some major investment in the coming year. “It’s more than 20 million dollars, that’s huge!” said Kelly Ault, executive director of the Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance, which counts as members businesses such as Orvis,…

Average sale price for a single-family home rose 26% to $352,537 By Anne Wallace Allen/VTDigger The number of $1 million home sales in Vermont nearly tripled last year. Vermont real estate agents assisted in the sale of 313 homes worth at least $1 million in 2020, said Staige Davis, CEO of Four Seasons Sotheby’s. In 2019,…

USDA Rural Development (RD) is seeking applications for the Value Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG). Applications will be accepted through close of business on March 22, 2021. The VAPG program helps agricultural producers in rural communities develop and market their products, and widen their areas of distribution, to increase their income and strengthen rural food…

The Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF) aims to ensuring that all children in New Hampshire and Vermont have access to enriching literacy experiences, the resources they need to learn, and high-quality books in the spaces where they spend time, particularly in the home. Literacy skills are one of the strongest indicators of a child’s future success…

On Jan. 15, the Vermont Women’s Fund announced that it is now accepting applications for its 2021 grant round from nonprofit organizations in Vermont that advance economic opportunities for women and girls. The 2021 competitive grant program will award grants of up to $10,000 for both specific programs and general operating support that: Make pathways…

The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE) has released its 2021 call for Partnership Grant program proposals. The Partnership Grant program funds projects that work in direct partnership with farmers to encourage innovative solutions to current sustainability challenges related to production, marketing and/or farmer and community wellbeing in Northeast farming and food systems.…

Mentor Vermont is excited to announce the awarding of four multi-year federal grants, totaling $755,000, to youth mentoring agencies serving rural communities in northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest Vermont. Funding for these grants comes from a $1.25 million three-year federal grant awarded to the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) and Mentor Vermont from…

Vermont Racial Justice Alliance releases its legislative priority list for 2021 The Vermont Racial Justice Alliance (VRJA) announced its top legislative priorities for 2021 last week, expressing deep concern surrounding the unprecedented impact of Covid-19 and systemic racism on Black American descendants of slavery (ADOS). The Racial Justice Alliance is calling on the Vermont Legislature…

Governor Phil Scott delivered his fifth budget address to the General Assembly on Tuesday, Jan. 26, presenting a balanced budget that, with the help of federal stimulus, includes $210 million in bold new investments to strengthen the economy, create more and better paying jobs, and address big priorities, like downtown revitalization, infrastructure, broadband and climate…

By Kit Norton/VTDigger Hours after Joe Biden was sworn in as president, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., was sworn in as president pro tempore of the Senate, placing him third in line for the presidency. Leahy, 80, was escorted to the front of the Senate chamber by incoming Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Chuck Grassley,…

By Julia Purdy On Tuesday, Jan. 19, Congressman Peter Welch hosted a live town hall meeting by telephone to take the public pulse on the takeover of the U.S. Capitol of January 6. Call-in “town meetings” are a service of Congressman Welch and others to stay in touch with their constituents in a direct and…