This commentary is by Abby Long, the executive director of the Northeast Kingdom Collaborative. I love the Northeast Kingdom. Not just because we’re surrounded by stunning working landscapes, world-class outdoor recreation, vibrant arts and some of the best local food and drink. I love it b ecause it’s home. It’s the community my family chose, and like so many, I want it to thrive. The very qualities that make the Northeast Kingdom, the NEK, such a remarkable place are due in part to the region’s rural nature. Yet that rural character brings unique economic and social challenges. Our region is geographically isolated, and we continue to experience population decline and deep poverty. So much so that the federal government has designated the NEK a Rural Economic Area Partnership zone, one of only five in the nation, to stimulate citizen-led rural revitalization and secure additional, priority federal funds for economic and community development. As the nonprofit holding the REAP zone agreement with U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, the Northeast Kingdom Collaborative serves as the region’s neutral convener, ensuring that investments reflect regionally defined priorities. But our role extends far beyond that agreement. Every day, we bring together community members, leaders, municipalities, businesses, nonprofits, educators, providers, state agencies and economic development organizations to better understand what our region needs most. The Northeast Kingdom Collaborative’s role is not to replace the incredible work already happening across the region, but to connect it, celebrate it and strengthen it. We help organizations find common ground, align around shared priorities and invest limited resources strategically rather than twice over. That work is especially important in a rural region like ours, where organizations often wear many hats and stretch every dollar. Collaboration isn’t just a nice idea; it’s how we make progress.  Over the past year, we’ve seen collaboration in action. Through the annual NEK Together Conference, regional leaders come together to identify shared priorities and begin building coordinated action plans around the issues that matter most. We’re looking forward to hosting this year’s convening at Essex County’s Island Pond on Nov. 4; registration is now open. These priorities are communicated to USDA Rural Development and taken to Montpelier for NEK Day at the Statehouse, where leaders engage directly with policymakers. We also launched sector convenings, such as the Housing Hubbub, that bring together everyone with a hand in housing to tackle one of our greatest barriers to growth. Housing is too complex for any single organization to solve. That approach paid off when the Northeast Kingdom Collaborative joined forces with the Vermont State Housing Authority, in partnership with the state of Vermont, to bring awareness to the Mobile Home Infill Program, address housing affordability and development challenges exacerbated by recent flooding and build up to 40 new homes in the NEK. Through this program, participating mobile home park owners and manufactured home communities are improving lots and fast-tracking the placement of new affordable homes. We hosted an NEK housing tour to view homes and learn about eligibility, the homebuying process, down payment assistance, reduced mortgage rates and closing cost discounts. Behind the scenes, the NEK collaborative works to ensure the region’s priorities are reflected in regional and statewide planning efforts. For example, we helped shape northern Vermont’s comprehensive economic development strategy for the U.S. Economic Development Administration, necessary for further federal resources, and advocated successfully alongside USDA Rural Development and Vermont’s congressional delegation for the release of delayed REAP zone funding, which brings more than $1 million in federal funds into the region annually. READ MORE Aug. 17 is National Nonprofit Day, an opportunity to recognize that nonprofits are far more than charitable organizations. They are community builders, problem solvers, employers, advocates, educators and trusted partners. They respond to immediate needs while also planning for the future.  Here in the Northeast Kingdom, nonprofits are not only supporting collaboration but strengthening our working lands; encouraging entrepreneurs; creating housing opportunities; expanding access to healthcare; uplifting our arts, culture and recreation; and responding when disasters strike. Time and again, they are among the first to step forward and the last to leave. As we celebrate National Nonprofit Day, I hope we recognize not only the organizations serving our communities, but also the staff, volunteers, board members, partners and neighbors whose dedication makes this work possible. The challenges facing rural Vermont are too great for any one organization or person to solve alone. But together we are building a more resilient and vibrant Northeast Kingdom. Read the story on VTDigger here: Nonprofits are more than charities in the Northeast Kingdom. ...read more read less