The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of programs and policies that promote economic opportunity, protect environmental integrity, and encourage local capacity in rural Vermont communities. A non-partisan organization, VCRD works collaboratively with federal, state, local, non-profit and private partners. VCRD is a member of the National Rural Development Partnership, with an independent 22 member Board of Directors representing a diverse constituency of Vermonters. The Council holds, as its central value, the integration of the working landscape with the social, economic, cultural, and environmental fabric of Vermont. VCRD is supported by Federal, State, and Foundation grants, and by its contributing members.
The Vermont Council on Rural Development works in numerous key areas to strengthen rural communities.
Telecommunications: VCRD is actively engaged in coordinating policy dialogue about broadband access, while facilitating practical efforts around aggregation and expansion of broadband deployment.
Community Visit Program: This program provides a structure for the prioritization of community goals, fosters local leadership, and serves as a catalyst for the development and implementation of concrete action plans.
Rural Summits: VCRD summits provide a forum for dialogue around relevant issues, and allow participants to share their ideas, experience, and leadership.
Vermont Forest Products: This two-year, comprehensive project will develop a systematic marketing campaign that will expand sales and increase employment in Vermont’s value-added forest products industry.
Creative Communities Program: This program provides technical assistance, planning support, and strategies for expanding economic resources under the creative economy concept.
Public Speaking and Facilitation: An important role of VCRD is the provision of facilitation and testimony at a wide array of private, federal, state, and non-profit functions in order to inform and support rural development policy.