For Immediate Release
October 2, 2023
Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing Launches ‘Grants for Relocation Outreach Work’ Program
$2M program includes grants to organizations to support relocation, recruitment, and retention of new residents and a national marketing effort
Montpelier, Vt. - 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. The program will grant $1.3M to organizations across the state to increase their capacity for new resident relocation and retention work in their local communities over a period of two years.
“As I’ve said many times, our state is facing significant demographic challenges and we need to welcome more Vermonters to support our communities and economy,” said Governor Phil Scott. “Vermont has so much to offer, and the GROW program will deliver resources to allow regions to better connect with those interested in relocating to their communities.”
Grant funds are intended to formalize a regional relocation network and increase capacity for relocation and outreach activities. Grants will be given to organizations for a two-year period and follow two tracks:
- Regional Relocation Network Track: Grantee will complement and support the State’s relocation lead generation and distribution system via the Connect with a Vermonter form on ThinkVermont.com. Grantee will be required to connect and follow generated leads of potential residents interested in their area.
- Outreach Track: Grantee will organize events and/or conduct activities that promote their region to prospective residents and/or help new residents feel welcome in their new community. Events can target recently relocated families and individuals or potential new residents to support their relocation to Vermont. This track could also include the creation of regional marketing assets to assist with outreach.
“Relocation work takes time and a good amount of one-on-one interaction with potential residents, especially as we face housing shortages here in Vermont. We know our regional partners have been trying their best to do this important work for years,” said VDTM Commissioner Heather Pelham. “These efforts have never been properly funded to connect state-level resources with the local experts on the ground interacting directly with potential new residents to our state. Meaningful relocation networks take time to become established, so we are grateful the legislature allocated this funding to the VDTM budget to foster this important work for years to come.”
The application is now open for eligible applicants and will close on November 3, 2023. The maximum grant amount request per applicant is $150,000 and the minimum grant amount request is $50,000.
In addition to these grants, VDTM will also use $700,000 dollars to implement a national marketing campaign to support the relocation network once it is in place. This work is expected to begin in late 2024, giving regions time to set up their relocation activities and outreach plans, before VDTM funnels prospective new residents to the regions.
For full details on the GROW program, including eligibility requirements, eligible uses, and funding considerations and requirements, please visit the program page. VDTM will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday, October 4th from 11:00am – 12:00pm to go over the program and answer questions from potential applicants.
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