The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing (VDTM) has launched the Grants for Relocation Outreach Work (GROW) program intended to support local, regional, county-wide, or state-wide organizations conducting new resident relocation, recruitment, and retention activities.
Donor Name: Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing (VDTM)
State: Vermont
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/03/2023
Size of the Grant: $150,000
Grant Duration: 2 years
Details:
The Think Vermont Grants for Relocation Outreach Work (GROW) Program is intended to provide grant funding to enable local, regional, county-wide, or state-wide organizations to conduct relocation, recruitment, and retention activities in order to encourage and support new residents relocating to Vermont. To be eligible for this funding, grantees must provide relocation services on behalf of their region or affinity group and collaborate with other organizations to optimize the success of relocation and retention efforts and activities. Relocation and retention efforts must be designed to reach and serve a broad audience, including underrepresented communities and new and diverse residents.
The goals of grant funds are intended to formalize a regional relocation network and increase capacity for relocation and outreach activities for either a specific region or state-wide, based on the audience served by the grant applicant. Grants will be distributed across the State with no more than one grantee providing services for any given town or affinity group. Grantees will be required to submit monthly reports and deliverables specific to their approved scope of work, as well as a work plan check-in meeting at the end of year one to make any adjustments as necessary in their activities to meet program goals.
Funding Information
- Total funds available (for 2024-25 grant term): $1.3 million
- Minimum grant request per applicant: $50,000
- Maximum grant request per applicant: $150,000
- Grants will be given for a two-year period.
Eligible Grant Activities
There will be two grant tracks. Applicants can apply for one or both tracks.
- Regional Relocation Network Track:
- Approved activities for this track must complement and support the State’s lead generation and distribution system via the Connect with a Vermonter form. As part of this track, applicants must be committed to receiving and nurturing leads received through the Connect with a Vermonter program. Applicants will be expected to have in place or develop a formal process to track all leads received and report on the status of all leads and support activities provided (calls, referrals, emails, etc.) on a regular basis. Eligible grant activities may include, but are not limited to:
- Building a 1:1 “concierge-level” program to provide personalized relocation and retention support to individuals. This may include introductions and referrals to other regional service providers such as realtors, childcare providers, employers, community organizations, educational institutions, etc.
- Building partnerships with employers and/or the Department of Labor regional field offices to help match potential residents with current job openings. Building collaborations with the Vermont Welcome Wagon, Young Professionals networks, or other similar relocation organizations to connect potential new residents with community members or other local resources to aid their relocation efforts.
- Developing tools to manage, track and report on the status of individual leads and employer or community referrals.
- Creating a central resource or physical packet of relocation information for a grantee’s region which highlights common services, employers, and other regional assets.
- Approved activities for this track must complement and support the State’s lead generation and distribution system via the Connect with a Vermonter form. As part of this track, applicants must be committed to receiving and nurturing leads received through the Connect with a Vermonter program. Applicants will be expected to have in place or develop a formal process to track all leads received and report on the status of all leads and support activities provided (calls, referrals, emails, etc.) on a regular basis. Eligible grant activities may include, but are not limited to:
- Outreach Track
- Approved activities for this track can complement the Network track activities or be standalone activities that support the program goals. As part of this track, applicants must be committed to organizing events and/or conducting activities that promote the region to new residents and help new residents feel welcome in their new community. Eligible grant activities may include, but are not limited to:
- Events that target recently relocated families and individuals and aim to welcome and support their relocation, such as events that pair new residents with established residents.
- Events for potential residents to support their relocation to Vermont such as, providing opportunities to meet community members and/or employers.
- The creation of marketing assets (e.g., photography, videos and/or printed collateral) that will be used to promote the region. The state has a strong preference for Think Vermont social channels and ThinkVermont.com to be included as part of a campaign.
- Investments into the digital presence of a region, including websites or other owned channels (social media, email marketing, etc.) that support outreach and provide information about the relocation and retention programs and activities.
- Approved activities for this track can complement the Network track activities or be standalone activities that support the program goals. As part of this track, applicants must be committed to organizing events and/or conducting activities that promote the region to new residents and help new residents feel welcome in their new community. Eligible grant activities may include, but are not limited to:
Geographic Service Areas
- In order to avoid the duplication of efforts and provide clear areas of responsibility, applicants for the Regional Relocation Network Track will be asked to specifically define the geographic area they will represent and be able to service. Ideally the service areas of network participants will follow county boundaries. In instances where one organization can service an entire county, a maximum of one organization per county will be funded for Regional Relocation Network Track activities. Any scenarios where the geographic services areas proposed by applicants do not follow county boundaries will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
- Applicants for the Outreach track will also be asked to define the geographic area they will represent and be able to service. Ideally service areas would again follow county boundaries. However, more than one organization may be approved to service a given county as long as the organizations are representing different and distinct affinity groups and/or are offering services that do not conflict with or duplicate those provided by another applicant.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants include chambers of commerce, regional development corporations, downtown organizations, economic development/community development departments or organizations, resident retention networks, LGBTQ+ and/or BIPOC affinity groups, or other similar groups.
- Applicants must be headquartered or have an office in Vermont.
- Applicants must be able to provide relocation, retention, outreach, or other similar services as described in the Eligible Grant Activities.
- Applicants must be committed to developing and maintaining a formal process to track activities and outcomes. This may include but is not limited to, follow up activities (such as virtual meet ups, phone calls, etc.,) with individual leads generated by the State via ThinkVermont.com that have expressed an interest in their identified region or service, or participation in events or community connections activities.
For more information, visit VDTM.
