Twelve organizations around Vermont are receiving $1.3-million in grants from the state’s inaugural Grants for Relocation Outreach Work. Those funds will be spread over two years, to help their work attracting new residents and let them do more for marketing and outreach.Gov. Phil Scott, R-Vermont, has long said Vermont’s demographic challenges — issues like an aging population and declining birth rate — are a threat to the future vitality of communities. He has called for more work to be done to urge people to move to the Green Mountain State to fill jobs, keep local schools vibrant, to essentially share tax burdens, and to contribute to the economy.The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing placed a list of the grant recipients on the website of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development. In addition to the $1.3-million in grants, another $700,000 will go toward a future marketing campaign run by the state to support the work of this growing regional relocation network. One of the grant recipients is Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region, or CEDRR, which said its existing marketing initiative known as Real Rutland has had many success stories. Its goal is to attract new individuals and families to relocate to Rutland County.”We had 115 people reach out to us in 2023 for more information about the area,” CEDRR’s Olivia Lyons noted in an interview with NBC5 News.Lyons went on to say the campaign helped seal the deal with 28 families who moved to Rutland County last year alone. She said some people brought remote jobs with them, and others landed work in the area.Those concierges who prospective residents meet through the relocation program lead weekend visits and tours, and provide ground-level insights on life in the area. Those can include sharing information on schools, neighborhoods, where to find a good yoga studio or where to take ski lessons. CEDRR says the information provided by the concierges of Real Rutland are the kind of customized pointers locals understand more deeply than state-level marketers could. Plus, the people helping Real Rutland succeed have contacts for a wide range of local experts, such as real estate agent Seth Gewanter of Casella Real Estate.”I really believe in the place that I live in,” Gewanter said. “I love Rutland County and I’m always trying to sell that. And it’s awesome for me when I see someone else sort of buy into that vision, you know, someone who’s — they love to ski and they love the small-town Vermont feel, and they really buy into that. It’s not for everyone, but, you know, I think the right individual can do really well up here.”When Arwen Turner was considering moving to the Rutland area from Colorado in 2020, she had a lot of questions. In an interview with NBC5 News, Turner remembered how helpful Real Rutland was to her.”They have meet and greets,” Turner said, offering one example of a setting where she received personalized pointers on topics such as which parks the outdoor enthusiast would enjoy exploring, or which community organizations she’d like volunteering for. “When you move here, they set you up and introduce you to people who they think might be your friends. And I’m still friends with those people that I met on my first week here. And what other place does that? Who has a party for you when you move to town?”After she got great advice through the Real Rutland program that helped ease her cross-country move, Turner is now paying it forward. She said she is glad to support other folks considering a relocation to Rutland County.”This place just felt like home, because people made it home,” Turner said. “Now that I’ve lived here, this is my home. It’s wonderful.”Lyons said stories like Turner’s underscore the significance of the work of Real Rutland, and of similar relocation outreach projects that are taking shape around the state.”This is incredibly important work,” Lyons said. “To keep our community alive, to fill those jobs, we need more people to come here, specifically younger people who are interested in really contributing to the community and setting down roots and keeping Rutland the wonderful place that it is.”This weekend, there is a community celebration and fundraiser for the Real Rutland marketing initiative. It’s at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m., and is in the style of the game show “Family Feud.” The event known as the Real Rutland Feud features teams going head-to-head in a friendly way for the cause.Tickets are available through the Paramount Theatre box office or through the theater’s website. Proceeds benefit Real Rutland, CEDRR said.
Twelve organizations around Vermont are receiving $1.3-million in grants from the state’s inaugural Grants for Relocation Outreach Work. Those funds will be spread over two years, to help their work attracting new residents and let them do more for marketing and outreach.
Gov. Phil Scott, R-Vermont, has long said Vermont’s demographic challenges — issues like an aging population and declining birth rate — are a threat to the future vitality of communities. He has called for more work to be done to urge people to move to the Green Mountain State to fill jobs, keep local schools vibrant, to essentially share tax burdens, and to contribute to the economy.
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The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing placed a list of the grant recipients on the website of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development. In addition to the $1.3-million in grants, another $700,000 will go toward a future marketing campaign run by the state to support the work of this growing regional relocation network.
One of the grant recipients is Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region, or CEDRR, which said its existing marketing initiative known as Real Rutland has had many success stories. Its goal is to attract new individuals and families to relocate to Rutland County.
“We had 115 people reach out to us in 2023 for more information about the area,” CEDRR’s Olivia Lyons noted in an interview with NBC5 News.
Lyons went on to say the campaign helped seal the deal with 28 families who moved to Rutland County last year alone. She said some people brought remote jobs with them, and others landed work in the area.
Those concierges who prospective residents meet through the relocation program lead weekend visits and tours, and provide ground-level insights on life in the area. Those can include sharing information on schools, neighborhoods, where to find a good yoga studio or where to take ski lessons. CEDRR says the information provided by the concierges of Real Rutland are the kind of customized pointers locals understand more deeply than state-level marketers could.
Plus, the people helping Real Rutland succeed have contacts for a wide range of local experts, such as real estate agent Seth Gewanter of Casella Real Estate.
“I really believe in the place that I live in,” Gewanter said. “I love Rutland County and I’m always trying to sell that. And it’s awesome for me when I see someone else sort of buy into that vision, you know, someone who’s — they love to ski and they love the small-town Vermont feel, and they really buy into that. It’s not for everyone, but, you know, I think the right individual can do really well up here.”
When Arwen Turner was considering moving to the Rutland area from Colorado in 2020, she had a lot of questions. In an interview with NBC5 News, Turner remembered how helpful Real Rutland was to her.
“They have meet and greets,” Turner said, offering one example of a setting where she received personalized pointers on topics such as which parks the outdoor enthusiast would enjoy exploring, or which community organizations she’d like volunteering for. “When you move here, they set you up and introduce you to people who they think might be your friends. And I’m still friends with those people that I met on my first week here. And what other place does that? Who has a party for you when you move to town?”
After she got great advice through the Real Rutland program that helped ease her cross-country move, Turner is now paying it forward. She said she is glad to support other folks considering a relocation to Rutland County.
“This place just felt like home, because people made it home,” Turner said. “Now that I’ve lived here, this is my home. It’s wonderful.”
Lyons said stories like Turner’s underscore the significance of the work of Real Rutland, and of similar relocation outreach projects that are taking shape around the state.
“This is incredibly important work,” Lyons said. “To keep our community alive, to fill those jobs, we need more people to come here, specifically younger people who are interested in really contributing to the community and setting down roots and keeping Rutland the wonderful place that it is.”
This weekend, there is a community celebration and fundraiser for the Real Rutland marketing initiative. It’s at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m., and is in the style of the game show “Family Feud.” The event known as the Real Rutland Feud features teams going head-to-head in a friendly way for the cause.
Tickets are available through the Paramount Theatre box office or through the theater’s website. Proceeds benefit Real Rutland, CEDRR said.
