Founded in 1987, the Vermont Community Loan Fund (VCLF) helps Vermonters and those inspired by Vermont to put their money to work in the Green Mountain State year-round. Over the last 20 years, the Loan Fund has put nearly $42 million into the local economy building and rehabilitating homes, growing vibrant local businesses and quality jobs, creating desperately-needed child care, and supporting community-based organizations. Let’s take a look at just one year in the life of the Loan Fund….

Autumn: Harvest Season

The leaves are off the trees, the frost is on the pumpkins, and the smoke curling from chimneys offers a tell-tale sign of a change in the season. At Anjali Farm in South Londonderry, the farm stand that the Loan Fund helped to build overflows with the year’s harvest, as well as jams, chutneys, and honey to preserve a bit of summer for the colder months.

Of course, autumn’s arrival doesn’t signal the end of every crop’s growing season. Crisp red apples from Champlain Orchards are turned into heavenly pies to warm winter’s table at Vermont Mystic Pie Company in Stowe. VCLF made a loan as part of Vermont Mystic’s startup, paying for the manufacturing equipment that has allowed the company to achieve national distribution in hundreds of supermarkets.

Winter: Let It Snow!

Preparations for the holidays are well underway at Michael’s Toys in downtown Rutland. Thanks to a working capital loan from VCLF, wooden trains and trucks will find their way into the delighted hands of children come the holidays.

Up on the sometimes-frozen shores of Lake Champlain, Burlington’s Outdoor Gear Exchange is full of shoppers buying the skis, snowshoes, and cold weather gear and clothing that’ll get them through ‘til spring. All 27 employees receive full health and dental benefits, receive employer contributions to a retirement account, and share in Outdoor Gear’s profits at the end of every year. VCLF is proud to be a part of their success.

Spring: Colds, Mud and (Organic!) Crocuses

We’ve all had it—the dreaded spring cold. Deep in northeastern Vermont, Valley Health Clinic serves around 2,500 Vermonters annually, most of them elderly or lower-income. The clinic’s VCLF line of credit helps it provide essential health care services in this remote and predominantly low-income corner of the state.

Every spring, farmers and gardeners all over the country begin to pore over catalogs from High Mowing Seeds of Wolcott, dreaming of ripe heirloom tomatoes and six-foot-tall hollyhocks. Widely recognized as one of the few organic seed providers in the U. S., High Mowing used its VCLF loan to manage cash flow in this highly seasonal industry. With 11 quality jobs, High Mowing is one of the largest employers in the area.

Summer: Cool Indoors, Fun Outdoors!

In Winooski, seniors at Chittenden Housing Corporation’s Courtyard apartments enjoy a pleasant indoor temperature even on summer’s hottest days, thanks to new heating and cooling systems and energy efficiency improvements. The Loan Fund helped to finance 101 new energy-efficient units of lower income senior housing in Winooski, featuring one of the highest density senior populations in the state.

Over in Cuttingsville, young boys at Night Eagle Wilderness Adventures delight in the overnight camp experience, and gain an understanding of native peoples and their relationship to the earth. Even further east, 50 children at Creative Minds Child Care in Newport begin a lesson on apples, heralding the beginning of fall…again!

—J. Ide and S. Mays

Jake Ide is Director of Development and Samara Mays is Marketing and Communications Manager at VCLF. For more information, visit www.investinvermont. org. or contact Jake Ide at (802) 223-4423.