Helping businesses and nonprofits in small VT towns use online tools to spur economic development and improve disaster resilience.
This article was written by Tess Gauthier, Project Coordinator at the Snelling Center The Snelling Center for Government is happy to announce the launch of a community-focused approach to engaging citizens in the redevelopment of Town websites. On Thursday, August 29th, we hosted the first forum in Wilmington, where residents attended a facilitated discussion about…
On a Tuesday night, in the upstairs rooms of the Thompson Senior Center in Woodstock, Vermont, 17 members of nonprofit organizations from Woodstock, Killington, Plymouth, Chester, and other nearby towns gathered to meet with five “social media surgeons” who would help them learn more about social media. The “Surgery” was a collaboration between Burlington…
Vermont’s 2011 floods demonstrated the potential for digital tools to support community resilience and recovery, as well as the vulnerability of nonprofits and communities who were not making full use of digital tools. Thankfully, Vermont is gifted with a growing, community-oriented tech sector. In the hours before and after Tropical Storm Irene hit Vermont, the…
Two months ago, we announced the Community College of Vermont (CCV) Rutland facility was going to be the first location for free highly accessible digital workforce education training delivered by project partner Microsoft. We are very pleased to confirm that the cutting-edge Microsoft IT Academy Program ® (ITA) is now available to any person who…
Our goal, through the Vermont Digital Economy Project, is to help Vermonters use and understand digital tools better. We know that the more technologically capable Vermonters are, the more resilient they will be in the event of another disaster. In the meantime, they will be able to use these tools to help spur economic development,…
Last week, I participated in a Broadband Access Roundtable Discussion for Vermont’s healthcare providers co-hosted by the USDA – Rural Development and the Vermont Telecommunication Authority (VTA). The half-day event was attended by almost two dozen healthcare experts, federal and state officials, and various IT experts. The goals were to share USDA-RD funding opportunities for telemedicine,…
Paul Haskell, Chair of the Sharon Selectboard was a part of a group discussion on how to use digital mapping and crowd-sourcing tools to solve community problems convened by the Vermont Digital Economy Project. Stay tuned for additional stories of organizations using mapping tools and crowd sourced information to further their missions. (SHARON, VT) Like…
In a recent post, Pat Ripley of VtSBDC laid out some of the reasons why it is important to have a Facebook presence. In addition to the ability it affords businesses of reaching more customers and nonprofits of reaching more interested people, it is also a signal to either type of consumer that they are…
For Immediate Release Press Contact: Rob Fish, Nonprofit Adviser, Vermont Digital Economy Project (802) 488-5143 LOCAL NONPROFITS ENCOURAGED TO USE MORE ONLINE TOOLS TO BUILD STRONGER ORGANIZATIONS Vermont Digital Economy Project Assisting Local Nonprofits in Chester, Plymouth, Randolph and South Royalton July 29, 2013 (Montpelier, VT): During the month of August, representatives from community nonprofit…
Our visits to Vermont’s flood-impacted communities reveal several compelling stories of how towns used social media to help recover from Tropical Storm Irene. Part of this social media effort was to assist with the dissemination of vital information, organize volunteer efforts, and attract donations to help with the recovery process. Perhaps the most poignant of…