2025 Vermont Nonprofit Summit Recap

The second annual Vermont Nonprofit Summit was held Nov. 4, attracting over 400 members of Vermont’s nonprofit community. The event’s theme, “Meeting the Moment: Together We Rise,” captured the sector’s commitment to addressing complex challenges through collaboration, resilience, and collective action.

Morning plenary speakers spoke to this theme, offering words of encouragement, hope, and action:

Jesse Bridges, CEO at United Way of Northwest Vermont: Our future is bright because we clearly have a culture that puts community above profit and neighbor over self. I believe gathering today is not about pinpointing individual challenges or identifying problems our community faces, but rather about learning, celebrating, and cultivating solutions that have proven effective within our community.

Mike Pieciak, Vermont State Treasurer: And as your treasurer, I can tell you that investing in Vermont’s nonprofits is not charity. It is strategy. It’s how we strengthen our workforce. It’s how we strengthen our communities. And it’s how we build the shared future together.

Jessie Schmidt, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Vermont Community Foundation: We’re meeting this moment not by going at it alone, but by choosing again and again to move forward together.

The Summit featured Tom Bodett as the keynote speaker, a lifelong carpenter and woodworker known for his broadcasting career on NPR’s “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” and as co-founder of HatchSpace, a nonprofit woodworking space in Brattleboro.

He encouraged nonprofits not just to “meet the moment”, but to “own it’ – a sentiment that was quoted throughout the day.

Tom Bodett, Co-Founder and Board President at HatchSpace: We can’t be hopeless if there’s still hope to give. At this moment, I don’t know exactly how we’re going to rise up together and own this moment, but I know we will because we have to. In Vermont, we are the best place, most well-organized, and qualified group of people to do it.

Following remarks from Lieutenant Governor John Rodgers, the lunch panel, “Beyond the Ladder: Rethinking Career Growth,” offered a fresh perspective on professional development in the nonprofit sector, challenging traditional notions of advancement by exploring how organizations can support meaningful career paths that extend beyond titles and upward mobility.

The panel was moderated by Sharon Lifschutz of Lund and featured nonprofit practitioners Dillon Boisvert of United Way of Northwest Vermont, Tara Chase of Springfield Supported Housing Program, and Jessie Warren of Elevate Youth Services.

The full-day event was designed to provide both education and networking. Attendees had access to:

Breakout workshops covering diverse topics including fundraising, governance, AI integration, trauma-informed leadership, financial management, diversity and inclusion, and advocacy
An all-day BIPOC Affinity Space hosted by Vermont Professionals of Color
Interactive panel discussions and skill-building workshops
Networking opportunities with exhibitors showcasing tools and services for nonprofits
Virtual participation options for select sessions, including the keynote and lunch panel
An Instant Headshot Lounge provided by StoryWorkz

Martin Hahn, Director of Common Good Vermont, described the summit as “more than a conference—it’s a call to action,” noting that “Vermont’s nonprofit sector is rising to meet complex challenges with creativity, resilience, and heart.” The summit served as a platform for Common Good Vermont, the only statewide program dedicated to uniting, strengthening, and advocating for Vermont’s nonprofit sector, to provide critical resources, foster collaboration, and amplify nonprofit voices across the state. This gathering reinforced that Vermont’s nonprofits are essential community anchors, working together to address the state’s most pressing challenges while supporting the wellbeing of their workforce and the communities they serve.

Event Resources & Recordings:   

Recordings of the morning plenary and lunch speakers can be found here. 
Preview photos from the day here.

Save the Date!

The 2026 Vermont Nonprofit Summit will be held on November 10th, 2026. We hope to see you there!

Interested in sponsoring, presenting at, or attending the 2026 Summit? Sign up below to be notified when opportunities are announced and registration opens: