Vermont · Nonprofit
VITAL COMMUNITIES INC
VITAL COMMUNITIES INC (Vermont) receives grants from 54 organizations whose IRS filings report $8,903,866 to it, the largest being SOUTHEASTERN VERMONT COMMUNITY ACTION INC ($2,784,899). 34 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $1.6M
- Funders on record
- 54
- Grants received
- $8.9M
- Net assets
- $907k
What Vital Communities Inc does
Mission
Vital communities engages upper valley people, organizations, and communities to create equitable solutions to our region's challenges, with a focus on those disproportionately impacted by them.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2024 return the organization reported a significant change in how it conducts a program.
Effective june 2022, white river land collaborative, llc (wrlc), a vermont limited liability company, was transferred to the organization. Wrlc is a farmer-led, community driven project that aims to provide young farmers affordable land and housing, offer other support to the region's farmers and economy, generate green power, and provide community space. This fiscal sponsorship agreement terminated effective december 31, 2024.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 3).
Food & farm: during fy25 we managed projects that support farm viability, access to locally grown food, food system resilience, education, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Our projects included farm to school, farm to early childhood education, climate farmer stories, and the upper valley resilience network. Together, these projects provided resources and support for our region's k-12 schools and early childhood education programs, upper valley farmers who are working to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis, and a network of community-organized groups working to address gaps and challenges in the food system.
$456,921 spentof which $54,371 as grants$9,345 earned by the program32% of program spendingHousing: during fy25, we supported upper valley planners, developers, employers, municipal leaders, property owners, and community groups so that they can work together to create more places to live. Projects included piloting the creation of accessory dwelling units, particularly by low- and moderate-income homeowners, the development of a resource guide and networks to support bipoc home ownership, hosting forums with stakeholders that promote housing solutions and action plans, organizing a multi-sector housing advisory committee, collecting data on home creation to inform solutions, supporting the upper valley loan fund, a $9 million project of the corporate council, and engaging upper valley communities to examine and reform zoning and land use regulations.
$271,872 spentof which $25,000 as grants19% of program spendingTransportation: during fy25 we supported upper valley communities' efforts to create a safe, reliable and multimodal transportation system that is affordable, increases community resilience, and minimizes climate impact. Projects included convening the upper valley transportation management association, as well as the statewide, climate focused vermont transportation efficiency network. We also expanded the upper valley e-bike lending library (uvell), facilitated employer-based e-bike library and bikeshare programs, provided e-bike subsidies for low- and moderate-income residents, and promoted walk, bike, & ride campaigns.
$155,849 spentof which $26,689 as grants$43,833 earned by the program11% of program spendingCivic engagement and leadership the organization implemented a variety of projects that advance our region as one of inclusive, cooperative, and welcoming communities where all people see themselves represented. During fy25, these projects included leadership upper valley, the corporate council, the municipal leaders, community discussion lists, and valley quest.
$115,576 spent$85,453 earned by the program8% of program spendingFiscal sponsorships for the years ended june 30, 2025 and 2024, projects include wrlc. Wrlc is a farmer-led, community driven project that aims to provide young farmers affordable land and housing, offer other support to the region's farmers and economy, generate green power, and provide community space.
$281,236 spentof which $241,188 as grants$1,800 earned by the program20% of program spendingCommunications with a commitment to equity for all, we promote the vision of a thriving and interconnected region. Projects include sharing information about vital communities programs and about our partners through spring and fall print newsletters, a monthly e-news, program-specific newsletters, our website, social media; and participating in a wide variety of events throughout the region.
$69,533 spent5% of program spendingClimate & energy during fy25, the organization focused on deep community engagement, mapping the needs and priorities identified by our local and regional partners. Our findings will inform the design and implementation of new projects, with the goal of supporting communities and partners as they work to restore ecosystem balance, mitigate the drivers of climate change while adapting to the impacts of climate change, and increase access to affordable and sustainable energy.
$63,811 spent5% of program spending
The 7 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,414,798.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2024 to 2025, from $2.1M to $1.3M (−41%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 10% · 2018 11% · 2019 14% · 2020 10% · 2021 7% · 2022 5% · 2023 8% · 2024 16% · 2025 17%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
91% of VITAL COMMUNITIES INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (61% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Sarah Jackson
Executive director
Board chair
Greg Norman
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 13 funders to 22 funders, grant income rose $316k → $1.4M.
11 of 54 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 30% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of VITAL COMMUNITIES INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 54 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
VITAL COMMUNITIES INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 31% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
67% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund VITAL COMMUNITIES INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 53% · 2018 42% · 2019 29% · 2020 26% · 2021 66% · 2022 41% · 2023 27% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
61% of VITAL COMMUNITIES INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 63% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
VITAL COMMUNITIES INC draws 50% of its grant income from funders outside Vermont, across 14 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.7M arriving through sponsors registered in 8 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
VITAL COMMUNITIES INC's funding base is broadening — from 13 funders to 22 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,127 community improvement nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding VITAL COMMUNITIES INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.8M on record — $983k federal, $811k state.
- Department of Agriculture$983k
- Other Grants-Service Agreemnt$383k
- Other Grants$369k
- Other Direct Grant Expense$44k
- Grants$10k
- Grants to School Districts$4k
- Other Purchased Services$637
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like VITAL COMMUNITIES INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Vermont
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
57% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
85%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for VITAL COMMUNITIES INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds VITAL COMMUNITIES INC?
- VITAL COMMUNITIES INC (Vermont) receives grants from 54 organizations whose IRS filings report $8,903,866 to it, the largest being SOUTHEASTERN VERMONT COMMUNITY ACTION INC ($2,784,899). 34 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does VITAL COMMUNITIES INC have?
- IRS filings report 54 organizations giving $8,903,866 in grants to VITAL COMMUNITIES INC, 34 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of VITAL COMMUNITIES INC?
- SOUTHEASTERN VERMONT COMMUNITY ACTION INC is the largest funder on record, with $2,784,899 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like VITAL COMMUNITIES INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Vermont. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 54 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing