As you know, the Vermont Community Foundation (VCF) has been working with Vermont nonprofits to identify a sustainable revenue model that provides the sector with capacity-building opportunities and resources.

After securing start-up funding for an online resource center and a nonprofit manager position, the VCF sent out a survey late last year designed to assess sector support for a revenue model that would sustain these resources. The proposed revenue model was supported by nonprofit registration fees collected through the Secretary of State's office. (We believe strongly that, start-up costs aside, any long-term solution should be owned and supported by the sector).

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the survey. We received 149 responses, and many of you contacted us personally to share your thoughts.

The survey results suggest that there is more work to be done in creating a sustainable revenue model. Indeed with respect to the concept of using any level of registration fees to support nonprofit resources, fifty percent of respondents were undecided. With respect to the tiered contribution scale proposed by the model, fifty percent were "somewhat unsupportive" or "very unsupportive,” and 26% were “somewhat supportive” or “very supportive”. At the same time, the responses enthusiastically confirmed that networking and capacity-building opportunities are critical to the sector. For highlights of the survey findings please click here.

Given the questions surrounding a sustainable revenue stream for capacity-building work, we feel it prudent to adapt our plans for this year. Specifically, we have scaled back the plan for an online center, and we have decided not to hire a nonprofit manager. Here's a look at our revised plan:

1. The VCF has budgeted $100,000 for 2008 to pursue programs and partnerships that specifically support nonprofit capacity building. We are currently exploring ideas like capacity-building grants initiatives, cultivation and support of regional and local nonprofit networks, and collaboration with other organizations that provide capacity-building and leadership training to nonprofits. Look for details later this spring.
2. In addition to our competitive grant rounds, we will continue our agency endowment management program, our planned giving partnership program, and the Vermont Directory of Foundations. We will also invite nonprofits to submit their events to our calendar of events on our Understanding Vermont website . Finally, we will expand our online offerings to include a directory of consultants and businesses that serve nonprofits.
3. We will complete two studies that identify the strengths and opportunities in Vermont's nonprofit sector and in Vermont-focused philanthropy. These reports will be shared broadly with VCF fundholders and other key constituents to encourage deeper engagement with nonprofit-related issues and interests. Deeper philanthropic engagement leads to greater investment in the entire sector.
4. The VCF will seek ways to gather information on legislative issues that impact Vermont nonprofits and will provide updates to the sector.

In addition, we will continue to pursue dialogue with nonprofit leaders and community members to build on this work and ensure that nonprofits are well-served and receive the resources they need to succeed.

We will keep you posted as we go along. As always, we encourage you to share your thoughts.

The VCF is getting ready to launch The Vermont Nonprofit Connection -- a free, easily accessible, web-based nonprofit resource center that will provide some of the sector's most frequently-requested tools :

• A calendar of trainings & events
• A searchable database of Vermont nonprofits
• Job listings
• Sector research
• Policy development
• Valuable capacity building information
• A searchable database of consultants and businesses
• And, regional and local networking events coordinated by a resource manager

The Vermont Nonprofit Connection – A Resource Center that Lasts

The VCF strongly believes that The Vermont Nonprofit Connection should be a lasting, self-sustaining resource. With this in mind, we have spent the past year researching other state nonprofit associations. Our research suggests that a membership model would be an ongoing struggle in Vermont and that the most successful, sustainable resource center would be funded by the sector itself. Based on this finding, the VCF has been working closely with the Vermont Secretary of State to explore a revenue model that draws support from nonprofit registration fees and would ensure the continued existence of The Vermont Nonprofit Connection.

Below you will find a link to a survey and a description of the proposed revenue model. We encourage you to please fill out the survey by Thursday, December 20, 2007, so that your thoughts and ideas can be heard during this important decision-making process.

Please note that the results from this survey will be used to gauge sector support for this initiative and that by taking this survey you are not committing your organization to this concept.

The Vermont Nonprofit Connection – A Call to Action!

Currently all Vermont nonprofits pay the Secretary of State a $75 registration fee every two years to maintain their status as a nonprofit. In order to fund the Vermont Nonprofit Connection, networking events, and ultimately other initiatives, we propose to raise this fee on a progressive scale as outlined in these graphs.

We understand that the majority of you will fall into the ‘very small’ or ‘small’ nonprofit category (see graphs for clarification). While your total fee may be less than the fees for larger nonprofits, we recognize that in many ways you will be sacrificing the most. For this reason, we are designing The Vermont Nonprofit Connection with the needs of smaller nonprofits in mind.

The VCF strongly believes that every Vermont nonprofit plays an important role in making this resource a reality, and we thank you in advance for your feedback!

Please click here to take survey

You should also feel free to contact Holly Tippett with questions or thoughts at tippetth@aol.com.

As many of you know, the VCF has been working with nonprofit leaders, consultants, and funding institutions to create a financially sustainable organization that will help strengthen Vermont's nonprofit sector.

Our work over the last year included sector-wide meetings, surveys, and a Grafton Conference, all of which allowed us to collect valuable information. I'm pleased to report that we've secured funding to put the plans that came out of these initial meetings into action.

As a result of a $25,000 grant from the A.D. Henderson Foundation, to be matched with a $25,000 grant from the VCF, we are ready to begin work on an online resource center that will provide some of the nonprofit sector's most frequently-requested tools: a calendar of nonprofit trainings and events, job listings, and a searchable database of both nonprofits and consultants/businesses that work with nonprofits. This online center will also support regional and local networking events that connect Vermont nonprofits with one another, and will include the Vermont Directory of Foundations, which was released this past summer.

We have already begun the search for a resource center manager to develop and launch the center in the first half of 2008 (you can find a full job description at www.vermontcf.org/jobs/). We are also working with the Vermont Secretary of State to identify what we hope will be an ongoing source of funding for the center and its work in support of the sector (look for more about this shortly). We will be asking for feedback from Vermont nonprofits throughout this process.

The road to building these resources has been long and complicated, and we are grateful for your support, ideas, and participation along the way. We believe the development of this online center will be the cornerstone of an independent, financially sustainable organization that provides much-needed tools to the sector and helps to connect the nonprofit community.

We'll continue to post updates on this page, so check back soon.

At the suggestion of the nonprofit task force, leaders from Vermont’s nonprofit sector including funding institutions, nonprofits, and nonprofit consultants convened in Grafton in June 2007 for a conference dedicated to the future of the sector. The conference, The Future of Vermont's Nonprofit Sector: a Framework for Stewardship and Success, provided clarity about the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for Vermont’s nonprofits, as well as what the sector needs to meet them.

The results of the conference will be used as the basis for action plans, to seek funding from local, regional, and national funders for important sector-building products and services, and possibly to identify a policy agenda that can guide legislators.

Following the nonprofit taskforce meeting in Lake Fairlee on September 28, the VCF convened a small task force, representing nonprofits, funders, and nonprofit consultants. It was agreed that the mission of the task force was to lead the process of exploring and creating strategies and structures to strengthen the sector.

The taskforce membership was developed from the list of people who expressed an interest in this work at the Fairlee meeeting, as well as others who contacted the VCF over the last few months. The members of the taskforce agreed to take on significant responsibility in addressing the challenges of strengthening the sector.

The taskforce met December 15th. To read the meeting report, click here.