VSJF Impact Report 2025
Over the past three decades, we’ve launched transformative initiatives like Vermont Farm to Plate, the Flexible Capital Fund, and the DeltaClimeVT business accelerator, and this year, we re-launched the Forest Business Accelerator. We’ve supported hundreds of businesses, built powerful networks, and shaped policies that put wellbeing at the center of economic development. Our work has always been about connection—between economic sectors, organizations, and people—and about building systems that reflect our shared values.
In challenging and uncertain moments, it can feel like we are running out of time to change things. But in truth, we are always in the present and we can always choose how we want to contribute—so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past and do our best to make things better for our shared future.
Given what is present in our country and our state at this time, it is more important than ever to pull together, united around justice, equity, democracy, and our sacred planet Earth. We must continue to foster hope. Our shared purpose is bigger than money and profits—it is about building a felt sense of economic wellbeing and community-scale businesses and services, for the benefit of everyone in our society and in balance with planetary boundaries. It’s about human dignity, agency, and caring for one another.
As we look ahead to 2026 and beyond, we remain committed to the long game, because the future of Vermont depends on it. The challenges we face are complex, but so is our capacity for innovation, collaboration, and care. We believe Vermont can lead the way in building an economy that works for everyone—one that meets people’s basic needs, honors ecological limits, and fosters a felt sense of belonging.
Read the VSJF Impact Report 2025What We Do & How We Do It
We provide business assistance, supply chain coordination, network development, and strategic planning across five key sectors:
- Agriculture and Food Systems
- Forest and Fiber Products
- Renewable Energy
- Environmental Technology
- Waste Management
Through cross-sector collaboration and systems-level thinking, our partnerships position Vermont as a state where social impact entrepreneurs want to start and grow businesses. We strengthen connectivity, alignment, and coordinated action across our networks to foster an economy that benefits both people and the planet.
What’s in a Name?
Jobs or the environment? The early 1990s were characterized by a debate pitting environmental protection against economic development. Many did not believe both could exist simultaneously.
Sustainable economic development was a new idea at the time and it provided a group of socially responsible business leaders with a theme, a vision, and goals to work toward: Vermont could meet the economic needs of its citizens without compromising future generations or the planet by creating sustainable jobs that pay livable wages, support well-being, and contribute positively to society and the environment.
With advocacy led by Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility and bipartisan support from the Vermont Legislature, the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund was created in 1995. Our name reflects our dual commitment to accelerating sustainable businesses and investing in Vermont’s future.