VCLF Impact Investor Nicki Steel in her garden in southern Vermont. It was a warm summer day in cherry growing country of rural Michigan when Nicki Steel’s dad pulled the car over to the side of the road. She watched as he got out to help a family of migrant workers whose vehicle had stalled. When he couldn’t get their engine started, he offered the family some of the groceries they had just bought. Much to her disbelief, he even gave away the package of her favorite cookies. Nicki was mad and sulked in the backseat. But her dad explained that the migrant kids didn’t have enough to eat and that they were suffering. While she may not have understood at that moment, eventually Nicki realized the lesson her dad was teaching: when you have the means to help people, that’s what you do. Years later, living in southern Vermont as an educator and nature photographer, Nicki found a way to put that principle into practice by impact investing with the Vermont Community Loan Fund. However, Nicki’s connection to VCLF first started as a borrower, not an impact investor. In the late 1980s she worked with a group of like-minded community members to restore a historic property called the Round House in her town of Wilmington and convert it into affordable housing. But the economy wasn’t great and their unfavorable construction loan was too much for them to manage. Deemed too risky, they couldn’t get help from traditional banks, either. Fortunately, the newly formed VCLF could step in to help. The Round House in Wilmington, an affordable housing project financed by VCLF. “The Loan Fund saved the project,” Nicki recalls. “No bank was going to touch us.” VCLF was able to finance the construction at an affordable rate and terms that enabled the property to be successfully rehabilitated and converted into a duplex where two families continue to live today. A few years later, with a few thousand dollars in hand, Nicki wanted to give back to VCLF and thank them for the difference they made in her community.  “How do we pay them back for what they did for us?” she wondered. So, Nicki decided to make an impact investment.  “When I hear about the people getting loans, it feels like people I know,” Nicki says. “It’s like giving a neighbor a little bit of help. You’re raising someone up and hopefully they’ll pass it on.” She’s seen the difference her impact investments with VCLF make firsthand, such as when a local daycare center expanded and a farm stand she regularly shops at grew, and countless other projects across Vermont she’s read about in updates or visited herself.  “It feels really good that my investment goes back to the community,” Nicki explained. “And that I can still get a return on my money.” Unlike some of her other investments, what Nicki appreciates about impact investing with the Vermont Community Loan Fund is that her money supports local businesses, families, and individuals—not giant, distant corporations. She also values the hands-on support VCLF staff provides to borrowers as they’re seeking financing. “Many people don’t have extensive business experience and need that kind of support. It’s a huge benefit,” Nicki shared. “And it shows how special the Loan Fund is.” Wanting to deepen her impact, Nicki joined VCLF’s board of directors and served for eight years, helping ensure the organization continued to support communities across southern Vermont. Decades after that summer day in Michigan, Nicki is still living out her dad’s lesson—just in a different way. Her impact investments with VCLF allow her to help neighbors she may never meet, support projects that strengthen Vermont communities, and earn a financial return in the process. For Nicki, it’s simply the right thing to do. 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 March 18th at 12pm. 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. Read the story on VTDigger here: From cookies to community: one impact investor’s story. ...read more read less