“2014 was a good year for milk,” Kate Leach says from the kitchen table at her family’s seventh generation farm. Kate and her husband Seth Leach track such things. His ancestors started Woodlawn Holsteins Farm in Pawlet nearly 200 years ago, where the family has been producing and selling premium quality milk and beef ever since. Kate explains that 2014 was the year Vermont’s commodity milk market paid a relatively higher price to the state’s dairy farmers for their product. Woodlawn, like many Vermont dairy farms, has struggled with smaller payouts, potentially affecting their long-term sustainability. But in 2014, Seth could at last take a breath and feel optimistic about the family farm’s future. “Then he calculated the costs of feed for our cows, and all our other farm expenses,” Kate adds, “and he realized that even with that higher payment, it still wasn’t great.” All costs considered, the struggle would go on. That realization caused the couple to think hard about cutting costs, “and about developing new and higher-value revenue streams,” Kate says. “The price you can get from the commodity milk market doesn’t cover all the costs of producing high quality milk. But premium artisanal cheesemakers are willing to pay more,” she says brightly. The couple planted more of their own soy, corn and alfalfa for feed. “Now we’re feed self-sufficient,” she notes. They downsized their herd. They determined to ramp up their milk sales to those premium artisanal cheesemakers, reaching out to an expanded customer base. Then one day, one of those cheesemaker customers came to them with an offer. The cheesemaker was exiting the business. Would the Leaches be interested in purchasing the rights to their popular cheese recipes and product names, to rebrand as Woodlawn’s? The answer was an enthusiastic but qualified ’yes’: they were eager to proceed, but they’d need a loan for the purchase. Advisors at Vermont’s Intervale Center (a longtime Vermont Community Loan Fund partner & borrower!) recommended the Loan Fund for the couple’s additional capital needs. “VCLF has been very patient, appropriately persistent and very much appreciated,” Kate says. “Without them, I don’t think we could have done this.” Now, Woodlawn Creamery, their new affiliate operation, is set to relaunch the celebrated “Pawlet” and “Rupert” cheeses to the marketplace, following up with “Southwind”, a new variety, soon after. “Pawlet is an Italian-style Toma, aged three to six months, mild, buttery, grassy”, their website tells. Rupert, requiring nine months’ ageing, is an Alpine-style, “fruity, butterscotch, complex”, per the website. “A great cheeseboard cheese”, Kate attests. Kate focuses on distribution, marketing and operations at Woodlawn, while also working a demanding second full-time job as Director of Advancement at Burr & Burton Academy. Incredibly, she seems unfazed by the double workload (not to mention co-parenting the couple’s young children), focusing on opportunities. “We’re the seventh generation to farm here. Whether it’s our kids who’ll be the eighth generation, or somebody else, we want the farm to continue on after us,” she says. “Vermont’s farms are going away because they can’t afford to stay in business. Farmers want to be a part of Vermont’s future, and VCLF is helping make that happen.” woodlawncreamery.com

Snapshots of Wren’s Nest Forest Preschool students illustrate the wonder of childhood discovery in nature. A young girl on a forest trail collects autumn leaves into a bouquet. Students gather to investigate a pond’s intricate ecosystem; a fallen tree inspires inquiry. “Wren’s Nest Forest Preschool encourages young children to love the natural world through an immersive approach to nature-based, child-directed, emergent and inquiry-driven learning,” says Tasha Ball, executive director of the Monkton nonprofit Willowell Foundation that owns and operates the preschool. At Wren’s Nest, she explains, the outdoors - its forests, meadows, fields and streams - serves as classroom. Willowell also runs schools and programming for older children and adults: Pond Brook Middle School, the Walden Project outdoor, public high school run through Vergennes Union High School, plus summer camps, after-school programs, artists’ residencies and more. Wren’s Nest Forest Preschool, licensed and 4 STARS-rated, has been celebrated as a unique and remarkable educational opportunity for place-based, experiential learning, connecting students ages 3-5 to the natural environment. But its own place hasn’t always been secure. Established in 2012, Wren’s Nest’s first home was planned for construction when the Willowell Foundation received a VCLF loan to purchase a 226-acre Monkton parcel on which to build and grow. But, permitting issues felled those plans. Willowell ultimately sold the property and then leased a portion of it, cost-free, to continue its programming. Before anyone could get too comfortable, COVID protocols pushed Wren’s Nest out, and the search for a forever ‘nest’ began again. “These moves were costly, time-consuming and demanded an extraordinary amount of energy,” Tasha says, describing the upheavals. This year, when a nearby parcel in Bristol became available for purchase, Tasha and her team recognized it as perfect for the home base they’d always wanted. They got to work writing and winning grants, which meant they’d need bridge financing to cover costs before grant awards could be reimbursed. The Loan Fund’s previous support of Willowell immediately came to mind. “We came back to VCLF because they understand the mission-driven nature of our programming. Without VCLF, we wouldn’t have had the funding to launch as a small, scrappy nonprofit, so man years ago.” There was a race to get financing underway so the project could be completed in time for the upcoming school year. She was thrilled that the VCLF team moved quickly and efficiently to accommodate a tight timeline. “Working with VCLF was a dream,” she says, and through the paperwork, fine print and various processes and regulations to work through, “everyone was there to see it all come together.” In August, Wren’s Nest will have their new ‘nest,’ a structure Tasha describes as “practical, sustainable and beautiful, on two and a half acres of beautiful meadow, stream and hardwood forest land,” with a staff of seven serving 18 preschoolers. Twenty percent of the slots are reserved for low-to-moderate income families, per Willowell’s commitment to increased accessibility of their programming. “We can’t wait to see what this new property holds,” Tasha says, “to see what rocks or bends in the stream will the students take to, and how we’ll inhabit this new place.”

Much like pizza itself, Stone’s Throw Pizza’s five restaurants showcase inviting variations on a theme, each with a slightly, deliciously different spin, highlighting another appetizing aspect of their brand. “Our different locations reflect the community they’re part of,” says owner/founder/partner Tyler Stratton, who, together with business partners Allie Stratton (also his wife) and Silas Pollitt (also his childhood BFF), founded the pizza enterprise. The Fairfax location is the flagship shop. Located in a former general store, it’s casual and welcoming. Waterbury, “our only sit-down restaurant,” says Allie, “has a date night vibe” where velvet upholstery, blingy wall art, and elegant appetizers and cocktails coexist with their famous pies. “Richmond is more about families,” pitches Tyler. “We have the outdoor space, the picnic tables and the garden where families sit and eat.” Charlotte and Jericho are more focused on take-out. What they all have in common (in addition to five-star reviews) is uncommon pizza. To wit: the Spice Girl pizza with chicken and tikka masala sauce, or the Nomad with pork belly, kimchee and leeks. Stone’s Throw’s commitment to staff is equally uncommon; they’re dedicated to paying a livable wage and even offering a 401(k), basically unheard of in the restaurant business. From start-up to starting over following the 2023 flooding at the Richmond location, the Stone’s Throw team has come to VCLF for support, Tyler notes. “The Loan Fund has always believed in our ability, our expertise and experience.”

Chris Line recalls exactly when his fascination with fermentation began. “I was ten years old,” he says, “when my dad started making home brews and ciders down in our basement.” The memory persisted. Long after his dad abandoned brewing and the associated equipment, Chris picked it up and immersed himself in what would become his next career. He was working as a personal trainer, making cider on the side when COVID hit. “I saw it as an opportunity to reassess,” he says. He brought his idea for opening a hard cider tasting room to the Vermont Small Business Development Center, where he learned about the Loan Fund. The Vermont Cider Lab opened in July, 2023 at the Essex Experience. Today, Chris and his team brew several varieties of the apple elixir. Ginger-lemon “Cassa Frass” and raspberry-vanilla “Luna” are offered alongside the original “Bubba” flavor, each named for a beloved pooch. (Chris and wife Kate Wisehart are serious dog people.) Flights of five distinct ciders showcase fruit, gentle spice and florals, all surprisingly light. “Our ciders are dry and balanced, zero-sugar, and zero-carb, so they’re more delicate than most,” he explains. The menu also offers wines, beers, cider cocktails and non-alcoholic cider slushies, complemented by an eclectic menu of snacks, soups and sandwiches. On a recent visit, the soft pretzel bites with artisan mustard sauce and Switchback cheese fondue had the VCLF team competing for dipping rights. The Vermont Cheese Plate came stacked with Grafton Cheddar, local summer sausage, plus house-made apple chutney. We were glad we saved room for the colossal Vermont Cookie Love ice cream sandwich!

It feels like a celebration on a summer afternoon at Standing Stone Wines. A breeze slips through the retail space where bottles from Argentina, France, New Zealand, Napa and Vermont line the walls. Tables begin to fill in the tasting room area while a local band tunes up. “We have events every week,” says owner Lily Sickles. Trivia Night, Karaoke Night, Paint & Sip Nights, “and wine classes, like how to look at a bottle of wine and know,” she emphasizes. Lily studied wine at the French Culinary Institute and spent years managing New York City bars and restaurants. Looking to relocate but still practice her passion, she opened Standing Stone Wines. Her niche is affordable/everyday wines, bottles in the $10 - $20 range. “But, I have wines for everyone at various price points.” Varieties include blends, biodynamic and organic wines, sustainably-produced and certified-vegan wines. Sample one of her wines by the glass like the citrusy Italian white Gavi, bold Spanish Tempranillo, or cocktail and mocktail options. On a given night, the “Girl Dinner” may include creamy, garlicky hummus served with baby carrots, flavorful roasted nuts and other finger foods. Lily, a proud descendant of the Native American Oneida tribe, learned that her Indigenous heritage made her eligible for a VCLF Justice Forward Fund (JFF) loan, a low-interest/no-fees option available to Vermont BIPOC entrepreneurs. She used JFF financing to purchase inventory and equipment. “If not for VCLF, I don’t know that I’d be in business today. VCLF makes dreams like mine come true.”

Out on the deck of Lost Nation Brewing’s historic former granite shed, the Lost Nation Burger arrives, perfectly grilled, slightly charred, a monument to Vermont locavore artisanal deliciousness. “That’s eight ounces of house-ground prime Angus brisket. We grind the meat in house,” owner and founder Allan Van Anda says proudly. The fries, pickles and glossy brioche bun are all locally sourced, he adds. Beer is an even headier subject. “We serve beers from around the world and around the country,” he says, nodding to a large chalkboard menu listing German Pilsners, a Bavarian wheat beer, lagers, porters and sour ales. Allan launched Lost Nation in 2012. The business grew through the years, but COVID shook Vermont’s hospitality sector and Lost Nation needed to pivot. “We totally changed our business model,” he says, taking a breath. Pre-pandemic, it was strictly sit-down table service. Now, with staff trimmed to a super-efficient, smaller team, customers order and pick up at the counter and bus their own tables. When other improvements required funding, Allan turned to VCLF. Inside a production area, he shows off a large, gleaming steel tank. “The centrifuge,” he says, financed with a low-interest loan from VCLF. “It spins the beer, pulls out the solids and clarifies product. It’s increased our productivity, profitability and consistency. It’ll pay for itself in three years.” With Lost Nation now chugging efficiently away, Allan is feeling confident and grateful. “Without the Loan Fund,” he says, “we wouldn’t have this equipment, or the improved quality and profitability. But now we do.”

On a pause from a typically busy morning, Barre-based restaurateur Lisa St. Lawrence takes a quick mental inventory of her menu items. “Let’s see: there’s grilled garlic, peppers and onions, pepper Jack cheese, horseradish sauce and local beef from Knight’s Farm - that’s the Tribal Archery Signature Burger,” she says almost dreamily. “Then there’s the Yikes Stripes Signature Burger with bacon, cheddar and local maple syrup, and the Ridge Runner with egg and hot sauce.” She takes a breath and explains her enthusiasm. “I love watching people enjoy their food. It’s a passion of mine.” As owner of the soon-to-open Tasty Bites Diner, Lisa clearly has landed in the right profession. And, as of this spring, she’s landed in just the right place. The new diner is located on Barre’s high-visibility, high-traffic North Main Street. A longtime foodie, Lisa had a lengthy career in grocery management. Even with her fulltime schedule back then, she’d often pick up catering jobs on the side. “Weddings and small birthday parties mostly,” she says. “I’ve always liked to be busy.” When she left her grocery management position, she still catered now and then, but soon found herself craving more. “I just wasn’t busy enough,” she recalls. But she had an idea, a kind of natural progression from her catering work: a food truck! Tasty Bites Food Truck hit the road in 2022 and became a runaway success. “Customers of all ages love the food truck,” she tells. Regular customers line up for pulled pork sandwiches, dessert egg rolls (available in apple pie, raspberry or blueberry cheesecake-filled flavors, and all huge local favorites), burgers, hot dogs and loaded fries. “But I could only do the food truck during the warmer weather months,” she notes, which left her looking for other opportunities. Her appetite for more work was piqued when Aimee Green, executive director of Barre Area Development., spotted an ideal space for a bricks and mortar version of Lisa’s popular business, recently vacated by another restaurant tenant. Aimee recommended working with VCLF to access financing through the Barre Revolving Loan Fund, which supports projects benefitting Barre’s downtown. “A professional kitchen was already in place from the previous tenant,” says VCLF Director of Business and Early Care & Learning Programs Dan Winslow, noting the project strengths, “and Lisa has an impressive business background, plus a sizeable following with her food truck.” (Lisa’s 1,500-plus fans from social media have been extremely enthusiastic about the diner.) Lisa has high praise for the Loan Fund and its Business Resource Center. “When you’re starting up a business, there are a lot of things you need to know, and a lot of resources to know about. The Loan Fund was there to direct me down the right path.” At the time of this writing, Lisa is coordinating with the health department and the Barre fire marshal to get up to code, preparing to add an ADA-compliant accessible entrance, and staffing up to fill three new positions to ready for a mid-May opening. Tasty Bites Diner will be open every day but Wednesday, offering all-day breakfasts and lunches and ready-made homestyle carryout options. “We’ll have a lot of new items on the diner menus,” says Lisa, “but we’ll be serving some of our customer favorites from the food truck, too.” Yes, she notes, that does include the dessert eggrolls.

“Housing is a major wealth-building asset,” says Matthew Cropp, board treasurer of the Vermont Real Estate Cooperative (VREC). It’s an asset, he’s quick to note, that’s unattainable for far too many Vermonters. VREC is working to change that. For those unable to secure financing for a home, renting has been the only other option. But renting prohibits tenants from building equity and wealth, and can lead to instability “when tenants face sudden rent increases, or displacement if their rental is sold,” Matt stresses. “They have no control.” “The Vermont Real Estate Cooperative offers a middle path,” he says enthusiastically. A member-owned and -controlled real estate cooperative, VREC was established in 2019 as an alternative mode of homeownership. “The Coop ownership splits the difference between renter and homeownership,” Matt says. VREC allows Vermonters to pool resources cooperatively to purchase ‘naturally occurring’ (i.e. pre-existing) affordable properties, both residential and commercial. Any Vermont resident can become a member by purchasing VREC shares, priced at $1,000 each. There is a limit as to how many shares a single shareholder can buy, and each shareholder gets only one vote in purchasing, selling and other decisions regardless of how many shares they own. In years where there is a surplus, shareholders may receive a dividend. With Vermont still struggling through a long-standing affordable housing shortage, VREC provides a unique and effective solution. Vermont’s dedicated network of regional affordable housing developers typically focus on building and preserving larger, multi-unit properties. “And of course that’s extremely important,” Matt says. “But a lot of our existing affordable stock is in smaller properties, with five or even fewer units. VREC doesn’t want to lose affordable homes in those many smaller properties,” he explains. “We seek them out.” They also seek out private sales, where sellers have been willing to negotiate costs to aid in VREC’s mission. That’s precisely what happened with VREC’s recent purchase of a three-unit property in Winooski. Two of the multi-family home’s units were 4-bedroom, and one was 3-bedroom. “In other words, it was ideal for families, which is where there’s great need,” Matt points out. Two of the tenant families received state subsidy to help them cover rental costs. “If this property had sold on the open market, the tenants would have been priced out.” The system, Matt says, encourages landlords’ pushing prices upwards and out of reach of many. But in this case, two things happened: the seller, it turned out, had grown up in state-subsidized household himself. Concerned that an outside buyer might increase rents and displace the tenants, he wanted to sell to VREC. And VREC wanted to work with the Vermont Community Loan Fund. “The Loan Fund’s work and reputation in affordable housing was well-known to us,” Matt says, noting the two organizations’ mission alignment and dedication to preserving homes for lower-wealth Vermonters. He appreciated that the Loan Fund’s flexibility on a tight timeline helped move the sale through without a hitch. “Without the Loan Fund, the process would have been a lot more complicated, and longer. There would have been a lot more pieces of the puzzle for us to pull together.” There’s even more good news! While the Coop’s purchase of the property means that three families won’t lose their homes, VREC has also hired one of the tenants to serve as on-site manager. “The Loan Fund fills a number of gaps in Vermont,” Matthew says. “They provide creative solutions, flexibility and an important resource for capacity building. That’s where real impact becomes possible.” vrec.coop

With all the historic Lodge had given to the community over the years, the community was determined to give back to their beloved cultural hub. They called on the Loan Fund to help. In its heyday – its first heyday, that is – Burlington’s Goethe Lodge was a happening place. Established in 1896 as the Vermont Chapter of the German Order of Harugari, a national German-American cultural association, the Goethe Lodge social club hosted music, dances, and celebrations. For this growing community of new American immigrants, it provided fellowship, connection, mutual aid, and, an anomaly in late 19th century society, even admitted women(!). Across the decades, the Goethe’s popularity ebbed and flowed. In the 1960s, when membership lulled, the club dropped its German-descent requirement and eventually renamed itself the Champlain Club. But by the early 2000s, a fundraising effort to pay back taxes spurred new community excitement, as dance clubs, arts classes, and community groups came to embrace the space. A new heyday had arrived! Longtime Burlington resident and entrepreneur Charlene Wallace had heard plenty about the swing dances now being held weekly at the Hall. She’d heard about the Hall’s large dance floor, in need of refurbishing, but still beautiful. She knew about the structure’s historic significance, its 3,960 square feet of space for classes, parties and events. Known to cut a rug herself, she decided to go take a look. “The swing dancing was great,” she recalls. Soon she was a regular, and then, a Board member. And then COVID hit. “COVID put a halt to everything,” Charlene recalls. With all activities suddenly shut down, “the hall president said ‘let’s renovate the dance floor during the pandemic.’” When the dance floor was once again pristine, the group felt that “the interior needed painting, so our contractor donated time and equipment,” Charlene explains, and volunteers set to work. Loving the Hall’s refurbished interior, “Next, we all said ‘what about the exterior?’” she adds, pointing out rotting clapboards and disintegrating paint. Before long, the Board and volunteers were discussing a full-on restoration, fundraising to cover the costs of a new HVAC system & other efficiency upgrades, new windows, a commercial kitchen, accessibility and more. Donations, grants and in-kind contributions came in from the Vermont State Department of Historic Preservation, the Vermont Housing Conservation Board, the Vermont Arts Council, local philanthropists and more. The Preservation Trust of Vermont provided a grant “and then they helped us transition from a club to a nonprofit,” Charlene notes, reopening as the North Star Community Hall. With several grants lined up but yet to be received, North Star now needed a bridge loan to cover upfront construction costs, that would eventually be covered by grant monies. They called on local banks “but, we found out that someone from the Board would need to sign personally on a bank loan,” she says, then pauses. “None of us could do that.” So instead they called the Vermont Community Loan Fund. “The VCLF team went above and beyond. They actually closed the loan during the (July 2023) flood, at the same time their own offices were underwater!” she adds, emphatically. “The Loan Fund is important for community groups and nonprofits with projects like ours, where grants are coming, but the work needs doing now. Thanks to the Loan Fund, Burlington now has a historic, one-of-a-kind venue to celebrate the arts, dance and community connections. Without VCLF, this wouldn’t have happened.” Loan Fund Executive Director Will Belongia agrees. “The North Star Community Hall’s renovation story goes to show that even when an organization has tremendous community support, issues of funding and timing can still be barriers that stand in the way,” he says. “That’s one of the key purposes of VCLF’s Community Facilities lending programs, to be flexible and supportive, to keep these beloved and historic community spaces accessible and vibrant in Vermont.” Today, the North Star Community Hall is open to all Vermonters and home to numerous community groups and organizations, including Vermont Swings swing dancing, Jeh Kulu West African Dance & Drum Theatre, Burlington Country Dancers, SalsaLina Salsa Dancing and many more. Their supporting fundraising campaign is ongoing. If you’d like contribute or volunteer, please go to northstarcommunityhall.org/make-an-online-donation

Customers, employees and community members – both the two-and four-legged varieties – know they can count on Ned Robinson who, along with his wife Shannon Mead, recently purchased Richmond’s The Crate Escape. “I’ve always loved dogs,” he admits. His laser focus on customer satisfaction comes from 22 years as a high-level chef at celebrated spots like Colorado’s Vail Resort, while his deep connection to Richmond stems from his seven years at Stone’s Throw Pizza (more on that below…). His dedication was evidenced on the evening of July 10th, and on throughout the long day and night of the 11th, as heavy rains and historic flooding devastated Vermont. On the banks of the inundated Winooski River, Richmond was plunged beneath six feet of water. Ned stood watch at The Crate Escape’s nearby Route 2 location as the river continued to advance, ultimately closing off the road in either direction and separating the dozens of boarding pups in his care from their families. “I made the call and spent the night here during the flood so we’d have someone at the facility if no one else could get back here,” he says. In the end, “we escaped flooding, but it was pretty close,” he adds. He spent the following day on the phone, handling cancellations, providing detour directions, and checking in with staff. But the chaos of the flooding soon drove into a spike in business as loyal customers lined up again for doggy daycare and boarding. “Whatever we lost in cancellations that day we immediately made back up in extra bookings for the rest of the week. People needed time to clean up and help friends and family with their clean-ups as well.” The Crate Escape was operating at full capacity even before Ned and Shannon purchased it. “COVID puppies,” Ned says. “People got dogs during the pandemic when they were working from home, and needed boarding and daycare for them, especially after they returned to their offices,” he notes. When the business, which originally opened in 1995, came on the market, the friendly owner of a competing business encouraged the couple to buy it. “Demand is incredibly high for dog boarding, and he was pretty sure there’d be plenty of clients for all of us,” Ned recalls. He’d been contemplating a career change, a departure from the restaurant industry he’d known for decades, when his boss at Stone’s Throw Pizza, a local VCLF borrower, encouraged him to take a look at the Loan Fund. Good to know, Ned says “because I’d already been rejected for loans from some of the larger banks. We pulled together all of our savings from my 22 years working, and Shannon’s 19 years, and got help from our families and it still wasn’t enough. VCLF helped us over the finish line.” Ned praises VCLF’s lending team for their flexibility, guidance and generosity with their time, advice and assistance. VT SBA helped him craft a business plan with Ned at the helm, and Shannon coming on board later. The loan closed in May and Ned got to work on the improvements he’d planned. Ultimately, they’d retain all 14 employees and added additional help during the busy summer boarding season. “I’m investing in this community. Richmond is a small town, and The Crate Escape is one of our anchor businesses. These jobs matter. I want this to be a quality place to work, where workers feel supported and respected,” he says. To that end, he provided raises for all staff on the day he took over. Ned and his staff care for roughly 50 dogs every day, offering boarding, day care, plus lots of extras that adoring pet owners love. “We offer grooming, cuddle time, bedtime snacks and bedtime stories, trail walks, nail trims, oatmeal and skunk baths, you name it. And we’ve retained 100% of our customers over the course of buying the business,” he adds with a smile. Post-flood, “Bookings are up, but we’ve got more staff members than before so we can keep the quality of care really high,” he says. “Without VCLF who knows what would have become this place that so many local folks count on, both as customers and employees? Now these jobs are safe, and these dogs are safe. It's the perfect story!”

Catherine Turyamureeba can’t forget the day she climbed into an Uber and uttered a few words providing directions to the driver. To her surprise, he immediately recognized her distinctive Ugandan accent. Catherine and her driver, Hannington Kasagga, shared that they’d both emigrated to Vermont from Uganda, as had Catherine’s sister, Barbara Asiimwe. A friendship - and then a business - was launched. The three had even more in common. Catherine had built a successful career in the hospitality industry and was now an assistant director at the Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain hotel. A senior banking officer, Barbara was looking for a new career, maybe in the tourism industry working alongside Catherine. Hannington had worked various tourism-related jobs in Savannah, Georgia and Vermont. And all three wanted to start a business. “At the Hilton,” Catherine says, “the guests always asked me if there was some kind of transportation available that could take them on sightseeing tours of the area.” “In Savannah, they have trolleys that take the tourists everywhere, and tell them all about the geography, the history, the restaurants,” Hannington says with a smile, explaining that the customized vehicles are ubiquitous in that heavily-touristed town. “There was nothing like that in Vermont,” he adds. “So, we came up with Burlington Trolley Tours,” says Catherine, confidently. With a business plan in hand, they met with a bank to discuss a loan. “We had our hopes up,” says Catherine. “We waited and waited to hear back from them,” says Hannington, “but when we finally heard back, it was no.” Their persistence paid off when they met with the Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE) where its Executive Director – also a VCLF Board member – Gwen Pokalo Hart directed them to VCLF’s new Justice Forward Fund (JFF). The Loan Fund’s JFF was designed expressly for New American and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and Vermonters of Color) borrowers, offering a streamlined application process, low-to-zero interest rates, and no minimum credit score or collateral requirements. “We’re seeing a lot of applications from BIPOC and New American entrepreneurs with great ideas and excellent business plans who don’t necessarily have established credit histories, or haven’t yet been able to accumulate sufficient assets for collateral,” says VCLF’s Director of Business and Early Care & Learning Programs, Dan Winslow. “The Justice Forward Fund was designed for them.” Dan met with the trio “He came to our place,” Hannington says, amazement still registering in his voice. “He was so patient and helpful, he took us through every step and explained the timeline.” “He simplified a lot of things for us, and explained how the process works,” Catherine adds. “When we closed the loan, we did a celebration dance!” With financing in place, Burlington Trolley Tours used their JFF loan to purchase their trolley, set to arrive before June tours begin. Guests can make reservations online at burlingtontrolley.com for 45 minute tours of Burlington’s attractions, tours of Lake Champlain, UVM, fall foliage, breweries or book longer, customized tours for weddings, private parties and more. “Once we get established, we’ll want to do tours in other parts of Vermont,” Catherine says, smiling broadly again. “The Loan Fund was able to see our vision. Dreams die if people have ideas that others don’t believe in. If not for VCLF, our dream would never have become a reality,” Catherine says. “Working with VCLF has been a good journey.”

Melvin and Damaris Hall already had deep experience in the specialty foods industry by the time they launched Global Village Foods, based in Quechee. Melvin, raised in Memphis, and Damaris, a native of Kenya (where they met and married), came to Vermont three decades ago, attracted to the state’s agricultural character and emerging artisanal food sector. Hoping to introduce Vermonters to the bold flavors of African dishes, the Halls first opened a restaurant, which led to catering, which, through a fast-growing following, led to the launch of Global Village Foods, their ready-to-eat, pan-African frozen meals and snacks enterprise. In early 2020, Mel and Damaris were close to signing contracts with several college and university dining facilities when COVID-19 hit. “We lost 77% of our revenue in three months,” Mel recounts. When the Halls reached out to their local bank for a line of credit, “even though we had three times the normal volume of purchase orders that year, and we were longtime customers, they still turned us down,” he says. “VCLF saved the day for us.” The Justice Forward Fund application process was streamlined and simple, says Mel. “We didn’t have to go through a lot of review. It felt like the Loan Fund’s attitude was ‘let’s get this money out as fast as possible to people who need it.’” The Justice Forward Fund, Mel feels, is making capital and opportunity accessible to BIPOC entrepreneurs. “The Loan Fund recognizes that there is a basic inequality. People of Color can’t access capital, so it’s harder to grow their businesses. They can’t pursue opportunities when they come up. VCLF is addressing that.”

Marina Smith, owner of South Burlington’s plush, newly relocated Veilmonte Bride showroom, got her first exposure to bridal couture growing up in Moldova, where she helped out at her aunt’s bustling bridal gown factory. The memory of those custom-designed, sparkling gowns and veils stayed with her. “I always dreamed of owning a bridal shop,” she says. After moving to the US in the early 2000s, Marina met the native Vermonter who would become her husband, and settled in Chittenden County and into a job “that I didn’t really like.” Not long after, she happened to hear of an available retail space in the Burlington Mall. It had ample room and high ceilings, “which you need for a bridal shop because the wedding dresses are so big, the brides need a lot of room to try them on,” Marina explains. It was, it seemed, the right space at the right time to open Veilmonte Bride, featuring her aunt’s couture bridal line. For months, Veilmonte saw a constant stream of brides…until the day that mall management suddenly terminated Marina’s lease. “They told me they were closing the mall permanently because of COVID and I had to go.” Vermont's wedding industry is a widely recognized economic engine, estimated to bring $160 million to the state, annually. Marina’s shop not only provided fulltime work for herself; she regularly collaborated with venues, photographers, hairstylists, makeup artists, and more. She knew that Veilmonte’s closing would create a ‘ripple effect’ of lost work and income. She’d also spent countless hours and her own savings launch her shop. She wondered how, or even if, she could finance a new Veilmonte. On the advice of Center for Women and Enterprise Executive Director (and VCLF Board Vice President!) Gwen Pokalo, Marina contacted the Loan Fund. “I’d never borrowed money for my business, and I felt nervous about borrowing from a bank. But VCLF helped me immediately,” Marina recounts. She found a new location on Shelburne Road with high visibility (and even higher ceilings!). In September of 2022, Veilmonte Bride officially re-opened, and the brides again began marching through her door. Today, a chandelier casts soft light on the delicate pink showroom interiors. Racks of cloud-like gowns line the halls. “My customers tell me it’s so beautiful here, which is so important because this is a very special time for them,“ Marina says. Brides and their parties are invited to visit by appointment only. “They’ll have this entire private space to themselves,” says Marina. For an additional fee, they can enjoy champagne and treats while perusing the rows of racks. “I couldn’t have done this without the Loan Fund,” Marina says. “The Loan Fund helped me with so much. They even helped with my business plan.” “A bank doesn’t necessarily want to help you with your business or learn about who you are. But with the Loan Fund, they looked more deeply into my needs. I felt like somebody had reached out their hand and saved me.” veilmontebride.com

If you find yourself in the vicinity of Bilon Bailey’s brightly painted Jamaican Supreme food truck, be aware that resistance is futile. Just give in, and let yourself be lured by the fragrant spices and tang of his famous Jamaican oxtail stew or jerk chicken, “cooked old-school style on an outdoor grill, the only way to make it right,” Bilon insists. “Those who taste my food always come back,” Bilon says, “because what I do is all about love. ‘One Love’ is what I always say, because love is what unites us. Love is part of my brand!” Fans of Bilon’s food throughout Vermont, as far off as Boston and “on every Vermont college campus where I’ve catered for years,” share the love of his authentic Jamaican cuisine. But it almost went away. After twelve years of building his business, “COVID almost shut me down,” he says. In 2020, the events and catering critical to his business’ success came to an abrupt halt in the midst of the global pandemic. On top of that, his modest retail/take-out spot on Lime Kiln Road had permitting issues needing to be resolved if Bilon was going to be able to stay. None of this has kept him from cooking, or loving, or giving up hope. He continues to give away free meals. (“That’s what love looks like, if you’re hungry or homeless,” he says.) He’s also contributed several hundred meals through the Everyone Eats program, a massive food distribution program funded by the Vermont legislature and many local restaurateurs and businesses to address food insecurity during the pandemic. Bilon’s determination to keep cooking, serving and loving led him to the Loan Fund to apply for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan last summer. Bilon wasn’t sure he’d get through the complicated application process, but he credits VCLF’s team with his successful application. “VCLF gave me direction with the PPP; they helped me through the process. The Loan Fund was there for me when I thought I was about to lose my business,” he says. “It felt good to have someone help me.”

In the spring of 2022, Patrick Shattuck, Executive Director of RuralEdge, a nonprofit that creates and manages affordable housing throughout the Northeast Kingdom, had just received confirmation of a deeply troubling rumor. St. Johnsbury’s Brightlook Apartments, the grand, circa 1907, former-hospital-turned-apartment building, was up for sale. The resident of its 18 units, may of them vulnerable, very-low-income seniors, now faced homelessness. “Most of the residents were well into their eighties, and had lived there for decades. Not a single one of them had a lease, so there was no protection from eviction if the property sold,” Patrick laments. Initially, the asking price of over $1.4 million had residents and community members convinced there would be little interest in the property. But within days, multiple offers were on the table. “Out-of-state developers were eager to purchase Brightlook, because it would have been very easy to convert the units to high-end, profitable condos,” Patrick says, adding, “which would have been completely unaffordable for the existing tenants.” The only way to save this critically important resource in the Northeast Kingdom, Patrick knew, was for RuralEdge to purchase it. He contacted the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, which recognized the urgency and immediately awarded RuralEdge a grant to support the purchase, but additional financing was still needed. “From that point, we had 30 days to close on the property. I contacted the Loan Fund, and Heather (VCLF’s Director of Housing & Community Facilities Loan Programs) moved very quickly.” VCLF quickly provided the financing to close the sale, ensuring tenants would not be displaced. “Keeping housing affordable is complicated,” Patrick says. “VCLF understands this, and helps us to be more nimble, which makes our partnership with the Loan Fund so valuable.” Affordable housing has become ever more scarce in Vermont with the arrival of COVID-19. Home sales to out of state individuals and entities have soared “because Vermont is seen as a safe place to go during the pandemic,” Patrick says. At the other end of the spectrum, many of the poorest families who’d ‘doubled up’ to share rentre were forced to split up during the pandemic over concerns of contagion, “which led to a dramatic increase in homelessness,” he adds. “COVID -19 exposed the vulnerability of our rural, very-low-income population.” In the next three to five years, Patrick estimates, RuralEdge will begin renovations to Brightlook, improving energy efficiencies and other upgrades, as well as adding another 30-unit structure on the 1.8 acre site. “The Loan Fund believes that all Vermonters deserve a safe, affordable and dignified place to live,” says Heather Hurlbert. “The residents of Brightlook certainly deserve that.” Brightlook’s distinctive grandeur includes historic details, high ceilings, light-filled rooms and sweeping views. Several units also boast impressive updates installed by tenants themselves. “Many of the tenants improved their apartments at their own expense,” he says, “because they thought they’d be there for the rest of their lives. Because of VCLF, now they can stay.”

Adolphe Lumumba, founder of Vermont First Class Ride, is nothing if not driven. For months, he’d met with a number of banks, seeking a loan for his start-up business. “The banks all said I had a great idea,” he recalls. “Then, they said they weren’t going to lend to me.” But Adolphe wasn’t about to let his big idea stall out. Driving for Uber in Vermont owner the past four years, Adolphe had come to recognize a sizeable gap in the state’s transportation offerings. Attendees of Vermont’s increasingly popular destination weddings, vacationers and corporate execs now had a strong preference for luxury vehicles to take them to and from airports, resorts and conferences. Luxury transport is big business in bigger markets. Uber in fact offers premium services in some markets, but not in Vermont. With his polished Cadillac Escalade SUV, Adolphe was able to pick up some of this niche business, but was still missing out on bookings for larger parties needing stretch limos or vans. What he needed, Adolphe realized, was a larger ‘sprinter van.’ Successful luxury transport providers, he knew, could book entire, extended-family vacations with such a vehicle. “People will hire you to be their driver, even for a month sometimes, but their expectations are high,” he says. He found sellers offering used luxury vans, but now he needed financing. With Adolphe’s experience, ambition, and his connection to the National Limo Association to provide referrals, VCLF green-lighted Adolphe’s loan for the purchase of a gently-used Mercedes sprinter van. “It has limo seating,” he says, referring to the ‘luxe accommodations of up to twelve, “and special lighting” to provide atmosphere, “and two 40-inch TV screens and a bar,” Adolphe adds. His fleet now includes a roomy sedan, the Escalade and the new van. “My plans are to keep learning, step by step, to grow and to have another driver, maybe in the next year,” he says. “I was ready to give up on my dream, even though I knew I had an idea that could go,” Adolphe says. “But then the Loan Fund helped my dream come true.”

Growing up in the Mad River Valley, Moie Moulton, Executive Director and founder of Waitsfield’s Neck of the Woods Children’s Center (NOW), has always felt deeply connected to her community. After earning her degree in education, Moie landed her first dream job at the Waitsfield Children’s Center. Next, at Moretown Elementary School (Moie’s alma mater), the principal tapped her to launch their Pre-K program, Moretown Early Care for All (MECA). MECA opened in 2012 with six children and grew rapidly, garnering great community support. Moie’s fans included founder and CEO of Waitsfield’s Small Dog Electronics Don Mayer and son Hapy, who understood the central importance of high-quality child care to their small community. “Don told me he really believed in what I was doing,” Moie recalls. That support would prove even more critical in the early weeks of 2020, when COVID-19 arrived to change everything. “When COVID-19 hit,” Moie says, “we knew we’d have to adjust.” Moretown’s public school system could no longer house MECA. “We’d just signed up over 120 children for 2020 summer camps and now we had nowhere to put them,” she recalls. Small Dog, which was in the process of relocating its headquarters to Chittenden County, made room for campers at its now-vacant space. The Waitsfield Masonic Lodge and the Waitsfield United Church of Christ were also happy to help accommodate Moie’s kids. With a 10,600-square-foot main building, plus a 4,800-square-foot warehouse, it occurred to Moie that Small Dog’s campus would make an ideal permanent home. Don had the same thought, and offered her the facility rent-free for the entire summer…if she would agree to purchase it come fall. And, proving just how much he believed in Moie’s work, Don reduced the building’s asking price. Moie and her Board of Directors knew they could count on community to raise the needed funds. The Mad River Community Fund came through with a grant covering part of the purchase price; Moie reached out to VCLF for financing to complete the deal. Once water permitting issues were resolved, the Loan Fund made its largest ever first-time-borrower loan to the newly-renamed Neck of the Woods Children’s Center. “It was a really positive experience. Without the Loan Fund, I don’t know where we’d be. We wouldn’t be in this facility,” Moie says, her voice registering relief. Today, Neck of the Woods provides Pre-K, infant, toddler and afterschool care for 45 area children in the new space. “We have a maximum capacity of 75 children for our first floor,” Moie says. The program’s size is already an advantage as larger enrollments typically translate to greater sustainability. “And we have an entire second floor we could use for teen programs, community support groups, rec program space, a Boys & Girls Club, maybe another toddler program,” she says. “It all depends on what the community needs!”

There were plenty of reasons why Sydney Swindell, Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), wanted to open her new practice, Fyzical Therapy & Balance Center, in Vermont. For starters, Vermont’s aging population, famously among the nation’s oldest, would provide a ready and growing market for her services.She also understood that our state’s extremely active population, regardless of age, would need her; as Sydney observes, while an active lifestyle boosts personal fitness and health, it can also increase risk of injury. “And,” she notes, “we’ve also learned that self-care has fallen off for a lot of us during the pandemic, which is leading to lower fitness levels throughout the population.” Then, she adds with a smile: “Also, I fell in love with Vermont.” Sydney and her team provide orthopedic rehabilitation, physiotherapy, sports rehab, therapy for clients with mobility and balance issues, or other limitations stemming from traumatic brain injury, stroke, neurodegenerative diseases, and, yes, aging. Growing up in Georgia, Sydney enlisted in the U.S. Navy after high school, advancing in a career in the aerospace defense industry that took her to San Diego, Oklahoma and Spain. While in the military, she happened to shadow a physical therapist who was working with a new stroke patient. “When he first came in, he couldn’t stand up or talk. Six weeks later, he was walking with a cane,” she recalls. The experience was transformative for her, too. “I was hooked. I wanted to experience that kind of satisfaction from my work.” So, after a decade in the Navy, Sydney and her family headed to Vermont in 2016, where she enrolled in UVM’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program. With her family happily settled into their new home, she began to envision her dream job – her own PT clinic – in her dream location in the Green Mountains. The clinic would be state-of-the-art, with cutting edge equipment and resources for her clients. Before COVID-19, Sydney looked into financing her start-up clinic via traditional lenders. “You’d think, given that I’m female, and a veteran, and that I had good credit, I’d be an ideal candidate for a loan.” But she describes the repeated disappointment of being encouraged by banks throughout the application process, only to be denied a loan after several months of waiting and hoping, “because I couldn’t come up with the required 45% participation. I kept hitting that wall.” The wait for banks’ responses gave Sydney time to explore different paths to owning her own practice. She found stand-alone clinics for sale, but eventually became intrigued by the Fyzical Therapy & Balance franchise. “Fyzical Therapy & Balance franchises are all independently owned,” she discovered, “and they also provide business support services like accounting, bookkeeping, electronic medical record keeping, discounts on equipment, even an operating manual.” She identified a potential clinic site in high-traffic Williston, and began making plans. Then she brought her ideas to VCLF’s Director of Business and Early Care & Learning Programs Dan Winslow. “Dan was very thorough and careful in reviewing my application,” Sydney says. His scrutiny of the details, she feels, led her to further refine her plans and vision for the clinic. “It made me an even better candidate for the loan, ultimately,” she says. When the Loan Fund’s ‘yes’ came through, Sydney and her team wasted no time. “We took possession of the property on January 1st, 2022, and I saw my first patient on February 1st.” Via a recent Zoom visit, Sydney picks up her laptop and heads down the hall to provide a virtual tour of the new clinic. “So this is some of the equipment that our VCLF loan helped us buy,” she announces. “That’s a rebounder. It can work as a trampoline, too. Over there is some strength equipment, the exam table, and there,” she points, “is where the balance training system will go,” she says, referring to a computerized trolley with an 80-foot-long track system and safety harness, purchased with help from the Loan Fund. Sydney’s ongoing plans include adding therapists, mental health services, plenty of classes, locavore meals on site, and much more. “I want to provide services that bridge the gap between what patients experience in the hospital to home health care”, focusing intensively on fall prevention, balance, regular motions like “squatting, walking, lifting, all the activities required in daily living,” she states. Also, she’d love to see the clinic as a nonprofit providing affordable care for all. Had it not been for VCLF financing, she and her family probably would have left Vermont to practice elsewhere. “As much as my family loves it here, it wouldn’t have been feasible to stay if I hadn’t been able to open my own practice,” she tells. “VCLF took a chance on me, and I’m so grateful for that.” fyzical.com/williston

In 2018, after months of organizing and fundraising, Craftsbury Saplings opened its doors to Orleans County families in the basement of the East Craftsbury Presbyterian Church. The space was an enormous gift, literally: a single large room, , rent-free, and spacious enough to accommodate up to 19 toddlers and preschoolers…at least in theory. “There were some logistical problems with the space,” says Emily Gletsos, who leads the toddler program. The basement’s open layout meant that the toddler and preschool classrooms were ‘divided’ only by curtains or bookshelves, creating noise and other issues. Sightlines were blocked, creating visibility issues when teachers prepared snacks and meals in the kitchen area; or taking children to the bathroom down the hall. “Even though we were licensed for 19 children, the teachers knew that wasn’t manageable,” says Board Treasurer Kristen Fountain. 11 enrollments meant there was less income than projected, fewer resources and fewer families served. The plan? A separate toddler room with its own bathroom and kitchen space, somehow, at some point in time. Until then, the plan was to make do. Then COVID-19 hit. At first, Craftsbury Saplings shut down entirely for three weeks, eventually reopening to serve children of essential workers only. Now confronted with health and safety issues brought about by the pandemic, “we really needed to separate the kids,” Emily says. When Kristen contacted various banks to inquire about financing a new, self-contained, modular classroom, “they actually referred me to VCLF,” she says with a laugh. Kristen worked with the VCLF lending team and with the Business Resource Center, and in January of 2021, the new modular space opened, welcoming eight toddlers. The 11 preschoolers in the original space brings total enrollment to 19 and staff jobs to eight. “VCLF was hugely important in this project,” says Kristen. “With their help, we turned challenges into opportunities.”

When Horizons Early Learning Center opened their doors in Rutland in 2018, they quickly grew to their allowed capacity. That wasn’t necessarily a surprise: in the world of early care and learning programs, demand always exceeds supply. And with Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC), the city’s largest employer, right up the hill, the children of RRMC employees quickly filled many of Horizon’s slots. Horizons’ Director Jody Smith and her brother James Schneider had co-founded Horizons as a subsidiary of Beth Towb, a Rutland-based educational nonprofit where James serves as President. Jody originally had hoped to locate the program on the RRMC campus, “because there’s such a need for child care there,” she says. Before an RMCC-adjacent location could be developed, a rental space became available in the basement of Rutland’s Unitarian Universalist Church. “It was centrally located,” Jody says brightly, but with just two bathrooms, it limited their enrollment capacity to 30 children, well below Jody’s hoped-for numbers. It also meant they wouldn’t have the capacity to add new, much-needed slots for infants and toddlers. But given the pressing need, Jody moved forward and Horizons moved in. With the onset of COVID in early 2020, Horizons shut down with every other child care program in the state. Upon reopening, only ten children from essential workers’ households were allowed back at first. “We had so many more children from those essential worker households we still weren’t able to serve, so that was really difficult,” Jody recalls. There was no doubt: it was time to expand. This time, they’d build a new facility, alongside RRMC, to meet their current needs AND allow for future growth. “And then a property came on the market, a stone’s throw from the hospital,” she adds with excitement, “but it needed extensive work.” “I met with a loan officer at a bank,” says James, “but that didn’t look promising.” James and Jody turned to VCLF, where they found support and a loan to purchase and renovate thHorizons’ new home. Now, “the community is thrilled,” says Jody, to welcome 66 children, including 16 infants and toddlers, plus up to 14 staff members, to the new facility. “We’re so grateful for VCLF,” Jody says, praising the Loan Fund’s team as “incredibly responsive,” through the many challenges of COVID. “We wanted to do more, for more children” says James, “and now we can.”

The delicate crocus sativa, source of the luxury spice saffron, requires such particular growing conditions that it thrives almost exclusively in Iran’s high Kashmiri mountains. So when UVM’s Department of Plant and Soil Science published a study identifying Vermont, with its similar climate and topography, as a potentially hospitable region for saffron cultivation, it caused a stir. From Wells River, on their 15-acre farm known as Calabash Gardens, Jette and Zaka Chery wondered about whether they had what it took to grow the famously finicky flowers? With saffron commanding over $1,000 per pound, they figured it was worth a try! After planting their first pilot crop, the couple soon realized they were sitting on gold, or golden-hued saffron at least! “The results were exceptional,” Jette says, referring to the outstanding yield. “Our soil is perfect for this,” Zaka adds. Soon they were meeting with New York City’s top chefs, samples in hand. “Just when COVID hit, causing all these restaurants to close,” Jette notes. They headed home, and set up a meeting with VCLF, to help finance their new, and newly-proven, venture. “Banks didn’t want to touch us because we were unproven, we had no track record,” recalls Jette. “But at the Loan Fund, borrowing was affordable for us as a start-up business, scaled to meet us and our business needs where we were,” she says. Though the COVID-19 pandemic has shuttered many restaurants, it has also spurred a boom in home cooking - and a rising demand for saffron. Jette and Zaka are now working with a wholesaler, and have secured spots in Vermont’s top farmers’ markets. They plan to develop a fully carbon negative operation at their farm, adding jobs, cover crops and a small ruminating herd to aerate and fertilize soil. They’ll also sell online via their website. “VCLF wanted us to succeed, to share in our dreams, and they were willing to invest in those dreams,” Jette says.

You could call it the “next generation” of a loan. In 2005, West Fairlee’s Creative Spirit Childcare Center had been open just two years and was filled to capacity. The waiting list grew as families hoped for an opening. Sheila Bedi, Creative Spirits’ owner and director was determined to meet her community’s need, but her plan to add capacity depended on a loan. The Vermont Community Loan Fund quickly said ‘yes.’ By 2020, Creative Spirit was serving 19 children and their families with high quality care. After 17 years, Sheila was ready to step back a bit from her many roles and responsibilities and was excited to tap staff member Holly Sebring, a talented and experienced teacher, to take over and purchase the program. Holly needed a loan… While she was initially surprised, says Holly, when Sheila approached her to buy the business, the transition seemed like a natural choice “because Sheila and I really agree on pretty much everything about how to run the program,” from their shared philosophies about early care and learning, to practical matters about parent involvement and staffing. “For example, we both agree on having parents be deeply involved, having an open door policy for parent visits,” although COVID-19 has limited some of that involvement of late, she notes. Among the advice Sheila offered Holly was the recommendation to borrow from VCLF. Once again, the Loan Fund said yes to Creative Spirit and Holly has been at the helm since August of this year. She’s been thrilled that Sheila has stayed on part-time, lending a hand in the classrooms and the office. Holly also works with VCLF’s Business Resource Center to build skills around budgeting, marketing and more. Recently, she further expanded the Creative Spirits’ capacity, creating another infant and toddler room to accommodate four more infants and their families. “A traditional bank wouldn’t have loaned to me, and Creative Spirits could have shut down, and then 25 families would have lost their child care,” Holly says. “But because of VCLF, we’re still here.”

Locals could tell you countless stories of the East Calais General Store, of friends and neighbors who gathered there daily for their morning coffee, and the community and camaraderie (and, as with any general store, the occasional gossip and scuttlebutt) to be had along with a gallon of milk or a can of soup. “The General Store was that kind of place,” says Denise Wheeler, who as a Board member of the East Calais Community Trust (ECCT), responded quickly when the store shuttered in late 2019. Some feared the circa-1850 building, “which needed a lot of work” according to fellow ECCT Board member Janice Ohlsson, would never reopen. So in 2020, the ECCT team purchased it and set to work to save it. “This store is hugely important to our community,” Denise says. Without it, area residents have had to travel further afield, to Montpelier and beyond, for groceries and supplies. It was all the more troublesome, she says, “because a lot of people in this community don’t have a car.” The structure has also provided three affordable apartments for several decades. The restoration project brought multiple challenges. “Because of COVID, we couldn’t go door-to-door to ask for donations,” Denise says. Events - including a sold-out, socially-distanced barbecue - were key, as were grants brought in by fellow Board members. “But the thing about fundraising is you always need more than you think, so that’s why we started talking to the Vermont Community Loan Fund,” she adds. Meeting with the Loan Fund helped move the project forward, says Janice; their loan covered costs during the pre-construction phase such as permitting and architectural planning. The ECCT team expects to reopen the store, shelves stocked with staples and local products, in 2022. The apartments “which will be more energy efficient, and one apartment will be fully ADA compliant” says Denise, will be available in 2022 as well. Rent for the apartments will pay for the building’s upkeep and taxes. “The Loan Fund is a great resource for groups like ours,” says Denise. “Like us, they’re focused on building community resources. With the Loan Fund’s help, we’re saving an historic building, housing and a micro-business.”

At Carolyn’s Red Balloon Enrichment Center in Colchester, staff and families are getting used to the “new normal”. Parents wave goodbye to their children from the center’s entryway…and step back. Non-staff adults are not allowed beyond this point. Once inside, the child’s temperature is taken as a skeleton crew of staff moves throughout the classrooms, disinfecting surfaces, appliances, knobs and handles, repeatedly washing their own hands. “We’re in uncharted territory,” says center owner/director Carolyn Riley, who is currently (May 2020) providing care for children of essential workers, her enrollments down from 55 to 16, her staff cut from 12 to six. Back in 2004, Carolyn consolidated three separate, nearby early care & learning programs and set up shop in Colchester’s Severance Green, all with help from VCLF financing. “When the shutdowns happened in early March, some families suspended daily care for their children, for fear of exposing them to COVID-19,” she says. Some were furloughed, laid off, or working from home and didn’t need outside care. Daily enrollments plummeted while, at the same time, many essential workers like tradespeople, health care workers and supermarket and military personnel, were scrambling to find care for their kids so they could fulfill their critical work. With the industry and families in crisis, the State of Vermont stepped in with a plan. Families whose children were not currently attending their care programs due to the Coronavirus would be able to retain their space for future care if they continued to pay 50% of their weekly tuition; the state would cover the remaining 50%, enabling programs to remain financially viable and protected from shuttering permanently. “Some of the essential worker families have told me they’d like to keep their children here after the COVID-19 crisis is over,” Carolyn says. Even so, she says, she believes that the Vermont State Agency of Education and Governor Scott, in approving the plan, are doing the right thing. “They understand that child care is the backbone of our economy. If we don’t work, Vermont doesn’t work.” “I started Carolyn’s Red Balloon because I wanted to provide this critical service to my community,” Carolyn says. “I’ve stayed open because I feel we need to support everybody in our community. The families need us.”

The aging brick apartment building at 10 Maiden Lane in downtown Saint Albans stood vacant for years while local families faced a serious shortage of affordable homes. But Grant Butterfield, longtime real estate developer and investor, was at work on a solution. He and his team from DEW Construction, advisor David White and development manager Bill Niquette, were set to start on the new 10 Maiden Lane. Five stories, 33 apartments, 21 of which would be rented at affordable rates in perpetuity. Grant reached out to VCLF to help finance the project. “It all went very smoothly,” he recalls, praising the VCLF team. …and just as the team prepared for their official groundbreaking ceremony … “We actually never got around to that,” he says, his voice dipping, “because that’s exactly when COVID hit.” Masked and undeterred, Grant’s crew continued on. Labor wasn’t always available. Materials were in great demand, and supplies were scarce. Lumber prices soared, and at one point, refrigerators became nearly impossible to find. “At times, the project was faced with financial challenges and may not have proceeded,” he says, if not for VCLF’s involvement. This April, the doors opened at the new 10 Maiden Lane, with applications flowing in for apartments featuring granite countertops, large closets - and affordable rents. Grant and his team are especially proud to have met their deadlines through all the challenges of COVID, and to provide affordable homes. “Developing quality housing, whether affordable or market-rate, takes time, expertise, and most of all, patience,” Bill Niquette comments. “Margins are thin, and most projects do not meet private investment and traditional lending requirements. Flexible, community-minded lenders like VCLF are a critical tool in the affordable housing toolbox.”

Move over, maple, cheese and premium ice cream. The Northeast Kingdom’s NEK Grains is now bringing Vermont cachet and artisanal quality to its wheat, barley and rye flours and products. “In the 1800s, Vermont was actually known for its grains, but that didn’t continue” says Shawn Gingue, who with his wife and business partner Sarah Gingue co-founded the Waterford-based premium grain farm. “We know about growing silage for cows in Vermont, but until recently, we didn’t know anyone around here who was growing grains for human consumption” adds Sarah. The Gingue family has been farming in the Northeast Kingdom since 1950. “It was a small dairy farm started by my grandparents, with a herd of about 200 cows,” says Shawn. The herd was sold in 2015 and by 2018, Shawn and Sarah transitioned to raising a small herd of calves for other dairy operations, and crops. It was out of curiosity as much as anything else, says Shawn, that he attended the Northern Grain Growers Conference in 2018 “to learn more”. That learning led to the Gingues planting 250 acres of barley “to see what would happen”. What happened was excellent growth and subsequent planting of wheat, barley and winter wheat, that, Sarah says, “grew beautifully and that’s when we decided to start NEK Grains”. Customers took notice. “Malting houses and beer breweries, bakers, pasta makers, pizza makers, millers” says Sarah, were looking for pesticide-free local grain, even more so during COVID. With opportunities cropping up through multiple retail and wholesale channels, “We saw a diverse market and a niche” says Shawn, but they’d need to increase production and they’d need equipment to do so. (The Gingues also sell local beef, produce and baked goods.) It’s critical to keep moisture out of the grain crops, Shawn explains, to avoid fermentation and mold. Sarah and Shawn came to VCLF to help finance the purchase of grain storage silos, a grain cleaner and dryer, “that blows hot air through the grain and sweats the moisture out of it”, he says. “The dryer expands our harvest window. It lets us harvest earlier, if the weather is wet, so we can have grains in storage for up to two to three years, without moisture affecting the crop,” allowing them to build inventory, and meet the growing demand. The Gingues were impressed by the Loan Fund’s flexibility and enthusiasm. “VCLF was willing to get behind us, to design this loan to help our business get going,” says Sarah. “They wanted to link arms and work together”.

As Justin Bramhall saw it, there were a couple of not-so-small obstacles standing in the way of his career as a regenerative farmer, sustainably producing healthy foods for his community. First, he was living in Tucson, Arizona. “In the desert, it was hot, and getting hotter. Unless I was going to invest in a serious irrigation system, that was a problem.” The second challenge was financing, notoriously difficult for farmers to access. So Justin decided to pick up stakes and head to New England. “New England, because it’s more environmentally friendly, and has so many organizations supporting sustainable farming, and agriculture is so important there,” he says. Serendipitously, he found a job listing online for a farm manager in Putney, Vermont “on about 50 acres, with berry bushes and other crops, plus another four or five acres I could use to create my own incubator hub,” he says. In 2019, Justin and family arrived in Putney, planting themselves, their chickens (for meat and eggs) and their crops (four varieties of microgreens) on the nascent Leaping Bear Farm (so named “because it sounds happy” Justin says). The plan was he’d put in three years on the property, after which he could be eligible for financing to purchase land for Leaping Bear’s permanent home. From 2019 into 2020, Leaping Bear’s sales to local restaurants and food trucks, at farmers’ markets, and direct to customers were heading upwards. Until COVID hit. “The Putney Farmers’ Market, where I got most of my business, shut down by 2021, and I tried curbside pick-up but that never really worked out,” he says. By spring of 2021, Justin wasn’t sure what would become of his career and his dreams, until his accountant told him about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), part of the federal CARES program, helping small businesses get through the economic downturn brought on by the pandemic. By May, the only lender still administering PPP loans was VCLF. Justin got in touch immediately. “VCLF was super helpful, they made the process very easy,” he says, adding that he’s grateful for the assistance, and that Leaping Bear can leap forward. Which brings him to his next thought: “Next summer, I’ll probably start looking at properties for Leaping Bear’s new home,” he says, knowing he’s already got a lead on a good lender in VCLF.

In a year that’s been characterized by hot spots and heated discourse, Becky Castle has some thoughts on keeping cool. For starters: ice cream. “People need some fun right now, and ice cream is fun,” she says. She should know. She and her husband, “Farmer Bob” Clark, own and operate Shelburne’s Fisher Brothers Farm and Sisters of Anarchy Ice Cream. Fun is just the start. Sisters of Anarchy’s blend of hip exuberance, farm-fresh berries and local cream is served up with a radical twist in flavors including Bronx Cheer (raspberries plus vanilla), Respect Your Elders (their famous elderberries) and Chocolate Anarchy (out of control chocolate). Becky tells how the fun began when she and Bob, who met at Middlebury College, headed to the west coast after graduation with an appetite for windsurfing and, as it turned out, ice cream. “We were eating so much ice cream, it was interfering with us squeezing into our wet suits,” Becky recalls. So the two made a pact: they would not eat another spoonful “unless we made it, cranked by hand, ourselves”. Bob went on to a career in television and Becky’s nonprofit development work flourished…but their hearts were in Vermont and ice cream was in their veins. In 2013, they settled into their 75-acre Shelburne farm property. The ‘sisters’ of anarchy are in fact the couple’s three daughters, ages 16, 14 and 12, who help with farm and factory chores in order to learn, earn and develop girl power grit. From their first year of production in 2014, hand-cranking 250 gallons of ice cream, their upgraded facility was on tap to produce 12,000 gallons in 2020. And that was just the beginning. They’d scheduled 250 off-site events plus catering for private parties throughout the year. They introduced a new line of berry syrups. Finally, they’d just launched their online mail order business, making SOA ice cream available throughout the continental U.S. Then came COVID-19. “Ninety percent of our off-site events were cancelled due to COVID-19,” Becky says with a sigh. “We’d been selling at venues with as many as 7,000 visitors, and now that wasn’t happening. ” With jobs, sales and their family’s livelihood potentially on the line, Becky and Bob heard about the US Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help cover lost revenues and wages. They acted immediately On the first day PPP loans were available to the public, Becky recalls “the government website portals were flooded. The system was shut down.” Business owners were submitting and resubmitting applications, often to learn their efforts had vanished into the ether. “We couldn’t get through the online portals,” says Becky. “Everyone was in panic mode.” But Sisters of Anarchy found their way, with the Vermont Community Loan Fund. The Loan Fund had quickly pivoted when the PPP loans were announced. VCLF’s loan officers coordinated with the SBA to familiarize themselves with the details of the federal program, in order to get the word out to our borrowers and other folks in need like SOA. “If not for VCLF, I would’ve pulled my hair out trying to get PPP money,” Becky says. “VCLF was wonderful. They told us to give them our information, they’d take care of everything, and within ten days we had our check.” For more on Sisters of Anarchy ice cream, catering, events or to order online, visit: sistersofanarchyicecream.com

In the fall of 2019, Tobin Porter had just opened Front Seat Coffee in downtown Hardwick, and foodies were taking notice. The heady aromas of espresso roast and buttery croissants worked their magic as customers lined up. It was exactly what Tobin had hoped for that morning, many months before, when he and his wife Annie sat in their car on Main Street, wishing for the kind of warm, inviting coffee shop that Hardwick lacked. “Then, we looked out the windshield,” Tobin recalls. “In the storefront window right in front of us was a sign that read ‘Retail Space Available.’” Tobin had farmed extensively in his native Western Massachusetts. He’d searched for available farmland in Vermont, but now he had another idea. The sign in the window was more than a sign; it was a sign. It wasn’t long before Front Seat Coffee was born, quickly developing a devoted local following, Tobin recounts. “Which really helped, because then COVID hit.” The storefront shut down, except for take-out on Saturdays. But Tobin kept customer loyalty front and center. “People started to look forward to picking up their orders every Saturday.” As the months passed, Tobin wondered when he could fully reopen. With Front Seat’s fanbase beginning to grow beyond Hardwick, out-of-towners began asking, with increasing frequency, when a Front Seat would open in their neighborhoods. Meanwhile, in Morrisville, architect Michael Zebrowski had founded a new company, Up End This (assisted by VCLF financing) building smaller, modular ‘satellite’ structures for use as home and office additions. .In Front Seat’s case, perhaps they could upfit a satellite as a food truck/mobile kitchen, ideal for outdoor dining, take-out and expansion during COVID? “We had a lot of customers from around Johnson,” Tobin says. He secured VCLF financing to help purchase and modify their new satellite, and by the time Vermonters were beginning to get vaccinated and re-entering the world, Front Seat Coffee’s Johnson ‘satellite’ location was ready for them. The challenges of running and expanding Front Seat Coffee were amplified by COVID, says Tobin, but VCLF helped make it happen. “I consider myself pretty savvy, but I couldn’t have done all this without VCLF’s support,” he says. “For a lot of small business owners, it’s been impossible to navigate COVID, to stay sustainable and get through to the other side in one piece. VCLF is vital resource for a business like mine.”

In a profession that often encourages living large (think skyscrapers and McMansions), Vermont architect Michael Zebrowski had an instinct to go small. The simultaneous crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change spurred the idea for Up End This, Michael’s start-up business designing and buiding small, modular ‘satellite’ structures, usable as additions to existing homes and other structures, or as stand-alone units. “Smaller spaces make a smaller carbon footprint,” Michael says, in response to the climate crisis. “It’s also a solution to a new need, brought about by COVID-19, for separate and remote working spaces.” Up End This satellites can be customized with solar panels, composting toilets, rainwater collection features, and can be stationary or mobile, thanks to an optional trailer tow attachment. All are built using sustainable materials. The idea caught on quickly. “My first sale was actually the prototype,” he says. The woman who bought it installed it in her yard as a remote office, “and now appreciates her 25-foot commute to work,” he adds. The name, a play on the ‘This End Up’ mark printed on shipping crates, speaks to Michael’s vision of his company as a change-maker in the sustainable construction and lifestyle space. The first thing Michael needed to make that change, however, was financing. Traditional banks weren’t an option, he realized, “because I didn’t have any assets to speak of, and I didn’t need a really big loan.” Encouraged by an advisor, Michael reached out to VCLF, where staffers immediately saw the value of his innovative products. “The Loan Fund has been a critical resource, providing seed money at the right time,” he says. “I see my products as conduits to learning how to live in our new world, using less, needing less, living smaller,” Michael says. “It’s a great movement to be a part of, and the Loan Fund made an investment in that. They’re part of our team now.”

Some dudes look at compost and see banana peels. Others, like entrepreneur Isaac Colby, see opportunity, or treasure within the trash, if you will. It was July of 2020, and the state of Vermont had just banned food scraps from all trash and landfills to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Banana peels, egg shells, coffee grounds, etc., were now required to be composted, collected in containers and hauled separately to special drop-off sites. But, Isaac noticed that the larger waste haulers in Chittenden County weren’t stepping up to provide these additional services. That void, and his longstanding interest in environmentalism, led Isaac to start Some Dude’s Compost Company. He didn’t have a big truck but he had a compact car, some bins, some buckets and plenty of initiative. “I started sending out flyers and putting up signs, literally running the business out of my car.” Business picked up fast. Local newspapers wrote features. Word-of-mouth was creating a much-larger market than Isaac had anticipated. He soon realized he needed more equipment, and the financing to pay for it. Isaac found VCLF online and immediately saw himself in the Loan Fund’s mission of helping build local businesses. “The Loan Fund’s priorities – justice, access to capital, innovation – were really clear, as was the kinds of things they were looking to fund,” he says. “I didn’t need half a million dollars, so big banks didn’t need or want my business. VCLF was willing to work with smaller businesses, and smaller loans.” Now equipped with new bins, straps, replacement buckets (“for when pests get into them”), new marketing and a larger truck to carry the load, Isaac hauls up to 1,300 pounds per pick-up, per day, to Green Mountain Compost. “Some Dude’s is a business, but environmentalism is a movement,” he says, advocating for any and all efforts to mitigate climate change. “We have to look at ways we can positively affect the planet.”

No one understands the many challenges of moving better than Adam Booska. His family’s business, Booska Worldwide Movers, has been moving Vermonters since 1946, helping families and businesses relocate in-state, out-of-state, long-distance and even overseas. “I started here when I was 13, working summers and school breaks,” he recalls. Today, he’s general manager, working alongside his dispatcher brother David. His mother, Marlene, still puts in hours, and his niece, Sarah, their bookkeeper, is the business’ first fourth-generation employee. One recent move, however, had some very particular challenges: this time, it was the Booskas themselves who were moving. Having outgrown three separate, leased spaces scattered across Chittenden County, they’d decided to build their own 30,000 square foot, centralized office and storage facility in Williston, consolidating all aspects of the business’ operations under one roof. Seven decades of steady growth, along with some newly added services including unpacking self-haulers, working with interior decorators to furnish homes, and making local “last mile” deliveries for national furniture brands, all led to a big need for this bigger space. “It became really inefficient, to be in too small a space, or too many spaces!” Adam notes. While COVID-19 wreaked inestimable economic harm across so many industries, the pandemic actually contributed to Booska’s pressing need for additional space. Not only were remote-workers “from away” flocking to the Green Mountains, many Vermonters were downsizing in reaction to the economic uncertainty, or picking up stakes altogether. Many sellers needing extra time to find a new home, actually “move” twice, Adam explains, “When housing stock is low, sellers will move their things into storage, and then “move” a second time when they find their new home.” The Booska’s relocation was well underway when new costs emerged requiring additional financing. “ But we’d already determined how much Booska could contribute to this project. That’s when Union Bank, our primary lender, referred us to the Loan Fund,” Adam says. “The process was smooth and streamlined. . VCLF always had everything ready for us,” Adam says. “I’d definitely recommend VCLF.”

In their specialized corner of Silicon Valley’s high-tech hotbed, advanced machining firm KAD Models & Prototypes has been developing into a business to watch. But their latest move - locating KAD’s new satellite production facility in CEO Brian Kippen’s native Vermont - could prove to be their best yet. KAD has become a go-to supplier for high-profile clients like Google, Apple, Tesla and others throughout Northern California’s booming aerospace, medical, automotive, and consumer electronics sectors. “We do silicone molding for medical devices, like replacement valves for heart surgery, ‘O’ rings and silicon parts for electronics, and low-volume production mold-making with urethane,” Brian says, providing just a partial list of KAD’s specialties. “But we can’t tell you what we create for Google or any of our clients. That’s confidential.” However, he can tell you “We get our clients’ products to market faster: a two-week turnaround, versus our competitors’ twenty-week timeline.” Brian seems always to have been laser-focused on this career. Moving to Northern California landed him a plum position at a prestigious design-build company. “Simultaneously, I did small prototype manufacturing and pre-production on my own.” He then worked on prototyping consumer electronics at a new firm, where he quickly advanced to Director of Operations. By 2012, Brian was ready to buy out the firm’s other partner and launch KAD, which stands for “Kippen and Dog,” a reference to Brian’s beloved canine “staffer,” Atlas. By 2019, KAD boasted roughly $1.5 million in sales. Brian was geared up for expansion and in search of a second facility. “You can only capture so much market when you’re in a single location,” he explains. Detroit and Philadelphia were under consideration. “But then,” Brian pauses, then adds, “I was back in Vermont for a friend’s 40th birthday and as I was driving up Route 14 in East Randolph, I saw it.” ‘It’ was the “For Sale” sign hanging in front of the 90-year-old, vacant L.W. Greenwood & Sons tractor manufacturing facility. If hiring in the Bay Area was complicated by its sky-high cost of living, the Randolph area was more than affordable. And it was home to Vermont Technical College, with its newly-expanded advanced manufacturing program to provide a steady pool of qualified candidates. (Brian was also well-acquainted with Vermont’s lifestyle and many other assets.) By the time Brian arrived back in California, the Vermont real estate agency and Randolph community officials had responded to his email inquiries about the property. “When I was trying to communicate with (officials in) Detroit, it took three months!” he says with a laugh. Not long after, his purchase offer was accepted. Brian hoped the East Randolph facility would be operational in record time; all he needed was a loan to help get the facility online. But by now, the world was in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Progress stalled. Production deadlines loomed. “It was clear that we really needed to get some additional funding to get things going again,” Brian recalls. “We started talking to the Loan Fund.” Brian and KAD’s Chief Operating Officer & co-owner Kacie Merchand (also a native Vermonter) brought the Loan Fund into the mix of financial institutions. VCLF’s lending team was able to move forward quickly to get them the financing they needed to continue with the site’s environmental remediation, final equipment purchases, and everything else. KAD’s first East Coast project was due days later. It was delivered on time. With his Vermont facility now up and running, Brian anticipates hiring as many as 14 new programmers and machine operators over the next two years. “None of this has been simple, but I couldn’t imagine being able to do this at all in California,” Brian says, crediting the greater Randolph community, the State of Vermont and the Vermont Community Loan Fund with pulling together, and pulling it off. “It was a complicated timeline for a purchase. VCLF was very responsive to all the complications and really brought us peace of mind.”

Karen and Brian Wiseman carefully cultivated their careers. Both spent years at Boston-area bio-tech and pharmaceutical companies, dedicated to the advance of health, wellness and medicine. “I was a chemical engineer, working on the early development of protease inhibitors, now used to treat HIV,” Karen recalls. At another point, she managed multi-million-dollar projects for the pharmaceutical giant where she met fellow employee Brian. But, as the Wisemans’ Peaceful Harvest Mushrooms website explains it: “…we wanted to weave the fabric of our lives back together in a different way; one that was truly in line with our values.” So it was that in 2010, Karen recounts, that they left their big jobs and home in southern New Hampshire to become mushroom farmers in central Vermont. “Our friends thought we were crazy.” With their backgrounds in pharmaceuticals, they knew of the health benefits associated with mushrooms. “Statins,” Karen notes, “which are used to treat high cholesterol, were based on components from the Reishi mushroom,” one of the varieties Peaceful Harvest grows. Mushrooms and herbs used for thousands of years in eastern medicine have in fact been synthesized to provide the bases of many successful western pharmaceutical brands, she explains. “Lion’s Mane mushrooms are known for neurological benefits, and Cordyceps mushrooms support lung and immune functions. Nature works in this amazing, complex way.” They cashed out their retirement funds and purchased a property in Worcester, fitting up the home and outbuildings with a commercial kitchen, sterile lab space, and a climate-controlled, humidified room. “Mushrooms need about 90% humidity to grow,” Karen says, “and the space has to be sterile so other organisms won’t develop.” Brian set to work growing mushroom varieties, while Karen handled marketing, distribution and more. “I’d drive for hours, making deliveries to Stowe, then Middlebury, Montpelier, and Burlington to sell just three to five pounds of fresh mushrooms.” If selling fresh mushrooms presented certain market obstacles, the Wisemans, undaunted, began to cultivate another idea: dried mushrooms. Easier to transport, less spoilage and, from a marketing perspective, there were few competitors producing dried mushroom tinctures and powders, a clear competitive advantage. After careful development of an introductory line, Karen packed up her Peaceful Harvest medicinal mushroom supplements, and hit the road. At a single retail site, a small food coop, she sold out her entire stock. “We’d found a niche,” she says. Deliveries were quicker, shelf life was longer, demand was fast growing. “We developed a following and it was profitable.” Karen and Brian continued to immerse themselves in the study of herbalism, anatomy & physiology and more. They also learned that federal regulations mandated a larger space for their operations. By the time they’d located the ideal property just minutes down the road in Worcester, they’d already considered various financing strategies. “We weren’t a viable business model for angel investors who wanted to see rapid growth,” Karen recalls. “We knew of businesses that failed after growing too fast. And we weren’t interested in taking on debt we couldn’t pay back.” On the advice of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont and the Vermont Farm and Forest Viability Program, the Wisemans reached out to the Vermont Community Loan Fund. VCLF’s SPROUT loan program serves start-up and early-stage businesses like the Wisemans’, providing the flexibility that have allowed for the phased development of their business. The Wisemans’ SPROUT loan provided capital for fit-up and renovations to their new growing and production buildings just down the road from their home. “We had a lot at stake, our homestead and our business that we’d put everything into,” Karen says. “The Loan Fund wasn’t interested in pushing us to grow too rapidly, or in taking our home. They were interested, like we were, in building community.” By the time the COVID crisis hit in the early spring of 2020, Peaceful Harvest had a sizeable enough inventory to satisfy a growing customer base seeking to boost health and immune systems with medicinal mushrooms. Throughout the ongoing health crisis, Peaceful Harvest’s business has been, well, mushrooming. “We’ve come full circle,” Karen says reflecting back on goals that have long been central and meaningful to her and Brian. “We’re helping people, growing food, feeding people, supporting our community. It’s everything we’ve always wanted to do.”

You provide free adult basic education and literacy programs to a high-need community, but eligible prospects can’t participate due to lack of quality child care. Who do you call? “The Vermont Community Loan Fund helps organizations like ours open doors,” says Northeast Kingdom Learning Services’ Executive Director Michelle Faust. NEKLS started out in the 1960s, bringing adult basic education and adult literacy programming to homes in Essex, Caledonia and Orleans counties. They later added a Newport location, educational support services, GED classes, and more. They came to discover that lack of access to child care made their programming inaccessible to families. It also jeopardized jobs and job prospects. The total effect, cautions Michelle, can lead to “lack of access to income and opportunities. You can lose your car, or your home,” she warns. Collaborating with Northeast Kingdom Community Action, the state’s Children’s Integrated Services program and the Kingdom Children’s Museum, the organization envisioned the new NEKLS Ready, Set, Grow Child Care Center, and contacted the Loan Fund to make that vision a reality in Newport’s centrally-located former Vermont Teddy Bear factory. “It was a big, wide-open space that needed to be reconfigured to meet licensing and fire regulations, needed a commercial kitchen, bathrooms, and classrooms.” VCLF understood the importance of the project right away, Michelle says, “because it understands child care, the industry in Vermont, and how it works.” VCLF financing helped complete the renovations, and the center’s doors opened last September to 72 children & families and 18 new employees, with plans underway to add 26 before- and after-school slots. Wrap-around services, including extended pick-up and drop-off hours, are also offered “We serve communities filled with hardworking people who want to be successful, who want to be able to do their best,” Michelle insists. “And they can do their best when they have access to quality care, quality education, and quality support systems.”

A farm in Vermont gave them access to their dream. Then the Loan Fund gave them access to success. In 2015, Jill Perry Balzano and Rico Balzano purchased their first farm in Wells, Vermont, to raise pigs and grow sweet corn, apples, strawberries and other produce. It wasn’t long, though, before some fault lines emerged in their plan. “The property was basically 100 acres of nothing. There was no infrastructure, and there had been damage to the orchard from deer,” Jill recalls. So, in 2017, working with the Loan Fund and the Vermont Land Trust’s Farmland Access Program, they found their “forever farm,” Pawlet’s Walnut Hill Farm. On the advice of the Loan Fund’s Business Programs Director Dan Winslow, they focused in on pork and flower production. By 2019, they’d broken into the high-volume sales environment of the New York City metro area’s Greenmarket farmers’ markets, but they needed scale-up capital to make the next step possible. A VCLF line of credit was the answer. And, Jill firmly believes, it continues to help mitigate the risks she sees as inherent to farming. “Environmental issues, crop issues, animal issues, market volatility, processing issues…having access to a line of credit from VCLF enables us to make it through because it gives us the flexibility to operate at the scale we need.” Today, the Balzanos see the Loan Fund’s impacts reaching well beyond their farmstead. “From our employees (two full-time and four part-timers) to the person who services our tractor, to the feed company and more, there’s a serious ripple effect,” says Jill. “We’ve become a little economic driver for ourselves and our community.”

It’s not every day you see a teen piloting a plane. Or a shy child blossoming into a classroom leader. Then again, if you’re Kimberley Diemond, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Vermont, maybe you do! The Brattleboro-based nonprofit matches adult mentors with youth ages six to eighteen, in each of its Windham/Windsor, Chittenden and Northeast Kingdom chapters. “Mentoring provides both kids and their adult mentors with access to life experiences they might otherwise never have,” says Kimberley. Mentor/mentee matches spend time together two to three times a month. “They might go hiking, go to ball games, or pursue hobbies together,” Kimberley describes. And yes, there has even been a mentee piloting a plane alongside his mentor ‘co-pilot’. The positive influence of mentoring is evident in the numbers: studies show youth enrolled in mentoring programs are 52% less likely to drop out of school, and 55% more likely to go to college. BBBSVT emerged out of the national organization in 1975, sponsored by a Brattleboro-based community organization. In 2017, they became an independent affiliate, but faced some unanticipated consequences… Foundations and others funders that had previously supported them were now re-evaluating them as a ‘new’ organization. “We were basically starting all over again, in terms of future funding,” explains Kimberley. A Loan Fund line of credit became the bridge financing that enabled them to continue programming uninterrupted until grants once again flowed in. “VCLF saw the value in what we do. They believed in us,” Kimberley says. Now, she and her team are working to increase access to BBBSVT in Vermont. This includes ramping up their “Bigs in Blue” program connecting youth with police mentors, increasing efforts to serve youth whose lives are impacted by opioid addiction and building more school-based programming. “We want to go where the needs are,” she adds.

Summit Properties, developers of affordable housing, identified this 22-home property at 101 Mahoney Avenue in Rutland as an ideal match for state grant funding. However, the seller needed to close before the grant process could be completed. VCLF, along with Berkshire Bank, stepped in with financing, enabling Summit to purchase the property immediately and move forward with rehabilitation. Thanks to VCLF’s loan, low-income housing subsidies on the rental units were extended for 20 years. “Due to VCLF’s financing, Summit will be able to preserve the affordability of these 22 units in perpetuity, and maintain this important piece of Rutland’s affordable housing stock,” said Tom Getz, CEO of Summit Properties.

The Jasper Hill product line has won some serious awards and countless fans…but they’ve always kept their focus on the mission. Brothers Andy and Mateo Kehler and their team aren’t just dedicated to crafting and selling the best cheese around. They’re just as committed to sharing their artisanal expertise and their vision for economic development in the Northeast Kingdom and beyond. In 2015, they used VCLF financing to upgrade equipment, resulting in new products, increased sales & distribution and jobs for 33 Vermonters.

The pristine view of forests, river banks and wildlife changes with the seasons from the home of the newly-expanded North Branch Nature Center, just up VT Route 12, north of Montpelier. The question of how that view could be changed over the coming decades and centuries occupies the thoughts of NBNC Executive Director Chip Darmstadt and his team, leading to a collaboration with the Loan Fund. The organization started in 1996 as a central Vermont satellite of the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) at the former Brown farm, offering summer camps and other limited programming, with the farmhouse as the sole usable structure. When VINS consolidated all operations at their Quechee location ten years later, NBNC spun off as an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit. Fast forward several highly successful years, and new challenges have emerged. “Our mission is connecting people of all ages to the natural world,” Chip states. “But these days, if our only experience of nature comes from pictures on the internet, we’re at risk of becoming disconnected from the natural world, and then we’re less likely to protect it.” The team identified program expansion as a key goal. Camps and classes were hugely popular, but the demand could not always be met due to space constraints. “We had so much latent potential,” Chip says. But he had a hunch: if NBNC could increase indoor space, it could increase programming…and awareness of nature’s pressing needs. With capital campaign gifts pledged for future payment and construction needing to commence, “the Loan Fund stepped in at a critical juncture with financing that allowed us to move forward with the project while the fundraising was still ongoing,” recalls Chip. The new addition to the farmhouse, which more than doubled their usable square footage, opened its doors in the fall of 2017. New adult programs include BioUniversity, an intensive curriculum tapping expert naturalists, and field trips in Vermont, and across U.S. and international destinations. The all-new, fully-licensed, full-year Forest Preschool now engages eleven up-and-coming nature enthusiasts with additional enrollment expansion already planned. The building also hosts events, art exhibits and fundraisers that will carry NBNC through the final phase of their capital campaign, addressing the property’s energy needs. “The buildings are set up to be net-zero. Our solar array will soon be operating, so no more oil, no more fossil fuel,” Chip says, clearly proud. “We’re born with a love of nature. Our work here is to help re-create that connection, that spark,” says Chip. “We’re so grateful to our community and the Loan Fund for helping make this happen.”

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Amber Bollman had always carefully planned and pursued her dream career, owning her own home-based early care & learning center. Years of specialized education: an associate’s degree followed by a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, and then 12 years’ working in other early care & learning programs. Then, the investment of her life’s savings to create the ideal program space in her West Burke residence. She’d been up and running for two months, serving ten families…when her septic system suddenly failed. The cost of replacing the system, she was told, could reach $25,000. She didn’t have it. Then she met with the Vermont Community Loan Fund. Our financing of her new septic system “is what kept my doors open,” Amber says. With that crisis averted, she now reflects on how the Loan Fund has become a critical source of support, not just for her business, but for Vermont’s entire early care & learning industry. “The field is professionalizing, but funding hasn’t caught up with that,” she notes. The result, she finds, is that employees arrive with more qualifications, more school debt, and an increasing need for higher wages. “People end up literally not being able to afford to work in this field. They get trained, then move on,” she says, shrinking the availability of care. The way Amber sees it, the Loan Fund’s commitment to the field is crucial. “What the Loan Fund is doing is monumental. Not just for me, but for the state’s providers and the children & families they serve. VCLF is a critical support for programs to be able to start up and grow, all over Vermont.”

Once upon a time, there was a huge, drafty, 100-year-old, 30,000-square-foot former railway car repair shed that became headquarters to a nonprofit whose programming focused on, among many other things, energy efficiency. Given the structure’s age, dimensions and original purpose, it wasn’t necessarily a great fit. Fast forward to today: that Rutland building, owned and occupied by the Bennington-Rutland Opportunity Council (BROC), is among the most energy efficient buildings in the state. BROC, a community action coalition – one of a network of five partner organizations covering Vermont, and hundreds more nationally – was established in 1965 following the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. BROC programming includes housing and homelessness programs, fuel and utility assistance, weatherization assistance, employment training, financial literacy, a community food shelf, their Community Justice Center helping integrate formerly incarcerated residents into their community, a microbusiness development program, and more. “We serve so many good people who have worked hard all their lives…and then suddenly something happens - a lost job, an illness - and they find themselves in poverty,” says BROC CEO Tom Donahue. “Or people who’ve been locked in a generational cycle of poverty. We want to help Vermonters in crisis - who are literally starving, literally freezing - and then help them to find a sustainable path forward,” he adds. Between their Bennington and Rutland locations, BROC currently serves an estimated 12,000 Vermonters every year. “We develop programs based on need and opportunity,” Tom says. Need and opportunity came head-to-head when the BROC team took a hard look at their own time-worn offices. Purchased in 2015, just prior to Tom’s arrival at the organization, he describes the structure as “an incredibly in-efficient building. The HVAC system was on its last legs, using 100% electricity at 40% capacity.” Heat and air conditioning bills were through the roof, leaving employees shivering in winter and wilting in summer. “All of that affected our productivity, too,” he adds. Meanwhile, BROC’s weatherization assistance program was making huge strides, increasing energy efficiency in homes throughout their service area at the rate of 160 per year. “We needed to ‘walk the walk’ with our building, too”, Tom notes. At the same time, the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) was winding down its financing for large-scale energy efficiency upgrades…just what the opportunity BROC was seeking. However, BROC additional financing was needed to qualify for the program. Tom knew just who to call. “The Vermont Community Loan Fund is committed to meeting the needs of Vermonters, like we are,” says Tom. VEIC and the Loan Fund came together to collaborate on financing, just in time, as it turned out. “We were the final project for VEIC’s program, and the largest one. Without the Loan Fund stepping in, it wouldn’t have happened,” he adds. The completed project included all new windows, new LED lighting on sensors that adjust when rooms are unoccupied, heat pumps, and a new HVAC air handler system. A joint (non-VCLF) project added a 200-plus panel solar array. Results thus far point to savings in the tens of thousands of dollars, and a healthier, more productive workplace. “Every dollar that’s saved goes back into helping Vermonters. The Loan Fund was really significant in all of this. We’re able to help others with their problems because the Loan Fund helped us with ours,” Tom says.

As a child in Pownal, Liz Walsh recalls growing up in a “very creative household,” with all the family engaged in various projects. “We did painting, we did quilting, we made art.” Today, creativity is still very much a part of her life: she is the new (as of August 2017) owner of the well-established and well-loved Montpelier artists’ supply store, The Drawing Board. “As a business owner, now I’m putting my creativity to work in so many ways, buying, marketing, staffing and more,” she says, excitedly. Starting out as a dedicated employee with both a penchant for art and a head for business (she dual-majored in business and art), Liz proved herself to the Drawing Board’s previous owners, Jody and Ray Brown. So much so that by 2006, they offered Liz a co-ownership option. Health issues pushed Ray to an earlier-than-anticipated retirement; by 2017, Jody was ready to retire, too. And Liz was ready to take the reins. “A lot of what I was buying was 43 years of good business and good will,” she says, noting the Drawing Board’s long history and loyal customer base, all dating back to 1975. “I knew that was something a traditional bank probably wouldn’t necessarily see as real assets to lend against,” Liz notes. Liz met VCLF Director of Business Programs Raymond Lanza-Weil at a Small Business Development Center workshop. “He approached me, and said ‘I think you might be a good fit for the Loan Fund,” Liz recalls. “They’ve been incredibly supportive,” she says. Through the Loan Fund’s Business Development Center, Liz has continued to tap into business counseling, resources, services and referrals to help her navigate her new sole-ownership position. “It’s challenging to go from having a business partner providing support and feedback to having to make decisions all on my own. But through the Business Resource Center, I’ve gotten advice about HR, financials, payroll, and I’m working on a marketing analysis and some rebranding,” she says. While she says she can’t necessarily point to any specific issues gender may influence when it comes to business ownership, she does believe that “Montpelier is lucky to have tons of female-owned businesses.” “Most of all, it’s rewarding knowing that I’m carrying on a business that’s been here for 43 years, that my employees’ jobs are safe and that they’re taken care of,” Liz says. “The Loan Fund helped make that happen.”

“Studio Place Arts’ purpose is to demystify the art-making process,” says Executive Director Sue Higby. It’s the opposite, she explains, of what the private art gallery experience ca fell like, where art can come across as “something you could never do.” SPA teaches a broad range of art classes, rents studio space to working artists and mounts roughly 30 group, individual and retrospective exhibits every year. Our intent is to show all the different ways that materials can be put to use, so that participants feel like they can create art themselves. SPA first found the Loan Fund almost twenty years ago, after they’d been gifted with a Victorian-era downtown Barre property to serve as its new home. The location was ideal, but extensive renovations were needed. SPA reached out to VCLF for a construction loan. They opened their doors to Central Vermont’s art-lovers and -makers in 2001. Today, Higby estimates SPA hosts between 8-10,000 visitors annually. Last year, Higby and her team again tapped the Loan Fund to help bridge slower periods between seasonal fundraising campaigns, grants awards and other revenue streams. Keeping SPA open and inviting is central to keeping the greater community vibrant, too, Sue says. She will attest, rightly, to the role arts organizations play in bringing economic value to communities, attracting tourist dollars and boosting real estate values among other things. The Loan Fund, says Higby, is another critical asset to strong communities. “If not for the Loan Fund, the social and cultural fabric of Vermont would be considerably less diverse and rich.”

Sarah Leblanc seems never to have encountered a closed door she couldn’t open. Take, for example, the challenges she encountered when starting up Georgia’s Next Generation, her new early care & learning center. Located in Georgia, Franklin County, where need for quality early care & learning programs is among the highest in the state, Sarah’s plan for Georgia’s Next Generation would open doors for local families and children from the get-go. “The need is so great here, we’re serving families from a wide geographic area. Georgia, Fairfax, Westboro, Milton, St. Albans,” she says. “And, we have a long waiting list.” Research proves that early care & learning provides critical advantages in physical, mental, emotional & social development for children. It’s no less essential for Vermont’s working families, who depend on programs like Sarah’s in order to hold steady employment, achieving sustainability and building wealth for their families. Previously, Sarah had owned Giggles Child Care (another former VCLF borrower!) in South Burlington for twelve years Then she served as an early care licensing supervisor, a public preschool teacher, and as a regional advisor for Community College of Vermont’s Northern Lights professional development system, serving Vermont’s early childhood and afterschool professionals. With all that experience, transitioning a former pizza restaurant into a top-notch child care facility didn’t faze Sarah at all. She and her husband did much of the renovation work themselves. They built furniture. They landscaped. They completed the project in a month, began waiting for their water permit… and kept waiting. “Because the water permitting took so long, we were stuck in the initial phase of our building renovations. We couldn’t open. We couldn’t serve the families that needed us, and we’d run out of money,” she recalls. But ever resourceful, Sarah again knocked on the Vermont Community Loan Fund’s door. She used VCLF financing to bridge expenses including hiring and training staff and completing building upgrades, until the doors could open and income could be generated. Today, Georgia’s Next Generation’s nine staff members care for children from 55 families across Franklin and Chittenden Counties. The curriculum is an innovative, nature-based model that emphasizes the outdoors and self-discovery. Among the many aspects of the program she’s proud of, Sarah cites that all staff are salaried rather than paid hourly, which is more typical in the industry. “When staff are paid hourly, they may work some days, then not be brought in on others, so they can’t count on a weekly income. That leads to staffing turnover, which makes the program less stable, and actually robs the program of quality,” she says. Growing and running a sustainable early care & learning business takes serious planning. That’s why Sarah is a big advocate of utilizing all available resources, like the Loan Fund’s Business Resource Center. “They’re great with budgeting, navigating cash flow, doing projections, and lots of other training,” she says. Sarah encourages providers to look into any programs, organizations, grants and even apps that may maximize efficiencies and enhance opportunities. Georgia’s Next Generation recently received a competitive Make Way for Kids grant through Let’s Grow Kids, which supports providers in creating additional high-quality child care spaces around Vermont. She also recommends Smartcare, a program offered through SharedServicesVT.org, which provides a wide range of services to assist early care & learning program directors with billing, payments, attendance and more. “The Shared Services website also lists discounts, provides employee policies and handbooks,” Sarah adds. Topping Sarah’s resource list is the Vermont Community Loan Fund. “As a new business starting out, a lot of banks typically won’t give you financing,” she says. “If not for the Loan Fund stepping in, we’d be stuck in the initial phase of rehabbing the facility, unable to open our doors or serve our community. We wouldn’t have been able to make payroll.” There’s a lot to juggle in the early care & learning field, Sarah stresses. “Workdays are long and pay is lower, so finding and keeping staff is challenging. Keeping staff-to-child ratios is critical, so you have to find a way to make that financially feasible. Even figuring out how to cover nine lunch breaks for nine staff members can be challenging,” she notes. “It’s all about utilizing resources.” georgiasnextgeneration.com/

In Vermont, the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia disorders is expected to rise 42% by 2025. Cathedral Square Corporation, a statewide nonprofit housing and aging services organization and long-time Vermont Community Loan Fund partner, has provided thousands of low and moderate-income Vermont seniors and disabled persons with affordable homes, assisted living and support services for over four decades. In 2017, Cathedral Square came to us for help financing their latest project, Memory Care at Allen Brook, Vermont’s first memory care residence exclusively for Medicaid recipients. While there are already many memory care facilities in Vermont, the majority do not accept Medicaid. “In Chittenden County, memory care costs typically exceed $10,000 a month for a single patient,” explains Cathedral Square CEO Kim Fitzgerald. “Patients have to spend down their entire life savings, and when the money’s gone, they have to leave,” she adds. Last summer, a Williston respite house formerly run by the Vermont Nurses Association went up for sale, so Kim and her team made their move. “I called right away, and toured the facility with Alzheimer’s Association people,” she says, excitedly. Everyone was in agreement. “The right size, the right feel, the right light,” she adds. With an offer submitted, Kim began fundraising in earnest. A first donation from the Fountain Foundation “gave me the hope I needed,” she says. The UVM Medical Center, the Hoehl Family Foundation and the Amy Tarrant Foundation made major contributions, while the Loan Fund’s financing covered renovations including flooring, kitchen upgrades, handrails, lighting and more. Fundraising is ongoing, to develop gardens and other outdoor space. Allen Brook opened its doors in December and is now home to 14 residents receiving licensed, round-the-clock memory care. The Alzheimer’s Association provides additional programming and dementia-care training for staff, as well as support for residents’ families. “We’re so proud of this,” Kim says. “The need is huge. This is a pilot project. This is the future. And now, we want to do more,” she adds.

From the deck of their Plainfield farmhouse, husband and wife farming duo Janet Steward, 66, and Ray Shatney, 65, can see all the way to New York. Their panoramic 40 acres in Plainfield and 177 acres in Greensboro Bend, are dotted with sunlight and shade, and one hundred and seventy contented, grazing Highland cattle. The couple has run Greenfield Highland Beef on their Greensboro Bend and Plainfield farm properties since 2004. Janet, a school teacher, had purchased the Plainfield farm property with her late first husband. They’d previously tried logging and potato farming in Maine, ultimately finding that work “just not sustainable.” They relocated to Vermont in 1976. After her husband passed away in 1997, Janet continued teaching and maintaining the property, rarely asking for help…until a big storm felled a large tree on the property. Ray Shatney, a tree worker, arrived to clean it up. They married several years later, and the rest is history. Ray grew up on a dairy farm in nearby Greensboro Bend, in later years helping his father raise a distinguished herd of Highland cattle, descended from the very first Highlands registered in the U.S. “Ours is the oldest registered Highland herd in the country,” Janet says, with obvious pride. “Ray’s father’s dream was for the herd to continue”. Though determined to fulfill that dream, the couple soon discovered the huge expense involved. Their conclusion: an innovative business strategy was essential. Their strategy: beef. Highland beef is naturally tender. With the herd’s grass-fed diet, it was healthier, too. Greenfield Highland Beef would support their mission of continuing the genetics of their celebrated herd. There was one hitch. With only one tractor across two large properties, Janet and Ray could not harvest enough hay for winter needs. To supplement their supply, they purchased costly stored forage to feed the herd. Increasing the hay harvest would yield big savings, but they needed a second tractor to do so. Contacted through partnering nonprofit the Carrot Project, the Loan Fund financed another tractor in 2015, and has worked in a consulting capacity with Greenfield Highland Beef since. Starting up a business when closer to retirement age comes with concerns, particularly a higher-risk, capital-intensive enterprise like farming. “But,” says Janet, “the Loan Fund is committed to helping us succeed. At a time when many farms are going out of business, we’re getting to real sustainability.” So much so that in 2016, Greenfield Highland Beef was named the U.S. Small Business Association's Vermont Family-Owned Business of the Year. Janet stresses that even with the farm’s advances and all of the couple’s varied skills and experience, keeping a farm business viable presents an ongoing series of challenges. She and Ray feel fortunate to be able to approach the Loan Fund for assistance as needed. For example, with their next big task: a succession plan. “We have five children between us, and none wants to take over the farm,” says Janet. So she and Ray, with business coaching and consulting from the Loan Fund’s Business Resource Center, are exploring post-retirement scenarios. “The support and resources the Loan Fund offers to borrowers is amazing,” says Janet.

Norah Lake, owner and founder of Sweetland Farms in Poultney, is clearly not afraid of getting her hands dirty. Hauling a crop of just-harvested, soil-laden leeks to the washing station, she notes the appropriateness of the activity. “The Loan Fund’s financing was for the wash and pack facility I’m about to use,” she says. Growing up on her family homestead in Grafton, she remembers planting, growing and harvesting produce for family meals. At southern Vermont’s innovative Putney School, the curriculum included a required semester’s work at the school farm. And at Dartmouth College, she majored in environmental studies, after which she met mentor-farmer Chuck Wooster, owner of Sunrise Farm in nearby White River Junction. Impressed with Norah’s achievements, Chuck tasked her with the ambitious goal of doubling Sunrise’s CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture) membership …with all that entailed. “It was an amazing opportunity to dive into the business of farming,” Norah says. Thanks to her hard work, Sunrise Farm doubled its subscriber list and then some, just in time for another opportunity to arise: a 100-acre Grafton farm coming on the market. The Vermont Land Trust’s Farmland Access Program was seeking proposals that could re-energize this parcel and re-establish it among Vermont’s working lands. Norah won the honors, and within the first few months of 2012, her newly named Sweetland Farm’s busy farm stand was up and running. By year two, acreage had been added, a robust CSA was in place and a fulltime employee hired. “We’ve increased staff every year, built a house for the crew, renovated barns and greenhouses, purchased another 100 acres of neighboring land, and we now raise over 100 crops and varieties,” she says, barely taking a breath. If her independent drive and self-motivation are key to Norah’s success, she’s also a great believer in the importance of networking and accessing available resources. At the top of her list: the Loan Fund’s lending and Business Resource Center staff. She credits the Loan Fund’s SPROUT program with providing an essential leg up when she needed it most. “Low-interest loans and assistance with the financial side of growing a business are critical to promoting the future of Vermont’s farms, and that’s what the Vermont Community Loan Fund is doing, right now.” Another great asset, she notes, is the Loan Fund’s Business Resource Center staff, who encouraged her to network with other farmers, whom she’s found to be “so generous with their time and advice.” Networking with other female farmers has yielded even further benefits: “The women farmers I talk with are eager to discuss management styles, how to balance family and work, and how to be the boss, since many of us haven’t seen a model for that,” she says. Now, Norah’s that model.

Heather Martin’s Babysteps Child Care infant and toddler program in Proctor cares for the tiniest of clientele. But make no mistake: this is no small endeavor. When asked to describe a ‘typical’ day at the office, she laughs and offers “Developing curriculum, planning, doing trainings, staff meetings, in-service days, professional development, and of course caring for the kids, covering shifts for staff who may be out because there’s no sub list like there is with an elementary school. Let’s see…billing, budgeting, cash flow. I think that about covers it!” Having worked in the early care and learning field for 13 years, the majority of those as Director of Proctor’s Union Church Children’s Center, Heather had considered opening a program exclusively for infants and toddlers for a while. “The need is the greatest at those ages and there was nothing available. The phone would ring all the time with parents begging me to start an infant care program,” she recalls. So Heather and her husband Matthew secured VCLF financing to, convert their garage into a fully-equipped early care and learning center, complete with a large infant classroom, kitchenette and half-bath, alongside leveled parking and outdoor playspace. Babysteps Child Care officially opened in the spring of 2018, immediately providing services for 14 infants & toddlers and their families. VCLF’s Business Resource Center saw her through the complicated process of licensing, inspections, regulations, engineers’ reports, permitting and a. VCLF staff also encouraged her to join professional and other small business associations where she discovered support, and also some misperceptions about early care and learning businesses. “People outside this field, mainly men, can think it’s really more like babysitting. It hasn’t occurred to them that this is a real business,” she says. She’s grateful that VCLF saw Babysteps as very ‘real’…and important. “The Loan Fund understands working families, and the needs of early care & learning programs. Without them, Babysteps just wouldn’t exist.” With all of its challenges, the job’s rewards continue to energize her. “I love making decisions that benefit children and families and staff,” she says. “And I love watching kids and parents succeed.”

Childhood best buds, Fairfax natives and culinary entrepreneurs Tyler Stratton and Silas Pollitt are serving much more than just pizza at their new localvore restaurant. They’re serving their community, with delicious food and a gathering place for neighbors, friends and family. Stone’s Throw Pizza in Fairfax had plenty to celebrate (and eat!) at their grand opening on November 11th. Tyler, Silas and their team fired up the pizza ovens to produce specialty pies including ‘The Farmer’ (house-made white sauce, braised short ribs, toasted hazelnuts) and ‘The Harvester’ (white sauce, roasted squash, dried cherries, ricotta), alongside classics like pepperoni and cheese. Per the restaurant’s web site (stonesthrowpizzavt.com), Stone’s Throw “started with a crazy idea” nearly two decades ago, when, as schoolmates, the duo dreamed of someday working together. Silas went on to enroll in the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, learning classical French cuisine from internationally renowned chefs. When he discovered his tastes ran more toward casual than classical, he opted for a career at New England pizza franchise Otto Pizza. Tyler studied medical biology. For extra cash, he’d pick up hours at a pizza shop near his college campus, a turn he credits with steering him from medicine to administrative roles at Whole Foods Market’s Texas headquarters and (coincidence?) Otto Pizza, then on to ownership in two Boston-based pizza shops. Across these experiences, Tyler learned the ins and outs of restaurant ownership, including “the importance of ambience, staff, aesthetics, what hospitality means,” and how the right atmosphere can foster community. “Periodically, Tyler would call to see if the time was right to start something up together,” Silas recalls. It wasn’t until reconnecting at a mutual friend’s wedding that they revisited their original ‘Plan A’ and set to work to make the dream happen: their own restaurant. With complementary strengths in culinary arts and business, the time had come. They met with a bank to discuss financing for equipment and renovations to the location they’d identified, Fairfax’s former general store. When the bank’s financing offer didn’t work for them, a friend suggested the Vermont Community Loan Fund. “At that point, we didn’t realize that our concept for a restaurant was so in-sync with the Loan Fund’s mission,” Silas notes. “The Loan Fund is all about bringing community together, and so are we.” In addition to financing, Tyler notes, the Loan Fund helped the Stone’s Throw team figure out where to source local ingredients. “We get as much as we can from local farmers and food processors,” he says, just as a delivery of fresh mushrooms are dropped off at the restaurant. “Our local mushroom forager is just another example of the community coming together here,” adds Silas, pointing out the many Fairfax community members at work in the kitchen. “Two BFA (the local regional high school) students, one current and one grad.” “And my sister Elizabeth,” adds Tyler, “and Silas’ parents.” “And Janet who lives upstairs, and my fiancée, Alison Duhamel, who did our logo, and brand work and does customer service,” Tyler continues. “All the work and contributions and effort this community has put into Stone’s Throw,” Silas adds, “They’ve helped us paint, helped us move. Our friend Joel Bryant created our poured concrete bar, and just told us he wanted to donate the work. It’s amazing.” Furthering their concept of a community-centric eatery, the two co-owners would like to link up with other local organizations, school groups and more to host events and foster alliances. “The Loan Fund understands what we’re trying to do,” says Tyler. “They see that we want to create a restaurant that brings together a community of people. And that’s what the Loan Fund does: they invest in communities and bring people together.” PHOTO: www.albiec.com

The white clapboard farmhouse on Weybridge Street is more than a charming, quintessentially Vermont structure. It’s also a vital community center, one that many Addison County families could not manage without. But the Otter Creek Child Care Center, highly regarded and in huge demand (with a double digit waiting list), was in jeopardy of being shut down. New state regulations determined the building had insufficient insulation and ventilation. Rooms were drafty, floors were too cold, and heating bills were through the roof. With financing from the Vermont Community Loan Fund, says Otter Creek Director Linda January, “we converted to natural gas, insulated crawl spaces, finished the attic, had the basement floor sealed, and decreased heating expenses,” for the benefit of 48 enrolled children and 14 full-time employees. “VCLF was in our corner the whole way,” says Linda. “Now we’re in compliance. We couldn’t have done it without them.”

Elaine Toohey’s voice doesn’t waver as she tells of her bouts with homelessness, twice in her life, the second time as the young mother of two small children. The breakup of her domestic partnership was one of those life crises, she describes, like losing a job or a death in the family that, for some, can lead to an emergency situation. “I lived on a friend’s land. I had no job. I had no income. I couldn’t find the help I needed.” Having made her way back from such circumstances, you could argue that Elaine is uniquely qualified for her job as Executive Director of Another Way. The Montpelier nonprofit serves Central Vermonters experiencing homelessness, unemployment, those suffering with addiction or struggling with mental health issues, the transitioning and recovering, all moving toward a better place. If the status quo has been to view this population with certain assumptions and standardized procedures, Elaine and her staff are certain there is, in fact, Another Way. Another Way, founded in 1986 as an alternative to the services offered by local community mental health centers, focuses on advocacy and empowerment of voluntary residents through peer support. “Peer support means learning together, and taking personal responsibility,” Elaine explains. The organization helps residents access housing, meals, legal support, health insurance, educational and employment opportunities, and disability and other benefits where appropriate. Connections are also crucial. “Program participants grow and get support from one another,” she says. Community meals, prepared in their community kitchen and shared on site are an important point of connection, Elaine notes. Recent reports have shown the number of homeless Vermonters is on the rise, and the staff (five full-time and six shift workers) has seen a definite spike in need. Their data shows Another Way served 582 Vermonters last year versus 349 the year before – a 40% increase. “I think the bigger numbers also means we’re doing a better job of connecting with people who are experiencing homelessness,” Elaine notes. Last winter, they also served as the overflow site for a partner organization, the Good Samaritan Haven emergency shelter in Barre. Thus, the timing was right to address some serious issues with their Barre Street facility. Especially urgent was replacing the failed roof and porch, repairing a dilapidated staircase and bringing the fire system up to code. Another Way approached the Loan Fund for financing, noting a difference right away from other lenders. “We’d sought funding elsewhere before, and people didn’t take the time to understand the nuances of what we do,” says Elaine. “But Paul and Barbara at the Loan Fund were incredibly supportive. They listened and understood. This project wouldn’t have happened without them,” she adds. With the work now completed, Elaine is looking ahead to the final phase of renovations, including ADA accessibility. Grants and other fundraising are in the works, including sales of resident-made wooden garden beds (information at anotherwayvt.org/contributing-to-another-way). Elaine stresses, “These building upgrades send a message to our residents that they deserve a safe space that’s not falling apart, that’s nice looking. That feels good,” she says.

It’s a culinary treat and mainstay known to Caribbean, African, Asian cultures for centuries… and one that Vermonters are about to discover. It’s a sumptuous meat, rich in flavor, a great source of protein, lower in fat, sodium and cholesterol than most beef, pork, and poultry. “It’s chevon,” says Shirley Richardson, founder and CEO of Danville-based of goat meat purveyor Vermont Chevon. “Goats are the animal. Chevon is the meat,” she explains. Shirley launched Vermont Chevon in 2011, helping supply the greater Boston area’s demand for chevon. While chevon is the most widely-consumed red meat worldwide, many Vermonters have yet to try it. “When I sample Vermont Chevon at markets and co-ops, people taste it and tell me it’s delicious. When I tell them it’s goat, they’re really surprised,” she says. “Everyone loves goat’s milk and cheese (known as chevre),” she states. “What they don’t realize is that once the female goats are past their peak milk-producing years, and male goats have served their purpose, farms have no use for them. They’re considered waste.” These “cull goats,” no longer useful on-farm, are eliminated and discarded. “All of that food and nutrition gone to waste,” Shirley laments. “I want to help feed this country.” Additional perks of choosing chevon include its low environmental impact, “because goats are browsers and not grazers. They forage on shrubs and weeds. They don’t pull up grasses from the roots like cows,” Shirley notes. Vermont Chevon sources cull goats from Vermont goat’s milk and cheese producers. They’re processed at a Royalton facility and distributed to wholesalers and other outlets. Shirley frequently hears from chevon fans that her product is better tasting and of higher quality than other chevon currently available. “Anywhere in the U.S. where you find chevon, it almost exclusively comes from Australia,” Shirley tells. “But the way they harvest there is problematic. They use helicopters to round up feral goats. There’s no quality control. Some animals may be too old, or some too young, to provide good meat. Some may even be diseased,” she adds. She also points out that the thousands of miles that chevon travels from Australia makes for a sizeable and damaging carbon footprint. Australia’s exportation owes partly to the fact that the U.S. chevon market is under-developed. “An industry doesn’t exist in this country for production of chevon,” Shirley explains. “There’s just no infrastructure for it – yet.” Which is why she connected with the Loan Fund. “I saw an unmet demand, and the Loan Fund got that,” she says, recalling an initial meeting to discuss financing through the SPROUT program, a deferred payment, lower-interest loan program specifically designed for start-up and early stage food and farms enterprises. Following advice from the Loan Fund’s Business Resource Center, which assists borrowers with strategies, resources and more, Shirley has continued building her support network including an advisory board, and forging connections to boost her business expansion plan. Now, with her website up and running, she’s developing a brochure and experiencing upticks in sales. She plans on hiring a farm-to-harvest coordinator in the near future. With more marketing clout, she’s been able to attract a new distributor to take sales in new directions, literally. “These opportunities would not have been available to me through a regular bank,” Shirley adds. “The Loan Fund is different, because it’s structured to provide opportunities for a small, early-stage business like mine. To have all of this – financing, coaching, business development – and at low- or no interest with the SPROUT program. It’s just outstanding.”

Back in 2003, less than a month into his new role as executive director of Spectrum Youth & Family Services, Mark Redmond came face to face with the Burlington nonprofit’s financial challenges. A provider of life-changing – and life-saving – youth programs and services such as emergency shelter, mentoring, job counseling, addiction recovery services and more for over four decades, Spectrum had itself fallen on hard times. “I realized we might not make payroll,” he recalls. “It was scary.” Then someone mentioned the Vermont Community Loan Fund. A meeting was set up. A strategy was decided upon: the Loan Fund could provide Spectrum a second mortgage on their property, bringing in enough capital to keep them running. Thus began the climb out. Tough choices were made. Cuts were made. Step by step, the organization worked its way out of debt and uncertainty. “Sixteen years later, we have a $4 million endowment,” Mark says. “Because of the Loan Fund, we were able to keep our doors open,” he adds. “They’re why we’re still here. Today we’re serving over 1,000 kids a year.”

It’s said that Genghis Kahn and Japanese samurai sought kombucha for its energizing properties, and that an ancient Chinese emperor credited his longevity to the fermented tea-based beverage. Siberians scoured their native birch forests to source ingredients for it. In recent times, after the rationing of tea and other goods during World War II, it became ever more difficult to procure. Now, Middlebury-based AquaViTea is meeting the growing demand for kombucha with a great product, expanding distribution, fresh new flavor blends like Peachmint and Watermelon-Habanero, ‘adult beverage’ line extensions…and, of course, financing from the Vermont Community Loan Fund. AquaViTea CEO and founder Jeff Weaber started out in the beer industry “at the bottom of the ladder” of a Portland, Oregon micro-brewery. He started climbing, exploring and growing the business, “so I had some experience with fermenting,” he recalls. Weaber’s wife Katina had been attending naturopathic medical school in Portland, where she’d learned about the health benefits of kombucha. Sensing an opportunity, Weaber decided to tap in, and began trying out kombucha batches at the brewery. By 2005, the couple had relocated to Vermont, where Weaber started test-marketing his concoctions at the Middlebury Farmers Market . Met with an enthusiastic response and many raised glasses, Weaber launched AquaViTea in 2007. Kombucha is created when a SCOBY (an acronym for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, a dense cellulose ‘mat’) develops at the top of a brew tank of tea. The SCOBY feeds on sugars within the tea mix and ferments, yielding kombucha, said to aid digestion and boost immunities. (Weaber acknowledges that kombucha’s health benefits are not yet clinically proven, though devotees swear by it.) As sales rose, Weaber moved production from his Salisbury farm to a facility in Bristol, and began thinking beyond bottles. “Jeff was the pioneer of kombucha on tap,” says Laura Smith, AquaViTea’s Executive of Special Operations. The now-prevalent AquaViTea taps, a bar-top-like set-up, allow customers to reuse glass containers or growlers, in synch with the healthy, mindful stance of the company, she explains. “That had a lot to do with our getting more mainstream traction,” Smith notes, referring to the brand’s entrance into Hannaford supermarkets, larger health food outlets and even convenience stores. Continued growth propelled AquaViTea beyond the start-up stage, ultimately necessitating even bigger digs. In 2015 AquaViTea relocated from Bristol to still larger quarters in Middlebury. Soon, other mid-stage business needs and considerations came into play. The fermentation process of kombucha naturally leads to a certain percentage of alcohol in the product. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau regulates alcohol content within the beverage industry. If AquaViTea were to be marketed as a non-alcoholic beverage, per its business plan and distribution, the naturally-occurring alcohol would have to be extracted. That led to the inevitable question of what to do with all of that deliciously kombucha-kissed alcohol? The answer: kombucha vodka. The matter of how to extract that alcohol led Weaber to the Vermont Community Loan Fund. “We needed an alcohol spinner. It’s a stainless steel machine about 30 feet tall, 20 feet long and eight feet deep. It looks like a rocket ship. It’s a feat of engineering,” Weaber says, a hint of awe in his tone. “We’d taken on a lot of early investments on our own, so we were shopping for a lender who could look beyond the typical balance sheet,” he recalls. It was a match. The Loan Fund, many of whose borrowers have been declined by traditional lenders, considers potential for job creation and community impact for a strong local economy, rather than focusing on numbers alone. Granite State Development Corporation also contributed to the financing. “We saw AquaViTea as already having gained significant ground in a growing category segment,” says Loan Fund Executive Director Will Belongia. “We saw sustained growth, talented management, and a great product to boot,” he adds. Vodka production is underway, and kombucha distribution now flows in-store and at events throughout New England. A top-secret new category extension is in development. Anticipated new hires will allow Weaber to “focus more on innovation.” He’s liking this trajectory. Weaber credits the Loan Fund with providing great opportunities for mid-stage businesses like AquaViTea. “In Vermont, there’s a good network of investors for start-up businesses getting off the ground, and, if you’re a mature business, there are resources there, too. But there’s a big gap for mid-stage companies. The Vermont Community Loan Fund understands the needs of mid-stage companies, and they specifically look at growing Vermont versus just a borrower’s bottom line,” Weaber says.

What, you might ask, are those pod-shaped kiosks adorned with adorable baby pics that keep popping up in airports, shopping malls and stadiums? You (particularly you new parents out there) will be interested to know they’re Mamava freestanding lactation suites. They’re making a case for nursing moms and babies on the go, and making a statement that can’t be ignored: nursing is a right, not a privilege. Mamava co-founders Sascha Mayer and Christine Dodson first met back in the 1990s, working at Burlington’s busy JDK design firm. “JDK was always a very supportive workplace, and our office was experiencing its own baby boom,” says Sascha. “So we knew a lot of nursing moms,” adds Christine. With healthcare professionals recommending breastfeeding for at least six months, a new generation of parents was becoming aware of its significant health benefits. Pumping breastmilk at the office became another new normal for working moms. Within a few years, their own children had arrived, and Sascha and Christine found themselves pumping breastmilk while working, en route to client meetings “at airports and in convention center bathrooms,” Sascha remembers. Not exactly the ideal, they admit, looking back on it now… Then came the day they read a piece in the New York Times about mothers who discovered breastfeeding to be impractical, if not impossible. “For (mothers) with autonomy in their jobs?—?generally, well-paid professionals?—?breastfeeding, and the pumping it requires, is a matter of choice…. But for lower-income mothers?, including many who work in restaurants, factories, call centers, and the military, ?pumping at work is close to impossible, causing many women to decline to breastfeed at all, and others to quit after a short time,” the article read. That got them thinking. Next, the Fair Labor Standards Act mandated that employers provide employees with break time as well as appropriate space for pumping, “other than a bathroom”. Sascha and Christine saw that nursing moms needed new options, and Mamava was ‘born’. They began their business plan and sought financing. “We learned about the Loan Fund through one of our business advisors,” recalls Sascha. She and Christine were particularly impressed with the Loan Fund’s quick response and flexibility. “We’re growing so rapidly, we’ve already tapped into a line of credit, paid it back, and now we need new resources,” Sascha explains. “If not for VCLF, I’d have taken out yet another mortgage on my house.” Sascha and Christine worked with JDK to design lactation suites that would provide a clean and private place free from noise and distractions for moms to pump or breastfeed. Suites include electrical outlets for breast pumps, seating for mom and another sibling, gentle lighting and a changing table. Advertising space is available on the interior and exterior; part of Mamava’s business plan to generate additional revenue. A free app enables moms to locate and gain access to Mamava suites at 250 sites across the country. Initially, Mamava encountered criticism from breastfeeding advocates who felt the suites effectively ‘hid’ breastfeeding from view, but such comments have abated of late. “It’s the pumping mothers themselves who have asserted their personal experiences,” says Sascha. Those moms have countered the criticisms with praise for the convenience, privacy and lack of distractions the lactation suites afford them while pumping and nursing. “After all, the complexities of modern living are all about choices,” Sascha adds. At this point, Mamava’s growth is in the double digits, and they’ve jumped from three to 16 full- and part-time employees in just two years. “Every year, 3,000,000 moms initiate breastfeeding,” Christine says. “We’re extending our mission with more education, with community, with useful content and curated commerce, so we can bring a lot more to moms.” Learn more at www.mamava.com

Synergy has characterized Art LaPlante and Mark Royer’s working partnership for decades. The two first met years ago when Art was managing a building materials store in Barton. Mark, a customer, was in timberwork, specializing in specialty lumber. “So Mark started buying logs from land owners for me,” Art recalls. Time went by and Art became manager of Colton’s Hardware in Orleans. Mark was firmly ensconced in his family’s financial planning firm. Then Barton landmark E.M. Brown Hardware came up for sale. All of Art’s friends told him to go for it. “I was the marketing, merchandizing and retail guy,” says Art. “But I didn’t have experience on the financial side. There was no one who could do the books.” Mark could. The two purchased E.M. Brown in the fall of 2007 and the rest is (very successful) Barton history. Ten years into it, Art describes his partnership with Mark as knowing instinctively who should handle what. “Something will come up, and I’ll say to Mark ‘Why don’t you take that?’ or he’ll say it to me,” Art notes with a laugh. In 2013, the old general store next door to E.M. Brown went on the market. Without knowing exactly how they’d end up using the space, the two purchased it, figuring they’d “figure it out.” Then in 2016, nearby sugaring equipment retailer Lapierre USA suddenly closed. Mark and Art immediately recognized the opportunity: E.M. Brown and Lapierre had a significant overlapping customer base (another synergy!). Opening their own sugaring equipment business made too much sense not to consider. Plans in hand, they approached the Vermont Community Loan Fund. “We met with Raymond and Dan at the Loan Fund, and talked about our goals, and how we could serve the community with a new sugaring equipment business,” Art recalls. With the closing of Lapierre, sugarers would have to drive at least 25 miles for supplies and service. With plenty of sugaring in their neck of the woods, Art and Mark saw it as a synergistic case of supply meeting demand. The Loan Fund saw it that way, too. Art and Mark used VCLF financing to purchase inventory, and the Barton Maple Company launched in time for the 2017 sugaring season. In the old general store location, former Lapierre’s employee Patrick Thompson manages the shop while Art and Mark keep E.M. Brown moving forward. Financing helped retain one part-time and three full-time jobs, with another job expected to be created this year. “Stainless steel tubing, storage tanks, pumps, evaporators. If not for the Loan Fund, we never could have gotten our inventory up in time for sugaring season,” Art reflects. “Now we have it. And if we don’t have it in stock, we can have it within a day.” www.bartonmaplecompany.com

When tens of thousands of families and businesses count on you every day to deliver their power - no interruptions and no exceptions - reliability is everything. Hence the name: Northern Reliability, the newest member of the Vermont Community Loan Fund’s (VCLF) family of borrowers. In December, VCLF, a nonprofit, mission-driven lender, provided financing to Northern Reliability (NR), the Waitsfield power storage company, to help them cover operating costs like product design and customization, installation and maintenance of power storage units on- and off-grid, and more. “Our civil, electrical and mechanical engineers work with customers to design systems that will revolutionize the grid” says Jay Bellows, NR’s President and CEO, via its reliable energy storage, technological innovations, and significant cost savings. As NR’s website describes, “Our products scale to meet any energy demand and are designed to operate under any condition around the world using power derived from sunlight, wind and conventional fuel sources.” Waitsfield area residents in particular may remember NR’s beginnings as Northern Power Systems (NPS). NPS started nearly 30 years ago, providing wind and other alternative energy and storage to some of the world’s most remote locations. When NPS decided to focus exclusively on wind energy generation in 2007, a group broke off to continue the energy storage side of the business under the new name of Northern Reliability. That group has spent the past decade building the business under a new model and developing a range of energy storage solutions. NR now has eighteen full- and part-time employees, with five to six new jobs anticipated to be added this year following nearly 300% business growth in 2016. NR projects range in scale and scan the globe. Current works include supplying continuous power for remote, off-grid tower sites in rural Maine, aircraft obstruction lighting for a transmission tower at Niagara Falls, and affordable, reliable power to residents on a remote island off the coast of Massachusetts - to name a few. As an example of the inherent ‘power’ behind the concept of energy storage, Jay explains how NR’s storage helps make solar more accessible. “Solar energy wouldn’t otherwise be available during peak usage hours of 4 – 9 p.m. after the sun has gone down.” Figuring out how to effectively store solar enables customers to use it more widely and affordably, he explains. “Our solutions will result in huge savings for customers. Our systems are built to last 20 years or more, and pay for themselves in a fraction of that amount of time.” Storing energy also provides a reliable back-up, in the instance of storms and outages, he adds. Additional financing was provided by the Flexible Capital Fund, an investment fund that offers near equity capital to growing Vermont companies. “Working with Janice (St. Onge, Flexible Capital Fund President) was a very big deal for us,” says Jay. “And then at Janice’s yearly meeting, we met Will (Belongia, VCLF’s Executive Director). We had the opportunity to work with bigger banks, but we wanted to work with them,” Jay explains, praising the organizations’ missions to build Vermont’s businesses, jobs and economy. With this financing in place, he says, “our focus is on the future”. http://northernreliability.com/

Brattleboro’s Bradley family has been serving Vermonters for generations. Stephen Rowe Bradley was elected the state’s first U.S. Senator in 1791. His son William was a member of both the state Legislature and the U.S. Congress. Now, the stately Bradley House, built by Richards Bradley in 1858, will serve Brattleboro seniors as a residential care facility, with initial funding provided by the Vermont Community Loan Fund (VCLF). The Bradleys sold the home in 1940, after which it became a World War II veteran’s residence and, later, a licensed level III residential care home. In recent years, however, it has faced financial, maintenance and staffing challenges, leaving the town to wonder whether the once-grand mansion’s best years were behind it. That is, until its Board of Directors had an idea. They reached out to Holton Home, another level III residential care home in Brattleboro. In 2015, the two organizations merged. The next step: Bradley House’s renovation and expansion to add capacity and improve services. In June, VCLF financing was secured for pre-development assessments and plans to support the expansion and renovations, including architectural and engineering reports, safety upgrades and more. The pre-development process is a complicated and costly one, says Holton Home Executive Director Cindy Jerome, who expressed gratitude for VCLF’s assistance through it all. “Without the Loan Fund, we wouldn’t have been able to complete all the preliminary requirements necessary to move forward, and then later, to qualify for federal funding for the project,” she said. “We’re so grateful, and so proud that Vermont has organizations like VCLF that understand the care needs of our elders and are willing to invest in making their lives better,” she added. Commenting on the recent loan, VCLF Executive Director Will Belongia said “Given Vermont’s growing senior population, the need for high-quality senior services is becoming increasingly urgent. The Bradley House and Holton Home residences clearly are committed to providing excellent care and quality of life for Vermont’s seniors. It’s a commitment VCLF is proud to share, through our support for this important project.” Ultimately, the loan will result in the addition of services for eight new seniors, (bringing the total to 63), the preservation or creation of 20 jobs and nine construction jobs. www.holtonhome.org

What do you get when you combine a great but unharvested crop of wild, local apples, with a crop of determined Vermont localvores? That’s how the renowned artisanal applesauce makers of Village Cannery of Vermont got their start back in 1977, gathering apples they couldn’t let go to waste. With some great recipes for small batch, kettle-cooked applesauces and a growing number of fans, the South Barre group soon decided to open their own cannery. Now, more than three decades later, their Vermont Village applesauce is the leading brand of natural, organic apple sauce in the Northeast, with distribution in large supermarkets and co-ops alike. Their extended product line includes multiple flavors, jars and snack packs, plus apple butter and apple cider vinegars. With plans to further expand operations, they came to VCLF for funding. “The Vermont Community Loan Fund showed genuine interest in supporting our growth. They visited our facility and collaborated with the lender we’d been working with to create the best financing package for us," says owner and founder Jim Sheperd. Village Cannery is proud of their ‘old-fashioned’ methods of cooking in small batches, using whole apples including peel (superior nutritional and flavor results, Sheperd explains), skipping added sugars, and sourcing as many apples as possible from Vermont growers. In 1996, they were certified as an organic processor. “With these additional funds, we’ll be able to expand our business to add new products and new personnel,” Sheperd says. “Before the VCLF funding, we couldn’t easily pursue new channels of distribution, buy raw materials economically or build seasonal inventories to meet increased demands for our products. The Loan Fund really has helped move Village Cannery forward. And we expect to double sales in 2016 with their help!" The loan helps preserve 16 Vermont jobs, and is expected to lead to the creation of four new jobs. More at vermontvillageapplesauce.com

Joe Bossen has a lot on his plate. He’s the founder, owner, chef, delivery man, marketing guy and more at Vermont Bean Crafters. “I wear a lot of hats,” he says, laughing.

Begun in 2011 and based in Waitsfield’s Mad River Food Hub, Vermont Bean Crafters makes bean burgers, bean balls, soups and even cookies. These bean-based products are distributed at grocers, coops, restaurants, hospitals and schools. Beans are sourced locally, as are additional ingredients such as sweet potatoes, onions, carrots and grains.

After graduating from Green Mountain College, Bossen worked at various jobs including a stint in at Boardman Hill Farm, where Vermont farmer Greg Cox mentored him in sustainable agriculture. “Our food system uses so much of our energy,” Bossen says. “Even local agriculture can require huge amounts of energy to grow. Beans are different.” Beans, he explains, are nutrient-dense, shelf-stable, and require less heat and water to grow than other crops.

Bossen was referred to VCLF by the Carrot Project, which helps smaller food producers find financing and technical assistance services.

“The Loan Fund isn’t just looking for ways to make a buck off business people. They’re looking for what’s good for Vermont,” he says.

As the saying goes when raising children: “It takes a village”¦,” The same can be said of working to create affordable housing in Vermont. The Loan Fund has many partner organizations with whom we work; the Champlain Housing Trust in Burlington is one of our oldest and strongest partners.

CHT was born in 2006 as the result of a merger between the Burlington Community Land Trust and the Lake Champlain Housing Development Corporation which were both established in 1984. CHT, a membership-based, nonprofit organization committed to creating and preserving perpetually affordable housing and vital communities in northwest Vermont.

Most folks think that “affordable housing” only consists of creating multi-family residential developments or apartment buildings, but in Vermont, with our small towns and villages, it often also takes the form of rehabilitating older single-family homes for sale at an affordable price and in perpetuity. The Champlain Housing Trust is one of many regional housing organizations that specialize in putting families in safe and affordable homes.

Vermonters' need for affordable housing eclipses production annually, creating a persistent shortage of affordable homes. Median home cost in 2011 rose 3% from 2010 with a staggering 64% increase since 2000. To purchase that median-priced home (30-year mortgage with down payment and closing costs), a Vermont household would need an annual income of more than $58,000; 81% of the state's occupations have a median wage below that figure. Furthermore, a persistently high proportion of Vermonters devote too much of their income to housing costs, including heating: 63% of renters and 38% of owners with mortgages pay more than the recommended 30% of their income for housing costs, ranking Vermont the 17th worst state nationally. We also have the 4th-tightest rental housing market in the US. 33,000 renting households are cost burdened, or paying more than 30% of their income for housing costs. This is 48% of all renting Vermonters, ranking the state 7th worst in the nation.

In 2008, VCLF made a loan to CHT to purchase a couple of older single-family residences in Chittenden County. One, near Battery Park in downtown Burlington, has been recently renovated from its original status as a duplex into a roomier, energy efficient single-family home. The 100-year-old home had been through many additions and was not maintained well by its previous owners.

CHT did something they don’t often do with such a property: they bought it outright, made the appropriate renovations and hope to sell it this spring or summer. “Normally we find a buyer first,” explains Rob Leuchs, CHT’s Shared Equity Programs Manager, “but this time we took the risk and bought the property first, thanks to the Loan Fund.” CHT needed capital to make the necessary repairs while keeping the property affordable when it came time to put it on the market.

“The easiest part was working with the VCLF because they are very flexible,” Leuchs says. “This was a more complicated project than usual, but VCLF always flexes to help us come up with a workable solution.”

Typically, CHT will take the time to find an eligible family for a home or affordable housing community that already exists. “VCLF also helps us buy time so we can find eligible families,” says Community Relations Director Chris Donnelly. “We have literally found hundreds of low- to moderate-income Vermonters directly because of the help we receive from VCLF.”

This partnership impacts families and communities in all corners of our state. “VCLF’s thorough understanding of our work, commitment to our mission and appreciation of our track record makes them a valued partner to us,” says CHT Executive Director Brenda Torpy. “And because of that, people have places to live that are safe, secure and affordable.

In 1993, Outdoor Gear Exchange was a small start-up business with a big idea - owner March Sherman would sell high-quality new, used and discounted technical outdoor equipment, accessories and clothing, reaching out to the sizeable and growing number of outdoor sports enthusiasts in the Burlington area and beyond. Customers could even trade or consign their used gear.

The big idea grew. Customers responded, sales jumped, and OGE decided to focus on the demand for new rather than used merchandise. Increased sales led to increased inventory; within its first five years, OGE had expanded its retail square footage by 500%. With the level of growth now clearly indicating a need for additional working capital, Sherman set out to find financing.

“I met Will (Belongia, VCLF executive director) at a Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility training session on small business funding,” Sherman recalls. While traditional banks were wary of the relatively new business, Sherman remembers Belongia’s strong interest in OGE.

“VCLF sees value in socially and environmentally responsible businesses,” Sherman says. “Will focused on our strengths more than our challenges.”

Indeed, as a socially responsible employer, OGE offers an employee-funded retirement plan, medical and dental benefits, career training, profit-sharing and more. OGE jobs offer a livable wage and other pluses that linked directly to the Loan Fund’s quality job creation and transforming Vermonters’ lives.

“Marc’s commitment to his employees, to creating quality jobs has been a huge success,” Belongia says.

The first loan from VCLF helped with inventory at a critical juncture. By 2005, both sales and staff had jumped again.

Over the next six years, additional loans would follow, each helping expand OGE, step by step, ultimately bringing the retailer to larger and larger retail spaces and opportunities.

“At the beginning, we had two and a half employees; now we have 90. And since 2003, sales have increased between 500% and 600%” Sherman notes. Those numbers, he says, correlate exactly with the infusions of support from the Loan Fund. “The number of jobs we have created absolutely links to the support from VCLF,” he adds.

Today, the new Church Street location attracts hundreds of shoppers per week. Employee retention, perhaps the best indicator of a valued employer, is remarkable. The average length of employment for staffers is 6 years ”“ nearly unheard of in the retail world.

“Traditional banks looked backward,” Sherman says, recalling his first attempts to find financing. “They looked at the challenges we had faced. But VCLF looked forward. They saw what we could become.”

“Making a farm financially viable so challenging. What our population spends on food doesn’t relate to the cost of producing it,” says Marie Frey of Hudak Farm. “But that’s where VCLF comes in,” she adds.

When Marie and her husband Richard Hudak met up with VCLF, they were happily surprised to discover the various skills, tools and methods that could help them with those aspects of the farming business that they could control.

Hudak Farm was a dairy operation when Richard and Marie took over from his parents in the 1970’s. The new couple switched to farming vegetables and fruits. Years later, wanting to keep diversifying their operations, they came upon two answers: compost, and the Vermont Community Loan Fund.

“VCLF helped us put together a plan for our compost production,” Frey says.“It’s critical to have lenders like VCLF in support of Vermont farms, whether they’re diversifying like we were, or brand new. That’s what the Loan Fund does so well,” she adds.

The Gray Building in Northfield has had many ‘lives,’ serving many purposes and people over the course of its 130-year-plus history. Today, that legacy continues on as the Gray Building assists community members hurt by 2011’s Hurricane Irene. It’s a special story for Northfield, a town that has come together to support each other in the face of a devastating crisis. It’s also a special story for VCLF too, an opportunity for our borrowers and investors to, quite literally, work together to make their community stronger.

The Many Lives of the Gray Building

Constructed in 1877 as a multiple classroom schoolhouse, the Gray Building operated continuously as the Northfield Graded and High School building until 1994. But after closing its doors as a public school, the building fell into disrepair. That is - until a team of dedicated volunteers and donors came together to restore the landmark as a community center and home for local businesses and organizations. The nonprofit Gray Building Coalition was founded and purchased the building in 2003.

Not surprisingly, a nearly 130-year-old building that had been vacant for the better part of a decade, and was being re-imagined with a completely new purpose in mind, needed some help to begin this new life. Planning for preservation, remediation and renovation would involve developers, engineers, architects and contractors, so a capital campaign to support the Gray Building’s rebirth was launched.

That’s when VCLF got involved. Our first loan to the Gray Building Coalition helped them fund early planning and construction costs, meaning that the project could move forward well before the campaign reached its fundraising goal. With restoration completed in 2004, the historic structure was made handicapped accessible along with a host of other retrofits, structural repairs and more.

Since the building’s restoration, long-term tenants have included the Northfield Boys & Girls Club and the Women’s Health & Fitness Center ”“ both still tenants. Additionally, the local HeadStart child development and family services program used the space, as did an alternative middle school and a youth dance studio among others.

“We’re a long-term rental space, but it has always been our goal to serve the local community whenever we can,” said Annie Gould, Treasurer and board member of the Gray Building Coalition.

It’s that philosophy that has continued to create another new life for the Gray Building in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene.

Irene and Beyond

When Irene pounded much of downtown Northfield in August and various businesses and community organizations were suddenly left homeless in the aftermath, the Gray Building Coalition again extended themselves to local community businesses and organizations, large and small.

When corporate furniture manufacturer (and past VCLF investor) WallGoldfinger needed temporary space for its 20-plus office staff, the Gray Building was there for them. Moving right into available space, WallGoldfinger was fully operational again within 48 hours after the storm. Amazingly, they didn’t miss a single production or delivery deadline, and, thanks in part to the Gray Building, continue to manufacture the highest-quality product.

Because of Irene, Northfield-based quilters group Vermont Quiltsearch was displaced from the space they were to use for their important annual quilt appraisals. Gould and her team made room for them at the Gray Building.

“The Gray Building was restored so it could be a community space,” says Gould, which is precisely how it has functioned in the wake of Irene. “The Gray Building has turned into a great place for the community to come together,” she adds. “But none of this could have happened without VCLF. VCLF helped us to restore a beloved community building and return it to service for the people of Northfield.”

As Executive Director of the Rutland County Parent Child Center (RCPCC), Caprice Hover is focused on improving quality of life for families in her region of the state. She also chairs the Vermont State Housing Authority Board of Commissioners and is Vice-Chair at the Agency of Human Services’ Children and Family Council for Prevention Programs.

“I always wanted to work with kids, to be involved in work that had long-term and true impact,” says Hover. To that end, she now oversees 15 RCPCC educational and support programs, services and workshops including child care services, mentoring, budgeting, health and nutrition classes, parenting classes, high school equivalency, career readiness and more. RCPCC’s 42 employees serve over 3,000 Rutland County residents, sixty percent of whom meet the federal low-income standards.

Among the RCPCC success stories Hover likes to tell is that of the “Learning Together” Program that focuses on pregnant and parenting mothers up to age 21, who are working toward their GED. “The curriculum includes life skills, parenting, health, job readiness, and emotional wellness along with state-required high school courses,” Hover describes. Classes run year-round, with housing and child care available to students. Currently, 20 young women and teens are enrolled.

A community’s character, its history, and identity often reside in its older buildings. If they are left to deteriorate and become eyesores, they reflect negatively on the community’s character and sense of itself. But if they can be restored and renewed, even for a wholly different purpose, they help to revitalize a town. Often, that’s one of the great benefits of a facilities loan from VCLF: it strengthens a vital local organization, while also preserving an historic community landmark.

An excellent example of the dual impact of our program is VCLF’s loan to St. Johnsbury’s Catamount Arts. Added to generous contributions from local financial and community institutions and an outpouring of citizen commitment, the loan will ensure that St. Johnsbury’s grand Masonic Temple will remain intact and alive for generations to come.

“The Masonic Temple was one of the central buildings in St. Johnsbury,” remembers longtime resident and Catamount Arts Artistic Director Jerry Aldredge. “They held proms, weddings, funerals there”¦ all kinds of community events.”

Sadly, though, as membership in the Masonic Association began to decline, so did the remarkable building. “The Masons were no longer able to keep up the building, and began looking for another organization that could use it. We were right next door and bursting at the seams,” says Aldredge.

Catamount Arts was started in 1978 by Reg Ainsworth and Jay Craven as a rotating film series. Since launching its first performing arts showcase in 1980, Catamount Arts has presented over 1,000 world-class performing arts events. It is estimated that more than 30,000 people annually are reached by the organization’s films, concerts and educational events.

“Catamount is the only full-service arts organization in the state,” says Aldredge. “It’s the only one that does everything: films, concerts and live performances of all shapes and sizes, programs in and after school and in the community. “It takes all of that to stay in business.”

In 1985, the organization moved to the old post office building.

“Our problem was that we didn’t own the building,” Aldredge explains. “There were a lot of things we couldn’t do. To apply for a lot of arts grants, we needed to own the property we occupied.

“In the fall of 2005, the St. Johnsbury Masons offered us the building free of charge, with the stipulation that they would have lease-in-perpetuity of the third floor. We jumped at the chance and had public forums to see what people wanted to space to look like.” While the building was in excellent structural condition, there would be significant expense to rehabilitate the building and make the space useful for Catamount.

“We approached Jerry Rowe, the president of Passumpsic Savings Bank, and told him we needed at least $1 million. He didn’t yell and scream,” laughs Aldredge. “He had faith in us.”

Recognizing Catamount as an invaluable part of the community, Rowe organized a meeting of banks serving the community, with the goal of each taking on $200,000 of the debt.

“Four local banks agreed to come in,” says Aldredge, “but we needed five. Jerry Rowe called Paul Hill (VCLF Director of Housing & Community Facilities Programs) to see if the Community Loan Fund could help.”

“The rehabilitation of the old Masonic Lodge is a win-win for the St. Johnsbury community,” remarks Hill. “It’s preserving a historic gem of a building while expanding the capacity of Catamount Arts and its venue for accessible, affordable arts in the Northeast Kingdom. VCLF is proud to be one the five local lenders supporting this project.”

“We tried to be as cost- and community-conscious as we could be,” Aldredge says of the Masonic Temple's renovation. “The St. Johnsbury Academy Building Trades Program agreed to be in charge of construction, and they’ did an outstanding job. Because of this, we were only charged for materials.”

Upon moving to the Masonic Temple, the organization’s offerings were greatly expanded: two movie theaters presenting foreign-language and independent films, two classrooms for art and music education, a 125-seat performance space, a video library, an art gallery, and even a small museum of contemporary Northeast Kingdom memorabilia.

Catamount’s programs not only enrich the area’s cultural life, they also offer unique services for people seeking education and instruction in the arts. “Almost every day we get a call from someone who needs cultural lessons ”“ dance, piano, theater” explains Aldredge. “The public school’s music programs were cut recently, and there’s a real need.”

At the heart of the effort is tremendous community support. Fundraising programs have been met with unprecedented enthusiasm and involvement. “Some people give $5," Aldredge says. “Everybody’s willing to do something. That’s how we’re going to do this."

“St. Johnsbury is at a critical time,” he adds. “It’s making economic progress and can be reinvigorated through the creative economy.”

Catamount Arts at the Masonic Temple will truly be a showcase of community arts ”“ created for and supported by a dedicated public in one of the crown jewels of St. Johnsbury’s historical district. The Temple, which is listed in the federal historic register, will be revitalized and play an important new role in the life of this Northeast Kingdom community.

In 2008, Jackie Myers opened Lil Peeps Preschool in Shaftsbury. Her sister-in-law Michelle Myers-Prouty ran her own in-home early care & learning program in nearby Bennington. Both facilities had extensive waiting lists, and families called daily to inquire about openings. The two women were acutely aware of the community’s need, which included afterschool and summer vacation programs. In 2011, Jackie answered the call, opening School’s Out Children’s Center, and in 2016 Jackie and Michelle combined all three programs under the new name Shaftsbury Early Childhood Center. A VCLF loan helped make it happen, consolidating pre-existing debt and covering start-up costs. “Without VCLF, we wouldn’t have been able to purchase our building. I don’t know where we’d be,” says Jackie. The loan preserved 26 jobs and services for 115 children and their families.

No one understands the many challenges of moving better than Adam Booska. His family’s business, Booska Worldwide Movers, has been moving Vermonters since 1946, helping families and businesses relocate in-state, out-of-state, long-distance and even overseas. “I started here when I was 13, working summers and school breaks,” he recalls. Today, he’s general manager, working alongside his dispatcher brother David. His mother, Marlene, still puts in hours, and his niece, Sarah, their bookkeeper, is the business’ first fourth-generation employee. One recent move, however, had some very particular challenges: this time, it was the Booskas themselves who were moving. Having outgrown three separate, leased spaces scattered across Chittenden County, they’d decided to build their own 30,000 square foot, centralized office and storage facility in Williston, consolidating all aspects of the business’ operations under one roof. Seven decades of steady growth, along with some newly added services including unpacking self-haulers, working with interior decorators to furnish homes, and making local “last mile” deliveries for national furniture brands, all led to a big need for this bigger space. “It became really inefficient, to be in too small a space, or too many spaces!” Adam notes. While COVID-19 wreaked inestimable economic harm across so many industries, the pandemic actually contributed to Booska’s pressing need for additional space. Not only were remote-workers “from away” flocking to the Green Mountains, many Vermonters were downsizing in reaction to the economic uncertainty, or picking up stakes altogether. Many sellers needing extra time to find a new home, actually “move” twice, Adam explains, “When housing stock is low, sellers will move their things into storage, and then “move” a second time when they find their new home.” The Booska’s relocation was well underway when new costs emerged requiring additional financing. “ But we’d already determined how much Booska could contribute to this project. That’s when Union Bank, our primary lender, referred us to the Loan Fund,” Adam says. “The process was smooth and streamlined. . VCLF always had everything ready for us,” Adam says. “I’d definitely recommend VCLF.”

“We hear a lot about eating local. At Vermont Wood Pellet, we want to heat local,” says Chris Brooks, co-owner (along with Katie Adams) of North Clarendon’s Vermont Wood Pellet Company.

A fifth generation lumberman, Brooks came to Vermont following timbering stints in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Georgia. Right from the beginning, they wanted to do things more sustainably, sourcing their wood from within a 30-mile radius. Their niche also included “being the best” according to Brooks: they came up with a pellet composition that was more energy- and cost-efficient, burning longer, warmer and with less waste.

In VCLF, they found a lender with a similar ethos. “We work on a community scale,” Brooks says, “and so does the Loan Fund. Their decisions are made for the benefit of the community. Ours too.”

Now in its third year, Vermont Wood Pellet has grown steadily, now employing 24 workers in its mill, “and for every one of them, there are four in the woods,” he says. Most tellingly, they’ve also completely sold out of last year’s pellets and are hard at work on getting ready for next winter.

“VCLF played a critical role in our success,” says Brooks. “VCLF sees value, where other lenders might not.”

At the Community Health Centers of Burlington (CHCB), Executive Director Jack Donnelly and Community Relations Director Alison Calderara are happily seated amidst a sea of half-unpacked boxes ”” thirty-six thousand square feet of half-unpacked boxes, to be exact.

CHCB has just relocated to its brand new home at 617 Riverside Drive, in Burlington. After three years of planning, fundraising, and construction, the new center is ready to serve a patient base that has soared to 14,000 ”” or 550 patient visits per day.

From its humble beginnings in a tiny storefront in Burlington’s Old North End four decades ago, CHCB’s progress is arguably one of the most impressive community health care success stories in the country.

The People’s Free Clinic, located on North Street, was founded in 1971 with a mission to serve patients regardless of their ability to pay. As groundbreaking as that concept was, perhaps even more remarkable was the fact that the original clinic was staffed entirely by volunteers. By the end of their second year, the clinic had become so busy that 50 patients per week were being seen and treated. As the patient base grew and grew, the clinic changed its name to the Community Health Centers of Burlington to reflect its expanded vision and mission to the larger community.

But a larger community required a larger space. Enter the Vermont Community Loan Fund, which believed in the Center's mission and in the vital importance of its health care services.

“The clinic had grown so quickly, it was bursting at its seams,” recalls Brian Pine, Housing Director for the City of Burlington. “They needed support, and the Loan Fund got involved to help with the expansion."

Calderara recalls the details of the loan. “The facility needed room for administrative space upstairs in the building,” she remembers. “VCLF was committed to our mission. That was what mattered to them, and that made all the difference.”

That expansion was only the first of many. In 1989, CHCB was awarded a federal Health Care for the Homeless grant. In 1993, CHCB was designated as Vermont’s second Federally Qualified Health Center, which ushered in a significant expansion of services including social work, a prescription assistance program, an obstetrical and prenatal program, the region’s first paid professional staff interpreter, and a new sliding-scale payment plan. By 2001, another expansion was in the offing, resulting in the construction of CHCB’s 10,000 square foot main facility on Riverside Avenue. Next followed the CHCB Pearl Street Clinic, offering primary and preventive health care, dental care, mental health and substance abuse counseling to homeless persons and at-risk youth, and Housing First, which provides housing for homeless patients with chronicmedical conditions. Next, a dental center was added to the Riverside location, and in 2002, behavioral treatment services were added.

The staff of 135 now provides an estimated 55,000 patient visits per year. Patients include refugees, for whom there is a special translation service that can translate from 22 languages. Medicaid patients, the uninsured, the underinsured, the low-income and homeless make up a significant portion of the patient base.

CHCB's Executive Director Jack Donnelly sums it up: “Once we had so little space. Now, we have the Safe Harbor Center which does dental and medical. We have the Pearl Street Youth Center for those aged 26 years and under. We do outreach to family shelters, onsite, and we have nurses going to homeless camps, and outreach at the Howard Center. With this new facility, it's a whole new phase.”

(2011)

As the saying goes when raising children: “It takes a village”¦,” The same can be said of working to create affordable housing in Vermont. The Loan Fund has many partner organizations with whom we work; the Champlain Housing Trust in Burlington is one of our oldest and strongest partners.

CHT was born in 2006 as the result of a merger between the Burlington Community Land Trust and the Lake Champlain Housing Development Corporation which were both established in 1984. CHT, a membership-based, nonprofit organization committed to creating and preserving perpetually affordable housing and vital communities in northwest Vermont.

Most folks think that “affordable housing” only consists of creating multi-family residential developments or apartment buildings, but in Vermont, with our small towns and villages, it often also takes the form of rehabilitating older single-family homes for sale at an affordable price and in perpetuity. The Champlain Housing Trust is one of many regional housing organizations that specialize in putting families in safe and affordable homes.

Vermonters' need for affordable housing eclipses production annually, creating a persistent shortage of affordable homes. Median home cost in 2011 rose 3% from 2010 with a staggering 64% increase since 2000. To purchase that median-priced home (30-year mortgage with down payment and closing costs), a Vermont household would need an annual income of more than $58,000; 81% of the state's occupations have a median wage below that figure. Furthermore, a persistently high proportion of Vermonters devote too much of their income to housing costs, including heating: 63% of renters and 38% of owners with mortgages pay more than the recommended 30% of their income for housing costs, ranking Vermont the 17th worst state nationally. We also have the 4th-tightest rental housing market in the US. 33,000 renting households are cost burdened, or paying more than 30% of their income for housing costs. This is 48% of all renting Vermonters, ranking the state 7th worst in the nation.

In 2008, VCLF made a loan to CHT to purchase a couple of older single-family residences in Chittenden County. One, near Battery Park in downtown Burlington, has been recently renovated from its original status as a duplex into a roomier, energy efficient single-family home. The 100-year-old home had been through many additions and was not maintained well by its previous owners.

CHT did something they don’t often do with such a property: they bought it outright, made the appropriate renovations and hope to sell it this spring or summer. “Normally we find a buyer first,” explains Rob Leuchs, CHT’s Shared Equity Programs Manager, “but this time we took the risk and bought the property first, thanks to the Loan Fund.” CHT needed capital to make the necessary repairs while keeping the property affordable when it came time to put it on the market.

“The easiest part was working with the VCLF because they are very flexible,” Leuchs says. “This was a more complicated project than usual, but VCLF always flexes to help us come up with a workable solution.”

Typically, CHT will take the time to find an eligible family for a home or affordable housing community that already exists. “VCLF also helps us buy time so we can find eligible families,” says Community Relations Director Chris Donnelly. “We have literally found hundreds of low- to moderate-income Vermonters directly because of the help we receive from VCLF.”

This partnership impacts families and communities in all corners of our state. “VCLF’s thorough understanding of our work, commitment to our mission and appreciation of our track record makes them a valued partner to us,” says CHT Executive Director Brenda Torpy. “And because of that, people have places to live that are safe, secure and affordable.

Tracy Patnoe knows about the need for quality childcare. “There are children on the waiting list that haven’t even been born yet! Almost every day I get calls from parents.”

“After my second child, I visited daycares, but I couldn’t find any I really liked.” So Tracystarted Mud City Kids Child Care in 1999. The plan was to run the child care program out of her family home until her own child was ready for school. “But by then, I had taken a lot of classes, and had a bunch of credits towards a degree. And I liked it!”

After a couple years, recognizing the need in the community, Tracy and her husband Ernie decided to move the program into a larger space. The challenge was financing the expansion. “Our bank was hesitant. Early care and education is not a big moneymaker. We looked around, but I don’t think I would have found a bank to make the loan.”

The Patnoes received a loan from VCLF for the purchase and renovation of a single-family home”¦and what a renovation it was! “It was affordable because we did nearly all the work ourselves,” says Tracy. “I bet I’ve spent at least 600 hours on this place.” laughs Ernie. “We were here Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve that year too!”

Their commitment shows. Today, Mud City Kids Child Care Center provides high-quality early care and education to 60 children from infants to age 6. The expansion also created 16 full-time jobs. “The kids really benefit from the bigger space.” says Tracy. “The (age) groups have their own separate spaces. The parents have been very happy.”

“With financing from VCLF, I’ve been able to expand my program, increase the number of kids and families I serve. I’ve been able to make quality improvements, increase my STARS rating and pay a higher wage. They’ve helped me to run a business that is sustainable.”

“I believe that providing quality care for Vermont’s kids is among the most important work to be done in our state. Thanks to the Loan Fund, I’m able to do just that.”

In 1993, Outdoor Gear Exchange was a small start-up business with a big idea - owner March Sherman would sell high-quality new, used and discounted technical outdoor equipment, accessories and clothing, reaching out to the sizeable and growing number of outdoor sports enthusiasts in the Burlington area and beyond. Customers could even trade or consign their used gear.

The big idea grew. Customers responded, sales jumped, and OGE decided to focus on the demand for new rather than used merchandise. Increased sales led to increased inventory; within its first five years, OGE had expanded its retail square footage by 500%. With the level of growth now clearly indicating a need for additional working capital, Sherman set out to find financing.

“I met Will (Belongia, VCLF executive director) at a Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility training session on small business funding,” Sherman recalls. While traditional banks were wary of the relatively new business, Sherman remembers Belongia’s strong interest in OGE.

“VCLF sees value in socially and environmentally responsible businesses,” Sherman says. “Will focused on our strengths more than our challenges.”

Indeed, as a socially responsible employer, OGE offers an employee-funded retirement plan, medical and dental benefits, career training, profit-sharing and more. OGE jobs offer a livable wage and other pluses that linked directly to the Loan Fund’s quality job creation and transforming Vermonters’ lives.

“Marc’s commitment to his employees, to creating quality jobs has been a huge success,” Belongia says.

The first loan from VCLF helped with inventory at a critical juncture. By 2005, both sales and staff had jumped again.

Over the next six years, additional loans would follow, each helping expand OGE, step by step, ultimately bringing the retailer to larger and larger retail spaces and opportunities.

“At the beginning, we had two and a half employees; now we have 90. And since 2003, sales have increased between 500% and 600%” Sherman notes. Those numbers, he says, correlate exactly with the infusions of support from the Loan Fund. “The number of jobs we have created absolutely links to the support from VCLF,” he adds.

Today, the new Church Street location attracts hundreds of shoppers per week. Employee retention, perhaps the best indicator of a valued employer, is remarkable. The average length of employment for staffers is 6 years ”“ nearly unheard of in the retail world.

“Traditional banks looked backward,” Sherman says, recalling his first attempts to find financing. “They looked at the challenges we had faced. But VCLF looked forward. They saw what we could become.”

An elaborate palace, replete with columns, constellations, and images of gods and goddesses, Brattleboro’s beloved Latchis Theater opened in 1938, an art deco movie palace with hotel, eateries, retail establishments and more. The Latchis family owned and operated the business for over six decades. In 2003, the Brattleboro Arts Initiative (now Latchis Arts) was looking for a home, and was steered by Paul Bruhn of the Preservation Trust of Vermont, to meet with the Latchises, who were ready to sell. When discussions turned to financing, Bruhn suggested the Vermont Community Loan Fund.

Latchis Arts’ former Managing Director Gail Nunziata recalls the excitement of finding the landmark future home - and the Loan Fund. “VCLF was our knight in shining armor,” recalls Nunziata. “The Loan Fund made the purchase of our building possible. It was an amazing collaborative effort.”
In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene caused $650,000 worth of flood damage. The screen went dark and the hotel was shuttered temporarily, but Latchis made it through, reopening in just two months after an intensive clean-up and restoration. For 2013, their 75th anniversary year, a capital campaign is underway to replace aging seats and restore the beautiful zodiac-themed ceiling in the main hall.

Latchis now employs 20 full or part-time staff, and leases 14 separate spaces in the main building and annex, providing storefronts and homes for a jeweler, boutique, a hair salon, an attorney, and a handful of artists who rent studio space.

Nunziata also notes the vital part that the Latchis plays in supporting the local economy, arts and otherwise. “At Latchis, we host a number of local cultural and arts festivals and events for other local organizations. Whenever possible, we purchase local goods and services. And we bring in all those tourists who eat shop and celebrate the arts in Brattleboro. Thanks to VCLF, Latchis is a wonderful community resource.”

The Gray Building in Northfield has had many ‘lives,’ serving many purposes and people over the course of its 130-year-plus history. Today, that legacy continues on as the Gray Building assists community members hurt by 2011’s Hurricane Irene. It’s a special story for Northfield, a town that has come together to support each other in the face of a devastating crisis. It’s also a special story for VCLF too, an opportunity for our borrowers and investors to, quite literally, work together to make their community stronger.

The Many Lives of the Gray Building

Constructed in 1877 as a multiple classroom schoolhouse, the Gray Building operated continuously as the Northfield Graded and High School building until 1994. But after closing its doors as a public school, the building fell into disrepair. That is - until a team of dedicated volunteers and donors came together to restore the landmark as a community center and home for local businesses and organizations. The nonprofit Gray Building Coalition was founded and purchased the building in 2003.

Not surprisingly, a nearly 130-year-old building that had been vacant for the better part of a decade, and was being re-imagined with a completely new purpose in mind, needed some help to begin this new life. Planning for preservation, remediation and renovation would involve developers, engineers, architects and contractors, so a capital campaign to support the Gray Building’s rebirth was launched.

That’s when VCLF got involved. Our first loan to the Gray Building Coalition helped them fund early planning and construction costs, meaning that the project could move forward well before the campaign reached its fundraising goal. With restoration completed in 2004, the historic structure was made handicapped accessible along with a host of other retrofits, structural repairs and more.

Since the building’s restoration, long-term tenants have included the Northfield Boys & Girls Club and the Women’s Health & Fitness Center ”“ both still tenants. Additionally, the local HeadStart child development and family services program used the space, as did an alternative middle school and a youth dance studio among others.

“We’re a long-term rental space, but it has always been our goal to serve the local community whenever we can,” said Annie Gould, Treasurer and board member of the Gray Building Coalition.

It’s that philosophy that has continued to create another new life for the Gray Building in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene.

Irene and Beyond

When Irene pounded much of downtown Northfield in August and various businesses and community organizations were suddenly left homeless in the aftermath, the Gray Building Coalition again extended themselves to local community businesses and organizations, large and small.

When corporate furniture manufacturer (and past VCLF investor) WallGoldfinger needed temporary space for its 20-plus office staff, the Gray Building was there for them. Moving right into available space, WallGoldfinger was fully operational again within 48 hours after the storm. Amazingly, they didn’t miss a single production or delivery deadline, and, thanks in part to the Gray Building, continue to manufacture the highest-quality product.

Because of Irene, Northfield-based quilters group Vermont Quiltsearch was displaced from the space they were to use for their important annual quilt appraisals. Gould and her team made room for them at the Gray Building.

“The Gray Building was restored so it could be a community space,” says Gould, which is precisely how it has functioned in the wake of Irene. “The Gray Building has turned into a great place for the community to come together,” she adds. “But none of this could have happened without VCLF. VCLF helped us to restore a beloved community building and return it to service for the people of Northfield.”

As Executive Director of the Rutland County Parent Child Center (RCPCC), Caprice Hover is focused on improving quality of life for families in her region of the state. She also chairs the Vermont State Housing Authority Board of Commissioners and is Vice-Chair at the Agency of Human Services’ Children and Family Council for Prevention Programs.

“I always wanted to work with kids, to be involved in work that had long-term and true impact,” says Hover. To that end, she now oversees 15 RCPCC educational and support programs, services and workshops including child care services, mentoring, budgeting, health and nutrition classes, parenting classes, high school equivalency, career readiness and more. RCPCC’s 42 employees serve over 3,000 Rutland County residents, sixty percent of whom meet the federal low-income standards.

Among the RCPCC success stories Hover likes to tell is that of the “Learning Together” Program that focuses on pregnant and parenting mothers up to age 21, who are working toward their GED. “The curriculum includes life skills, parenting, health, job readiness, and emotional wellness along with state-required high school courses,” Hover describes. Classes run year-round, with housing and child care available to students. Currently, 20 young women and teens are enrolled.

Downtown Rutland hasn’t looked the same since Michael’s Toys set up shop on Merchant’s Row, the city’s staid, traditional business district. What’s the difference? Proprietor Michael Divoll calls it his P.T. Barnum act.

“I’ve got [wooden] animals hanging on my building, rocking horses and cows on the sidewalk. It creates an ambience that draws customers into the shop. I’ve got to do more than just hanging up a sign because that doesn’t provide people a frame of reference. So I engage in a little P.T. Barnum, but without the phony glitz and glamour.”

The sidewalk experience is just the beginning. Michael’s Toys elicits spontaneous comparisons to Santa’s North Pole workshop, and Divoll himself, with his pipe, apron and graying beard, surrounded by the materials and tools of his trade, makes a convincing elf. Except that he does this year round, and he adds other elements to his work: Divoll is a gifted carver who produces artistic Vermont tableaux in relief, as well as custom wooden signs for homes and businesses. These also are on display in his shop.

“When people walk in and see the horses and cows and deer and moose and planes and trains the way I build them, it’s like stepping back in time. My workshop is in back of the showroom, which is key. If people say ‘Did you build this?’ and you can say ‘Yes,’ it’s a way of connecting to the customer; you’re doing something for them personally, other than just taking their money.”

A little showmanship, a studied approach to identifying and marketing to his customer demographic, and the exposure that comes with his new digs on Merchant’s Row have provided immediate results for Divoll. Since taking occupancy of the two-story building last May, with the support of a business loan by the Vermont Community Loan Fund, he could already report in November that 2005 would be by far his best year since he went into toy making in 1985.

That comparison is mitigated by the fact that Michael’s Toys had been pretty much of a shoestring operation for a number of reasons, location certainly among them.

Most recently the former canoe maker had worked out of a second-story apartment on nearby Center Street. In 2004 the Rutland Community Land Trust purchased and renovated that property to create affordable housing, with retail space on the first floor. Obligated to relocate the displaced tenants, the Land Trust and Divoll together identified the vacant building just around the corner on Merchant’s Row, which had once housed a Chinese restaurant. The Land Trust put up money for renovations, and in return the owner gave Divoll a 15-month option to purchase the building at a favorable cost.

However, Divoll needed a loan for the purchase, and as a 61-year-old self-employed craftsman with a limited credit history he was not the ideal candidate for traditional lenders. The Land Trust referred him to the Vermont Community Loan Fund, where Director of Business Lending Sam Buckley saw in Michael’s Toys a golden opportunity.

“To me, this epitomizes the kinds of loans we like to make,” says Buckley. “It meets our mission in a number of ways: It provides someone with employment, it makes the downtown more vibrant and contributes to its revitalization, and it provides Michael a home as well, on the second floor.”

The stability of owning his highly visible business location and his residence enables Divoll to invest his energies not only in making new toys, carvings and signs, but in honing his marketing strategy, which he does with enthusiasm. Specifically, he strives to capitalize on Rutland’s proximity to Killington and other southern Vermont ski areas.

“The ski experience has changed,” Divoll says. “It’s vacation more than recreation. It attracts family contingents, but not all of them ski; the elders and adults go shopping.”

When they enter his store, he says, the toys they see ring familiar. They’re not the plastic “interactive” toys that dominate today’s commercial market, but wooden animals, vehicles and riding toys like the ones they played with in their youth. Nostalgia, craftsmanship and the uniquely Vermont character of his toys (rocking cows) are his stock in trade.

Interestingly, Michael Divoll sees the future in these reminders of the past.

“My industry ”“ the industry of people making objects with their hands from natural materials ”“ has been in the closets, basements and garages for 40 years,” he says. “Now is the time for it to bud, like a flowering rose.”

To chat with Susan Coutermarsh on the phone is to get just a glimpse of her active, high-energy days. Children laugh excitedly in the background and she rushes to the phone, catching her breath as she answers. The founder and director of Suzy’s Little Peanuts Preschool in Springfield, Coutermarsh is not one to slow down.

Since 1999, when she opened her first home daycare, she quickly realized that to make the business stand on its own, she’d need to expand into a licensed center with increased capacity. She met with the Loan Fund’s Director of Child Care Programs Hope Campbell. “Hope went through everything with me, helping me figure out funding, budgeting, the remodeling process, getting licensed, all of it,” Coutermarsh recalls.

That first VCLF loan bolstered Suzy’s Little Peanuts in many ways. “I’ve always been committed to serving our community,” she says. Early on, the center enrolled in the state's STARS quality recognition program. “Hope helped me out with that, too,” she recalls, “and we got up to a four-STAR rating! “As soon as we expanded, we had a big waiting list of families wanting to bring their kids here,” she adds.

Fortunately, Coutermarsh is not the kind to back off a challenge, especially where the needs of kids and community are concerned. After twelve years in her original space, after much planning, she was ready to take it to the next level. She called VCLF, and spoke again with Hope.

“We weren’t in the best location in order to serve the full Springfield area community. We wanted more access and we wanted to do more collaborative partnerships with other school districts’ publicly-funded programs,” Coutermarsh says.In 2011, a second loan from VCLF was made to purchase a building in a more accessible location, with additional space to serve more kids and more families. The new center is licensed to serve up to 45 kids. They have a garden where fresh foods are grown and picked and then brought to the kitchen where all meals are cooked. “We have an infant room, a separate toddler room, two preschool rooms and 12 staff,” Coutermarsh says proudly. “And now we have five stars.”

And it doesn’t end there, because Coutermarsh is already thinking ahead to how she can do more, do better, serve more families. The list goes on, and the children beckon, and Coutermarsh is off and running, again.

The year was 1987, a big year for both VCLF and the Brattleboro Area Community Land Trust (BACLT). In fact, both organizations were ‘born out of’ the very same transaction; the first loan VCLF ever made, 25 years ago, was to BACLT. The rest, as they say, is history. BACLT’s Executive Director, Connie Snow, remembers the transaction. She was there when three Brattleboro buildings, home to low-income families, were about to be torn down to make room for a mini-mart. “It was right in the middle of a spike in housing prices, and Brattleboro was about to lose the only affordable housing it really had.” The structures were saved, in effect, by the formation of BACLT, which took out a loan from VCLF to purchase them. The buildings were rehabbed extensively and provide, to this day, 14 units of affordable housing. And so a long and fruitful partnership was born. In the years since, there have been several VCLF loans to the organization. “Back in 1987, our original focus was on Brattleboro,” says Snow. “Our mission was to hold land and housing in trust to create affordable housing for the Brattleboro community.” And that they did, confronting escalating prices of local real estate and the resulting affordable housing crisis with a series of home rehabs, transforming hundreds upon hundreds of lives. While Snow felt that the organization made important strides to alleviate the housing crunch in Brattleboro, she and her coworkers were aware of the extreme needs beyond that location, throughout Windham County, and into neighboring Windsor County as well. So in 2003, they expanded to become the Windham-Windsor Housing Trust (WWHT). Their housing portfolio now includes efficiency apartments, a mobile home park, condominiums, single-family homes, senior housing, housing for formerly homeless mothers with children, service-enriched housing, special housing for the deaf, for persons with disabilities, and persons living with HIV/AIDS. As capacity grew, so did services and staff. From just one employee (“Me,” says Snow, laughing) WWHT added staff to manage and maintain properties, and set up a second office in Springfield which serves as their Home Ownership Center, providing home buying education and counseling. “We realized there was a need for supportive services like putting together a budget, helping tenants with supervising their children, and housekeeping,” Snow explains. And there is the constant need, Snow emphasizes, to come up with new solutions and more housing. “The statistics are — two out of three low-income Vermonters still don’t have access to affordable housing. We knew that in addition to restoring existing properties, we had to build, to add to the housing stock,” says Snow. Thus, the work continues, as does the partnership with the Loan Fund. A current project with VCLF is a source of optimism and excitement for Snow. “It’s going to be phase two of a village project in Guilford,” she says. The project involves several properties, some of which were rehabbed in phase one, and the upcoming development of two new buildings with 17 new affordable apartments. “We’re excited,” Snow says, “and we couldn’t do it without VCLF.”