Helping businesses and nonprofits in small VT towns use online tools to spur economic development and improve disaster resilience.
Working with the Vermont Small Business Development Center we helped farm and forest businesses become more digitally active through workshops and one on one advising. Looking to improve your business' use of Digital Tools? Read Our Guide on "Business Tools" Here.
Nonprofit advising helped nonprofits in flood impacted communities who were looking to improve their use of online tools. This advising took place both in structured workshops and in the form of one-on-one consulting. Topics addressed included: Social Media Google Apps Online and Mobile Fundraising Online Archiving Website Management and Makeovers Disaster Preparedness Community Engagement Looking…
In order to help towns develop in a digitally-based world, and to promote economic resiliency and flood recovery, the Digital Economy Project implemented Wi-Fi zones as well as individual hotspots in towns across the state. These zones cover downtown areas in towns, and allow free internet access to any townsperson passing through, or any tourist…
This article was written by Christine Friese, Assistant State Librarian. To apply for an Internet Intern for your Library, fill out the form here. Access to high speed broadband and free computers has long been a known barrier to digital literacy across the U.S. Now, with more areas of Vermont receiving better connectivity and public…
The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) has its roots in the 1992 Farm Bill. The organization has also taken strong leadership in the creation of Vermont’s Working Landscape Partnership, a non-partisan and broad-based coalition to support local agriculture and forestry, grow and attract farm and forest entrepreneurs, and conserve Vermont’s “Working Landscape” far into…
In a bright renovated Town Hall in Bethel Vermont, with sunlight flowing into the room from large windows lining two walls, locals gathered for an evening of celebration. A new free and public Wi-Fi zone, called the Bethel Connection, had just been installed, and members of the town were there to eat some local pizza,…
The Ottauquechee Community Partnership (OCPVT) is a locally funded non-profit organization with a focus on connecting young people to the community, bringing community resources to schools and building positive relationships through youth-adult mentoring. For the past several weeks, we have worked with the organization to integrate digital tools and become more efficient. “As a result…
BETHEL, VT – The town of Bethel, Vermont, will be celebrating the arrival of a free and public downtown Wi-Fi zone called “The Bethel Connection” at a launch event on Thursday, June 20th starting at 5pm, with speeches at 6pm at the Bethel Town Hall. The opening of the Wi-Fi zone will feature speeches from…
June 14, 2013 (Montpelier, Vermont.) — On a rainy Thursday afternoon, vendors gathered on the South Royalton green for the third annual BALE (Building a Local Economy) festival, but this year there was an added benefit to the town: a new free Wi-Fi zone blanketed the green and allowed vendors and visitors alike to access…
At the Vermont Digital Economy Project, we know that a connected community is a resilient community. While we’ve been focusing on using digital tools to build networks within a community, it’s just as important for local nonprofits to recognize the power of off-line networks and coalitions. Many communities have a Chamber of Commerce, an organization…