GROW Program Welcomes Newcomers

BDCC and Local Partners to Participate in Statewide Network

BRATTLEBORO, VT – Vermont is aging. We face declining school populations, a dwindling pool of volunteers who keep our communities running, and a labor shortage affecting everything from healthcare to trucking. As part of a new statewide network to attract and retain new (or returning) Vermont residents, Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation is participating in Think Vermont’s GROW (Grants for Relocation Outreach Work) program, funded by the legislature as part of the Department of Tourism and Marketing’s annual budget. 

“Brattleboro has long been a dedicated regional partner in supporting the state’s relocation and retention goals so we’re excited to be able to provide additional resources for Brattleboro to be able to take those efforts to the next level,” says Vermont Tourism and Marketing Commissioner Heather Pelham. “Organizations like Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation serve an invaluable role in helping new Vermonters make connections throughout the community and feel at home in the Green Mountain State.”

BDCC has been doing relocation and retention work for many years as part of a suite of workforce and community development programs driven by our regional comprehensive economic development strategy (CEDS). These programs include career readiness programming for high schoolers, upskilling for adult workers, the Southern Vermont Young Professionals, and refugee resettlement. BDCC has also worked with regional and statewide partners on Stay to Stay and Vermont Welcome Wagon. Strategies and best practices have evolved through work with regional partners such as village and downtown organizations, chambers of commerce, and statewide initiatives through the Agency of Commerce and Community Development and Vermont Welcome Wagon. 

“Statewide marketing is essential, but it needs to be paired with that in-person, on-the-ground touch to support successful relocation,” says Jen Stromsten, Director of Programs at BDCC. “This is work we and our partners have been doing for years. This new state funding allows us to level up this program that we’ve all invested a great deal of thought and effort into refining.”

The GROW program will provide one-on-one support along with events and programs for newcomers. 

To learn more or sign up to participate as a host or a newcomer, please visit sovermont.com/grow.

About BDCC

The Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) is a private, nonprofit economic development organization with the mission of investing in the drivers of the regional economy so that people, businesses, and communities in Southern Vermont can thrive. BDCC serves as the State of Vermont’s certified Regional Development Corporation (RDC) for the greater Windham County area (including Windham County and the towns of Readsboro, Searsburg, Winhall and Weston). BDCC is one of 12 RDCs throughout Vermont. BDCC activity is made possible in part by a grant from the State of Vermont through the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. For more information, visit brattleborodevelopment.com.

About GROW

BDCC is a regional partner in a statewide network helping to grow Vermont by welcoming new and returning residents. The GROW network is a program of Think Vermont and is funded in part by Vermont’s Agency of Commerce and Community Development. 

About the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS)

A CEDS is a federally prescribed process for creating a strategy-driven plan for regional economic development. A CEDS brings together public and private sectors to analyze the regional economy, establish regional goals and objectives, and to identify investment priorities and funding re sources. In addition, many federal and state granting programs look to a region’s CEDS when considering funding. The Windham Region’s federally approved CEDS was completed in 2014 by SeVEDS and is being implemented by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC). The 2019 5-year update also includes Bennington County and all of the towns in the Southern Vermont Economic Development Zone. For more information please visit brattleborodevelopment.com/ceds-overview.