Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB)

Since 1987, VHCB investments to conserve Vermont's farmland, natural areas, town parks and state forests have helped maintain Vermont's working landscape while housing investments have been concentrated in town and village centers. The purchase of conservation easements on agricultural land has provided farmers with capital to expand, diversify and/or retire, and has facilitated the transfer of farms from one generation to the next. VHCB is an independent state funding agency that uses revenue from the property transfer tax to make loans and grants to non-profit organizations, towns, municipalities and state agencies. Investments of more than $274 million have assisted with the development of 11,300 permanently affordable homes and the conservation of nearly 150,000 acres of agricultural land on 637 farms, 255,000 acres of recreational land and natural areas and 59 historic properties for community use. VHCB's Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program provides business planning and technical assistance to farmers, food producers, and forestry related enterprises. VHCB also administers federal funds the Lead Paint Hazard Abatement Program; for Healthy Homes, a program that addresses unsafe and unhealthy housing conditions; for VHCB AmeriCorps, a program that places approximately 35 AmeriCorps members in service with Vermont's non-profit housing and conservation organizations; for the HOME program, that increases the affordability of rental housing; and for HOPWA, providing rental subsidies for persons living with HIV/AIDS.