VITAL COMMUNITIES
Membership
Tangible benefits of membership include:
- Our Welcome Kit, with posters, stickers, and more!
- Regular news and event updates
- FREE listings in our online member directory — a fun, frequented source for locally owned and independent businesses, artists, nonprofits, and farms
- Opportunity to profile your business or organization’s commitment to community and environment
- Member decals, to identify your business as locally owned
- Use of the Local First Alliance name, logo, and messaging in your business or organization marketing
- Collective marketing opportunities with television, radio, print, and online outreach for Alliance membership
- Free or reduced price admission to networking and educational events
Plus, new member benefits and opportunities are added every day! What’s your idea for a better community? We’d love to hear. Contact us today to discuss ideas for new resources or services to make it easier to think local first.
Membership Criteria
Local First Alliance business membership shall be open to businesses and organizations in the 69-town service area of Vital Communities that meet the following criteria:
For Businesses:
- Registered in the state of New Hampshire or Vermont, with no corporate or national headquarters outside the respective state
- All marketing, rent, and other business expenses paid without the assistance from, or payment to a corporate headquarters
- Able to make independent decisions regarding name and appearance, as well as all purchasing, supply and distribution practices
- The owner is (or majority of owners) a local resident who lives within Vermont and New Hampshire for more than half the year?
- If the business has multiple outlets/branches, the majority shall be located in New Hampshire and Vermont
- Locally owned franchises are eligible if franchisee has exercised independent decisions regarding name and appearance of business.
For Nonprofit Organizations:
- Interested in and able to buy materials, products and services from other locally owned businesses in the area or broader region?
- Incorporated or fiscally sponsored in the state of New Hampshire or Vermont?
- Leadership (advisory body, board, staff) has autonomous authority over all operational decisions?
- At least 50% of leadership (advisory body, board, staff) lives within Local First Alliance’s 69-town service area?
Local First Alliance Members
Member Spotlight: Lyme Green Heat
When Lyme native Morton Bailey started his business, Lyme Green Heat he was just a guy in a truck delivering bagged wood heating pellets to residen [...]
January BOM: Trail Break taps + tacos
We are excited to be celebrating the hot, new eatery in White River Junction
as Local First Alliance
Business of the Month in January!
Visit Tr [...]
BOM Spotlight: West Lebanon Feed & Supply
We are excited to be celebrating Local First Alliance Green Circle Sponsor West Lebanon Feed & Supply (WLFS) as the November Business of the Month [...]
Co-op Food Stores: Nourish. Cultivate. Cooperate.
Since 1936 The Co-op Food Stores has been nourishing our community through their stores, educational activities, and community support. The co-op is [...]
King Arthur Flour is the BOM!
Introducing a new way to celebrate our wonderful, community-building, locally owned businesses:
Local First Alliance Business of the Month (BOM)!
T [...]
Hats for Whatever Shape Your Head is In
The Fat Hat corner in Quechee is a land mark most Upper Valley residents know. The funky old car, the lawn art, and now featuring Chef Brad's Crazy S [...]
Local First Alliance Lunch & Learn Series
Local First Alliance Member Professional Development & Networking Opportunity
Lunch & Learn Series -
Bring or buy a lunch and learn from [...]
Member Spotlight – Jake’s Market & Deli and Jake’s Coffee Company
Member Spotlight- Jake's Market & Deli and Jake's Coffee Company
As you travel around the Upper Valley it is likely that you have filled your b [...]
Welcome Fall with Local First Members
It's autumn in the Upper Valley once again, and Local First Alliance members King Arthur Flour and the Co-op Food Stores make it easy to welcome the [...]
Heat Local First: Lyme Green Heat
When Lyme native Morton Bailey started his business, Lyme Green Heat—a new member of Local First Alliance this year—he was just a guy in a truck [...]
Our program is underwritten by these community partners
Vital Communities Program News
Protecting our Waterways
We in the Upper Valley owe a lot to our wondrous waterways. Our rivers, brooks, ponds, lakes, wetlands, and marshes provide us with inspiration, adventure, and solace, not to mention drinking water and electricity! They ...more
Super Quest 2018 Aquatic Adventure: The Quests
The 2018 Super Quest is live! Dubbed the Aquatic Adventure, this Valley Quest challenge is a tour de force of summer fun: register your team today for this free guided exploration of Upper Valley swimming ...more
Zero Waste for the Win!
We had an amazing Flavors of the Valley, our annual local food tasting expo, with a record-breaking 1,200 attendees! From savory to sweet, the flavors were out of this world and all of them oh ...more
Get Stoked on Automated Wood Heat!
Boiler on its last legs? Looking to opt out of fossil fuels? Come learn about today's self-stoking automated wood heat! Opt out of oil with delivery of local wood pellets and whole home wood heating ...more
Join Us April 8 for Flavors of the Valley!
Meet, eat, and buy at Flavors of the Valley, the Upper Valley's local food tasting expo. Buy advance discount tickets, see a vendor list, and join us on April 8 at the Hartford High School gym from 11 am-3 pm. Follow the ...more
Valley Food & Farm is Hiring!
Do you love food, farmers' markets and fun? The Valley Food & Farm team is looking for a seasonal project coordinator. View the job description here or call Beth at (802)291-9100 with ...more
Yes, we sing about Flavors
Confession: we sing a little tune about Flavors of the Valley, around the office, in meetings, while photocopying.... Click here and watch with sound if you dare- the big reveal is at the end. Treat your ears today and ...more
Remembering Shawn Donovan
With great sadness we announce that Lebanon resident Shawn M. Donovan, one of the co-founders of the Upper Valley Transportation Management Association (UVTMA), passed away on February 19 at age 70 – see the obituary ...more
Let’s get together to make something good happen
Re-making our transportation system will shift us toward better, cleaner, and more equitable living. Imagine useful, affordable, and accessible village centers and downtowns with a variety of services, housing, and jobs. Where many people of ...more
Trail Break taps + tacos is the BOM!
Celebrate the hot, new eatery in White River Junction as Local First Alliance Business of the Month in January! Visit Trail Break taps + tacos January 11-25, give them a high five for being the BOM, and get a free chips ...more
Weatherize Events in January
Weatherize Round Two kicks off this month across the Upper Valley region. What is Weatherize? Vital Communities partners community volunteer teams with local contractors to help Weatherize participants complete cost-effective home energy improvements. These upgrades save residents money on ...more
Watershed Challenge Submissions Are In!
This summer, Vital Communities launched a special Valley Quest initiative known as the Watershed Quest Challenge. Through this fun, educational contest, we challenged individuals and teams (including school classes) to write a Valley Quest about any river, stream, pond, ...more
Green Real Estate Network Kick Off
Working together to empower home buyers and sellers throughout the Upper Valley to understand home energy costs and invest in energy efficiency. Over 50 real estate professionals from across the Upper Valley will gather on January ...more
Need Transportation in the Upper Valley?
This fall, Vital Communities' Transportation Program collaborated with Go! Vermont to develop a one-page guide to transportation in the Upper Valley, with a focus on the Vermont side. This new resource allows you to see what transportation options you ...more
Your Bus in Real-Time.
Not sure when and where to catch Advance Transit or if the bus is on time? Download the Advance Transit Real Time App or check the Where’s My Bus? function on AdvanceTransit.com. It Works! Read our blog ...more
30 Local Leaders Graduate from Leadership Upper Valley
Vital Communities celebrated its Leadership Upper Valley Class of 2017 on June 14, in a commencement ceremony at Harpoon Brewery. Thirty of the region’s emerging local leaders graduated from the 10-month professional and personal development ...more
Closing Remarks for Heroes & Leaders from Markell Ripps
Thank you all for joining us to celebrate the young leaders who are being honored tonight, and thank you to Vital Communities for recognizing their important contributions to our community. It is so important to ...more
Meet the 2017 Heroes & Leaders Honorees
Merritt Patridge Merritt Patridge joined the Tuck School of Business in 2015, where she serves as Executive Director of the Center for Business, Government & Society. Prior to Tuck, Merritt worked at The Dartmouth Center ...more