What if your investment portfolio included the childcare center down the street, the new affordable housing development in your county, or the local restaurant opening downtown?

For a growing number of Vermonters, that’s exactly what investing looks like. Instead of sending their money to distant corporations and abstract funds, they’re choosing to invest close to home by supporting projects that strengthen their communities while still earning a financial return.

This approach is known as impact investing, and it’s at the heart of the work we do at the Vermont Community Loan Fund.

What is impact investing?

Traditional investing prioritizes maximizing financial returns above all else. Impact investing, on the other hand, means putting your money into people and projects that do two things at once: generate a financial return for the investor and create positive social or economic outcomes for the community.

While impact investing shares many of the same values and priorities as philanthropy, there’s a key distinction. Impact investing is not philanthropy—your money is invested, not given away. Investors earn a modest, steady return, and their capital is recycled as loans that are repaid and re-loaned to new projects across the state.

For the Vermont Community Loan Fund, that means making loans to Vermont-based borrowers who are addressing critical needs in their communities, whether that’s expanding access to early education, creating more places for people to live, or helping local businesses grow.

How local investing works

When you invest with Vermont Community Loan Fund, your money is pooled with other investors and used to support a diverse portfolio of Vermont borrowers. 

Impact investing with VCLF is neither new nor risky. For nearly forty years, we’ve carefully underwritten loans and managed risks to support Vermont borrowers. Since 1987, we’ve loaned nearly $170 million—and we’ve never failed to repay our impact investors, with interest, on time, as promised. When investments mature, nine out of ten VCLF investors choose to reinvest, extending both their impact and their return.

Because our loans are local, you can see the real-world influence of your dollars, often in your own town. A childcare center in Randolph expands to serve more families. A food cooperative in the Northeast Kingdom opens its doors. An old motel in Shelburne transforms into a new neighborhood with affordable apartments and condos.

When you invest with VCLF, you’re never left wondering how your investments are affecting the world. Instead, you can point to tangible, meaningful outcomes and say, “I helped make that possible.”

You don’t have to be wealthy to invest locally

One common misconception about impact investing is that it’s only for wealthy people. In reality, VCLF offers investment options starting at $1,000, which makes local investing accessible to a much broader range of Vermonters.

Many current VCLF impact investors are people who already have retirement or other savings accounts and want to diversify a portion of their portfolio in a way that aligns with their values. Others simply want to support Vermont’s economy and communities more directly.

These investments are designed to be straightforward and transparent. You know where your money is going, how it’s being used, and what kind of return to expect.

Why investing locally matters—especially now

Vermont faces no shortage of challenges right now: a housing crisis, rising costs for families and businesses, and ongoing pressure on essential services like childcare and community infrastructure.

Local lenders like Vermont Community Loan Fund play a critical role in addressing these challenges by stepping in where traditional banks often can’t or won’t. Many of the borrowers we support serve vital community needs but don’t fit neatly into conventional lending models, even when they’re financially sound and deeply rooted in their communities.

By investing locally, Vermonters help ensure that capital stays in our state, circulating through projects that strengthen Vermont’s social and economic fabric. It’s a way to align your personal financial goals with a commitment to the place you call home.

Learning more: an invitation to explore impact investing

If you’re curious about how impact investing works and whether it might be right for you, the Vermont Community Loan Fund is currently hosting free virtual info sessions. These sessions are designed to be approachable and informative, with no pressure to invest. 

Our next session is taking place on February 12th at 6pm. You can register here or if you simply want to learn more about us, visit investinvermont.org to explore how we can help you invest locally while supporting the causes you care about right here in Vermont.

—The Vermont Community Loan Fund is a mission-driven, community-focused alternative lender and Community Development Financial Institution providing loans to Vermont businesses, nonprofits, childcare providers, and affordable housing developers. Our work is funded by impact investors, and in nearly forty years, we’ve never failed to repay an investor, with interest. Learn more at investinvermont.org.