Vermont Business Resources
In addition to the Vermont Agency of Commerce & Community Development, below is a list of great resources for you and your business:
Community and Economic Development Lenders
Venture Capital and Angel Investors
Other Non-Traditional Financing Sources
- Opportunities Credit Union
- Cooperative Fund of New England
- Cooperative Capital Fund
- Vermont Employee Ownership Center Loan Fund
- Clean Energy Development Fund
Grant Funding
- Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund
- Vermont Training Program
- Workforce Employment Training Fund
- Vermont EPSCoR Phase 0 Program
- Downtown & Village Centers Funding Directory
- Vermont Community Development Block Sole Proprietor Grant
Agricultural Lenders
- Vermont Agricultural Credit Corporation
- The Carrot Project
- Yankee Farm Credit
- NOFA Vermont Revolving Loan Fund
- Fresh Source Capital
Federal Funding Programs
- Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant Program
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Loan and Grant Programs
- U.S. Small Business Administration Loan and Guaranty Programs
Business Assistance
- SBA Small Business Guide
- Vermont Small Business Development Center
- Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center
- Vermont Procurement Technical Assistance Center
- Micro Business Development Program
- Vermont Department of Economic Development
- Vermont Department of Taxes - Business Center
- Regional Development Corporations
- Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies
- Vermont Global Trade Partnership
- Vermont Employee Ownership Center
- Vermont Family Business Initiative
- Vermont Business Environmental Partnership
- Vistage CEO Leadership Program
- Veteran's Small Business Guide
Education and Training
- Community College of Vermont (CCV) Business Program
- Vermont Business Center Leadership & Management Programs
- Champlain College Workforce Development Center
- Vermont Technical College Technology Extension Division
- University of Vermont MBA Program
- Marlboro College MBA in Managing for Sustainability
- Green Mountain College MBA
- MBA Online
- Direct Marketing of Specialty Foods
Networks and Associations
- Vermont Venture Network
- Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility
- Vermont Software Developers Alliance
- Invent Vermont
- Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont
- Vermont Fresh Network
- Vermont Wood Manufacturers Association
- Vermont Green Building Network
- Other Technology Sector Resources
ACCD - Vermont Agency of Commerce & Community Development
The Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) helps Vermonters improve their quality of life and build strong communities.
Collaboration is central to carrying out this mission and we work with other state Agencies as well as businesses of all sizes, communities, educators, non-profits, students, recreational venues and many others. We at ACCD “set the table” for opportunity. So whether you are a business owner seeking to relocate here, a developer interested in building a new project, an individual hoping to restore an historic gem or a community hoping to increase the livability of your town, you have come to the right place.
Agency Departments
The Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development (DEHCD)
At DEHCD, we work to grow our economy, help businesses create jobs, and support vibrant and resilient communities. Our staff provides training, technical and financial assistance designed to enhance local community and economic development programs and practices.
Our economic development staff can help you learn more about our strong workforce, walk you through the permitting process, connect you with local networks and share more about our programs, and capital and investment opportunities. The Vermont Economic Progress Council is an arm of the department. The State of Vermont also offers economic incentives for business recruitment, growth and expansion through the VT Employment Growth Incentive (VEGI) program.
Our housing program focuses on developing housing policy and overseeing the Mobile Home Park Program. The Vermont Community Development Program helps municipalities provide housing, jobs, public services and facilities to their residents. Promoting and preserving our historic resources are the focus of our historic preservation program and our state-owned historic sites.
We are the state’s central office for local and regional land use, including our smart growth designations, designed to enhance our unique landscape of compact centers surrounded by working landscapes. DEHCD also funds and supports regional development efforts through the Regional Planning Commissions, Regional Development Corporations and through other partners.
The Department of Tourism and Marketing (DT&M)
The Vermont Brand is associated with environmental quality, “green values,” local, strong community centers, an active agricultural economy and world class, four-season recreation. Our tourism staff promotes Vermont as a travel destination for Vermonters and visitors alike which in turn supports a diverse and vital part of the state’s economy. We work with our partners to develop and implement a comprehensive marketing plan that integrates television, radio, newspaper and magazine print.
Chief Marketing Office
The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) serves as the central authority for state marketing activity, providing oversight of marketing functions within each state agency and department. Specifically, the CMO acts as a steward of the Vermont brand, and together with the marketing specialist, supports state marketing activity by providing marketing expertise and centralized services, and enhances the success of state marketing efforts through collaboration.
Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR)
VBSR is a non-profit, statewide business trade organization with a mission to advance business ethics that value multiple bottom lines- economic, social, and environmental. We strive to help members set a high standard for protecting the natural, human and economic environments of the state's residents, while remaining profitable. We advance VBSR's mission through:
Education. Empowering our members to solve environmental, social and economic problems. We provide concrete resources and information to help improve our members' business practices.
Public Influence. Initiating tangible change in public policy that combats exploitation and promotes sustainability. We work to capture the inherent power of business to represent socially responsible ideals to legislative bodies, news media, and the general public.
Workplace Quality.Enabling every worker to live and work with respect and dignity by creating work environments and economic climates that provide fair income in safe work settings, and allow each employee to contribute to a high quality product or service.
Vermont Employee Ownership Center (VEOC)
The Vermont Employee Ownership Center is a statewide non-profit whose mission is to promote and foster employee ownership in order to broaden capital ownership, deepen employee participation, retain jobs, increase living standards for working families, and stabilize communities. We provide information and resources to owners interested in selling their business to their employees, employee groups interested in purchasing a business, and entrepreneurs who wish to start up a company with broadly shared ownership.
Vermont Employee Ownership Center
286 College Street PO Box 546
Burlington, VT 05402
Tel: (802) 321-VEOC
Email: info@veoc.org
Direct Marketing of Specialty Food Products
Click HERE If you want to:
- Learn strategies to direct market food and sell online
- Evaluate the role of technology in your business in regards to direct online marketing
- Examine strategies necessary to deal with the technology and weigh some cost/benefit measures
- Consider the evolution of information technology to meet changing business priorities and market demands
- Understand how online marketing is part of an over-all business and marketing strategy
Then the Direct Marketing of Specialty Food Products online curriculum is for you! As it is designed to help you make wise decisions about your online marketing strategy!
There's more available about online marketing from the Direct Marketing Newspaper.
Other Technology Resources
Vermont Technology Council
John Evans
89 Beaumont Ave. E201 
Burlington, VT 05405
802-656-8780
Website
Vermont Information Technology Leaders (VITL)
J. Lauri Scharf
144 Main Street, Suite 1
Montpelier VT 05602
802-223-4100
Website
Vermont Software Developers’ Alliance
David Parker
70 South Winooski Ave. #270
Burlington, VT 05401
802.735.0840
Website
Vermont Environmental Consortium
Norwich University
Jill Michaels
Northfield VT
802-262-2166
Website
The Vermont Institutes
Douglas Harris
802-793-0202
Website
Vermont BioSciences Alliance
Bill Church
261 Mountain View Drive
Colchester VT 05446
802-865-6230
Website
Working Lands Enterprise Initiative
Over 97 percent of Vermonters value the working landscape. The “working landscape” consists of agriculture, food system, forestry, and forest product based businesses. Approximately 20 percent of Vermont’s land is used for agricultural purposes and 75 percent as forestry. The backbone of Vermont’s heritage and economic viability is the working landscape. The 2012 Legislative session brought with it a renewed commitment to Vermonter’s values by passing the Working Lands Enterprise initiative for the management and investment of $1 million into agricultural and forestry based businesses.
Micro Business Development Program (MBDP)
The Micro Business Development Program (MBDP) is established to promote self-employment and business opportunities for low income Vermonters. MBDP offers free, one-to-one technical assistance, business development classes and workshops for income eligible persons.
The MBDP is a statewide program of Vermont's five nonprofit Community Action Agencies:
- Community Action in Southwestern Vermont (BROC)
- Central Vermont community Action Council, Inc. (CVCAC)
- Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, Inc. (CVOEO)
- Northeast Kingdom Community Action, Inc. (NEKCA)
- Southeastern Vermont Community Action Council, Inc. (SEVCA)