The Preservation Trust of Vermont, Vermont Council on Rural Development, and the Vermont Community Foundation are pleased to announce the second cohort of communities selected for the Village Trust Initiative (VTI). Now in its second year, VTI  is a partnership supporting rural communities undertaking transformational revitalization projects in their historic villages.

“Vermont’s rural villages should give all of us hope,” said Ben Doyle, President of the Preservation Trust of Vermont. “Thanks to the leadership of our congressional delegation, and through our important partnerships with the Vermont Council on Rural Development and the Vermont Community Foundation, we’re able to help residents of Vermont’s villages save the historic buildings and gathering places they love—places where community is built and fostered.”

Communities selected for the second VTI round include:

  • Belvidere – Multi-use community hub project in former school (Lamoille)
  • New Haven – Historic Society & Community Space in former train depot (Addison)
  • Orwell – General store project & Community Hub (Addison)
  • Rupert – General store project & Community Hub (Bennington)
  • Sharon – Multi-use church and community center project (Windsor)

VTI is made possible with a $10 million Congressionally Directed Spending award from Senator Leahy’s office in 2023 and provides selected communities throughout the state with substantial planning and implementation funding. Each community receives technical assistance from all three partner organizations, funding to support the predevelopment of the project, and significant capital investment to launch the project forward.

“The value of the Village Trust Initiative is a collaboration on multiple levels between trusted organizations, local communities and people,” said Denise Smith, Executive Director of VCRD. “Now in our second year, this program will connect the first and second cohort of communities and provide valuable learning and mentorship to support transformative village-scale projects for generations to come.”

PTV and VCRD visited each of the finalist communities this summer, to meet local project leaders, see potential project sites and learn more about the life and community in each village. Project leaders spoke of the potential that the VTI program brings to their community.

“We are delighted to be awarded the grant from the Village Trust Initiative,” said Jane Davies, president of the Rupert Village Trust. “This funding and technical assistance will allow us to fully open our building to support programming at our general store and community space. This opportunity brings our project’s finish line within sight. We’re all rolling up our sleeves, excited to begin this collaboration.”

By helping communities define a vision for their future and complete revitalization projects, the Village Trust Initiative will build community capacity, preserve a sense of place, and ensure Vermont villages are dynamic places for future generations. PTV, VCRD and VCF are deeply grateful to Senator Leahy and to the entire congressional delegation for making this opportunity and funding possible.

There will be future rounds of the VTI programs within the next 2 years. The opening of those application periods will be announced on each organization’s website and through mailing lists. For more information, visit vtrural.org/village-trust or https://ptvermont.org/village-trust-initiative-2025/.

 

Vermont Council on Rural Development
The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of the locally-defined progress of Vermont’s rural communities. VCRD is a dynamic partnership of federal, state, local, nonprofit and private partners. Actively non-partisan with an established reputation for community-based facilitation, VCRD is uniquely positioned to sponsor and coordinate collaborative efforts across governmental and organizational categories concerned with policy questions of rural import. The organization has facilitated community prioritization processes with over 90 towns, resulting in hundreds of locally defined projects including new childcare centers, wastewater infrastructure, downtown redevelopments, and much more.