Mission Investing Spotlight:

This week the Plainfield Co-Op celebrated a milestone. It closed on a business expansion that will help the member-owned store significantly increase its offerings along with the economic vitality of its Central Vermont hometown at a time when investment is badly needed.

Flooding this summer inundated homes, roads, and farms in Plainfield. The Co-Op expansion was in the works well before the disaster, but the timing of the closing on August 7 is a much-needed bright spot. The mission investing program at the Vermont Community Foundation helped make the transaction happen with a $75,000, low-interest loan.

The help from VCF, other lenders, and its own members allowed the Co-Op this week to purchase Plainfield Hardware on Route 2, located just two miles away from the longtime home of the Co-Op in Plainfield Village. The bigger building footprint means the Co-Op can expand grocery offerings, including from local farms. It will also carry the hardware supplies and other stock familiar to Plainfield Hardware customers.

“We want to thank the Vermont Community Foundation for supporting the Plainfield Co-Op,” said John Cleary, treasurer of the Co-Op. “By combining these two local businesses under cooperative ownership, we are building a stronger, more resilient community. The project will strengthen the local economy by bringing growth and stability to a business that will focus on selling local products and providing essential supplies to the community.”

The mission investing program of the Vermont Community Foundation has nearly $20 million invested in projects and enterprises that without VCF’s participation might not have happened.

The program has supported complex developments that create housing and tax-generating businesses as well as vital infrastructure such as cable for rural high-speed Internet. It has also supported start-ups by Vermont entrepreneurs that accelerate Vermont’s economic engine, including in the most rural parts of Vermont.

Mission investments from the Foundation are often paired with other sources of financing and funding, including government and private sector loans. The VCF loans play an important role in pulling partners together and pushing a project to the finish line.

“A supportive financing package from local lenders was the key to the project’s success,” said Cleary at the Plainfield Co-Op. “VCF helped us close our funding gap so that the project could stay on schedule. Their support and flexibility gave confidence to our other lenders and provided more time for our member fundraising campaign to reach its goal.”

Neither the new Co-Op location on Route 2 nor the village location in Plainfield was damaged by the recent flooding. But the village location is close to the Winooski River and vulnerable, Cleary said. Flood mitigation was not the driving factor in the expansion but the fact that the new location is on higher ground is another plus.

“Moving the Co-Op out of the current flood prone location along the Winooski River is a smart and proactive response to our new climate reality,” Cleary said.

The Plainfield Co-Op will operate out of both locations for a few months and then phase out the village location. The Co-Op will keep that building for now and seek input from the community on new potential uses.  And although the Co-Op is member-owned, all are welcome to shop there.

Other lenders for the expansion include the Cooperative Fund of the Northeast and the Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA).

Holly Morehouse, vice president for Grants & Community Impact at the Vermont Community Foundation, said supporting the Co-Op expansion makes sense especially in the current era of recurring flooding across Vermont.

“I am thrilled to see this project moving forward, especially at this time. Flooding, climate changes, and economic challenges these past two years have shown Vermonters that we are going to need different models for delivering services and supporting our rural communities,” Morehouse said. “This next step for the Plainfield Co-Op is a powerful and tangible example of what it looks like for people to come together—local residents, Co-Op members, partners, and supporters, to imagine differently and to create new opportunities for growth and collaboration around this important retail hub and connection point for the community.”

The mission investing program at the Vermont Community Foundation was created 20 years ago to generate financial returns and social, environmental, and economic benefits for Vermont. The program works alongside grantmaking to support investments in affordable housing, environmentally sustainable businesses, and other projects that benefit communities. When charitable individuals and businesses open a giving account at the Foundation, a portion of every fund supports the mission investment pool.

“By combining grant making and investing we can contribute to the best outcomes for Vermont communities,” said Lawrence Miller, senior advisor for mission investments at the Vermont Community Foundation.

The mission investment criteria at the Foundation includes support for “anchor institutions” that are integral to a healthy community. A thriving community needs things like a school, a post office, a place to get health care, and a place to buy food, Miller explained. “The Plainfield Co-Op is now better positioned to grow, thrive, and be an important anchor business thanks in part to support from the mission investment pool at the Community Foundation.”

To speak with a philanthropic advisor at the Vermont Community Foundation about mission investing and making the most of your charitable giving, visit vermontcf.org or call 802-388-3355 opt. 5.