Our Approach

 

OUR MISSION: To accelerate the development of Vermont’s green economy.

With bi-partisan support from the Vermont Legislature, the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund was created in 1995. The name of the organization was meant to reflect the proposition that accelerating the development of new markets for sustainably produced goods and services would lead to the creation of new environmentally-friendly and community-supporting jobs. These new or expanding markets, included:

 

OUR TOOLS: Grant funding, technical assistance, the Peer to Peer Collaborative.

VSJF provides early stage funding and technical assistance to entrepreneurs, businesses, farmers, networks and others interested in developing the green economy. Because of limited funding and staff capacity, VSJF typically focuses on 2 or 3 of the market sectors identified by the legislature at any one time. VSJF has made grants of over $2.7 million to 150 recipients over the past 10 years. Grants have ranged in size from as little as $500 to as much as $98,000. Technical assistance has included:

  1. raising and leveraging additional funds to advance projects ($12 million raised over 10 years);
  2. building strategic alliances with key stakeholders in order to pursue our mutual agendas and leverage core competencies within these alliances;
  3. providing business assistance to pre- and early-stage entrepreneurs in the Northeast Kingdom through the business coach program;
  4. acting as a fiscal agent for other nonprofits;
  5. developing educational materials and resources for other organizations, including the State of Vermont Directory of Service Providers;
  6. providing big-picture, strategic direction advice to growth stage companies through the Peer to Peer Collaborative. P2P matches accomplished Peer Advisors (CEOs, COOs, and CFOs) with CEO’s of growing companies over a 12 to 18 month period.

 

OUR METHOD: A systemic approach to developing new markets and/or strengthening and transition existing markets toward sustainability.

Our theory of change is premised on developing the architecture of a market (Fligstein, 2001) that supports sustainably produced goods and services. Rather than an “invisible hand” guiding markets, VSJF believes that consumers, governments, businesses, nonprofits, farmers and others continuously make and shape markets.

We start by asking:

1) What practices are undermining the sustainability of a particular market sector? We develop a problem statement that accounts for the social, environmental, and economic consequences of a particular activity.

2) How do these problems impact Vermont? Vermont is a small player on the world’s stage, and larger forces can undermine our ecology, economy, and communities.

3) What are the emerging trends or opportunities for addressing these problems? How can development meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs? Where can VSJF focus funds and technical assistance to advance Vermont’s green economy?

4) Where is a particular market in its development trajectory? We have adopted the business assistance continuum developed by the Vermont Small Business Development Center (and used in the Directory of Service Providers) and modified it to refer to markets

- The pre-venture stage refers to a non-existent or nascent product or service. Opportunities are identified, but the supply chain is unclear and ‘proof of concept’ is not established.

-The early stage is characterized by the emergence of early adopters or innovators, pilot or demonstration projects, market feasibility studies, and efforts to organize and promote the visibility of the market.

-The growth phase reflects an expansion in the number of businesses and organizations selling products or providing services (e.g., an increase in the number of organic farmers). The suppply chain is clearer, competition is evident as more entrepreneurs emerge, and efforts at optimization are made.

-During the mature stage of market development, “incumbent firms” throughout the supply chain are established, and rules and norms governing activities are in effect.

-Finally, the revitalization phase comes into play when external and/or internal unsustainable activities force mature market sectors and incumbent firms to a tipping point. A downward trend may ensue, or innovative “challenger firms” may introduce new ideas, products, and services to revive the sector.

5) What does the market’s supply chain look like? What are some of the supply- and demand-side issues impacting the market sectors VSJF has been tasked with assisting? We then ‘map out’ what we think the supply chain or market sector looks like, trying to find disconnects or problems that can be addressed by emerging opportunities or solutions (e.g., an FSC certified, all-Vermont, tree-to-finished product line of furniture).

6) What are all of the elements that need to be in place in order to develop a sustainable market sector? For each of the markets that we’re trying to advance toward sustainability we ask:

We then use grants, technical assistance, and strategic partnerships to address these elements. VSJF identifies and supports “first-in” Vermont entrepreneurs in an emerging market area. By strategically coordinating the provision of needed capital and technical assistance we work to increase the success rate of these “first-ins” so that they are better able to survive and thrive.  Our efforts are aimed at market strengthening during the transition from “first-in” to “second-in” enterprises within an emerging industry or sector.

 

OUR CURRENT FOCUS: For the past 4 years, VSJF has focused on 3 sectors: biofuels, sustainable forestry, and sustainable agriculture.

The market for biofuels was virtually non-existent in Vermont 4 years ago. The threats posed by the peaking of world oil production and climate change motivated VSJF and partners to seek out ways of producing some amount of our liquid fuel locally. Alternatively, agriculture and forestry have been hallmarks of Vermont’s economy for generations. For over a decade the expansion of organic agriculture and the development of local food systems has helped to revitalize Vermont’s agricultural sector. It has been more difficult for green-certified forest products to gain a foothold, but a new 'harvest for use' initiative is starting to show promise.

 

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