GROW Grant: For BIPOC Looking to Relocate to Vermont
Purpose & Summary
The Think Vermont Grants for Relocation Outreach Work (GROW) Program provides grant funding to enable local, regional, county-wide, or state-wide organizations to conduct relocation, recruitment, and retention activities. VT PoC is one such recipient and provides relocation services in collaboration with other organizations to optimize the success of relocation and retention efforts and activities of BIPOC identifying individuals.
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What VT PoC Offers
For People of Color, community is critical for personal wellness, information sharing, and feeling safe within the area that they live. These connections then anchor an individual within the community and empowers them to become invested into the wider community, and drives their search for growth opportunities, whether professionally or civically.
BIPOC communities have been largely ignored and underrepresented throughout Vermont. It is general knowledge that Vermont has not historically been a desirable destination for BIPOC Americans to relocate to; at one point Vermont used to be the least racially diverse state in the country. However, given the efforts made by the State of Vermont to promote Vermont as a relocation destination, there is an increase in interest by BIPOC to relocate to Vermont and now Vermont has leapfrogged two other states to become the 3rd whitest state. The state has identified growing and diversifying our population as essential to a thriving economy and reversing decades of population decline hence the implementation of relocation programs like GROW.
How GROW Works
When an individual makes an inquiry to the state about relocation, VT PoC is made aware that a lead has been identified as BIPOC, at which point, VT PoC will assume a lead role of a “white glove” service provider and ensure that the prospective BIPOC individual is aware that there is a BIPOC community they can plug into, and they feel welcomed and wanted in the community.
To accomplish this, VT PoC has built a network of collaborations and partnerships with the various Vermont organizations that have successful bids in this GROW program to optimize the success of their relocation and retention efforts and activities by specifically focusing on outreach to a BIPOC audience, and to connect potential new residents with community members or other local resources to aid their relocation efforts.
Join a Virtual Relocation Zoom
Drop in to one of our upcoming Zooms to ask your relocation questions!
