Thank you for taking the time to read about all of the exciting things going on at Community
Capital of Vermont.
I’ve just returned from a national conference of like-minded organizations in Chicago, where we exchanged ideas, and as these things often go, dreamed big dreams. The trick is always making them Vermont-sized. The longer I’m in this role, the more I think the path to success in our small corner of the world is to avoid over standardization. Efficiency is any organization’s friend, but our loans and services resist commodification. The balance tips toward using our small size and outstanding team to work toward understanding what each business needs, from preparing to be a successful borrower, to success after an injection of capital (and for businesses who want to grow, a pathway to lenders who can provide much bigger amounts of capital).
It is up to us to find gaps in funding in Vermont and push ourselves to go there. For example, right now, we’re having a robust in-house conversation about how best to participate in start- up technology businesses, and we’ll be convening a focus group of Loan Committee members later this summer on that very topic. Finally, when I write these things I always put myself in the reader’s shoes. If you are reading this and want to know more about us, or how you can get involved, please reach out to me directly!
Rich Grogan
Executive Director
