Aspen CSG partners with Rural Development Hubs across the country to strengthen local leadership, align funding, and build regional capacity. Through research and peer learning, we support Hub leaders to refine strategies and apply what works across regions.
In Vermont, we work with Hub partners that coordinate across sectors, align resources, and connect communities to advance long-term regional strategies:
Newport City Downtown Development
Newport City Downtown Development (NCDD) is intently focused on what will be needed for Newport to develop and sustain a vibrant outdoor recreation economy. This includes supporting and promoting events that draw people there, working cooperatively to steward the natural resources of its region, and backing the businesses that are the foundation in its effort to create a great community for downtown residents, neighbors from across the Northeast Kingdom, and short-term visitors.
The Vermont Community Foundation is a collective of more than 1,000 Vermonters—individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofits—committed to inspiring giving and bringing together people and resources to make a meaningful difference in the state. The foundation fosters equity, civic engagement, environmental stewardship, and community wellbeing through philanthropic advising, donor services, grantmaking, mission investing, and strategic support for nonprofits across Vermont.
The Northern Forest is one of the most densely forested regions in the country, and it is mostly privately owned. When big timber and paper operations moved out of the region, locals kept their communities going and built a new economy grounded in forest stewardship. The Center is proud to be the region’s advocate and to partner with communities and businesses to build the New Forest Future. Northern Forest Center is featured in these Aspen CSG resources: Climate Solutions for Rural Regions, Learnings on Rural Migration and Displacement, Rural Development Hubs: Strengthening America’s Rural Innovation Infrastructure, and more.
Founded in 1993 and serving 69 towns in the Upper Connecticut River Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire, Vital Communities engages Upper Valley people, organizations, and communities to create equitable solutions to our region’s challenges, with a focus on those disproportionately impacted by them. Vital Communities works to build a thriving Upper Valley by focusing on the biggest issues facing the region including housing, transportation, climate disruption, and access to nourishing food and a resilient local economy.
