Rally for Change

Anytime you check-out at City Market, you can choose to "round up" your total to the nearest dollar. At the end of the month, we donate 50% of those funds to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, 40% to an organization that aligns with our Global Ends, and 10% to a local non-profit.

In December, you collectively donated $22,424.99! 

  • $11,212.50 for the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf
  • $8,969.99 for the intervale Center
  • $2,242.50 for U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immimgrants 

January's 50% Partner: 

Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf

The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf is the largest direct service anti-hunger organization in Vermont. The Food Shelf provides critical nutrition assistance to more than 11,000 Chittenden County residents who struggle with food insecurity and hunger every year. Food Shelf programs provide groceries, hot meals, job training and support for thousands of our neighbors.

In December, the Food Shelf received $11,779.48 from Rally for Change. These funds will help provide more than 21,200 meals for our neighbors who are experiencing hunger or food insecurity. These contributions also help sustain programs including Community Kitchen Academy (CKA), a culinary job training program operated by the Food Shelf in partnership with the Vermont Foodbank. CKA helps Vermonters facing unemployment gain the skills they need to find jobs and gain economic stability for themselves and their families. The meals that are produced by students in this program also go to help our neighbors facing food insecurity!

January's 40% Partner:

Co-op Seedling Grants

Now in its fifth year, the Co-op Seedling Grants Program has previously been supported through the generosity of our Members in the form of uncashed Patronage Refund Checks. Now that the South End store is open, we anticipate the Co-op will experience several years of unprofitability, which is completely expected during times of expansion and is part of our plans. While we will not be issuing Patronage Refund checks during unprofitable years, we wanted to ensure the continuity of the Co-op Seedling Grants Program. For the next several years, the Co-op Seedling Grants Program will be funded through Rally for Change. The Grants Program will be the 40% Rally for Change partner for three separate months in FY 2018 and FY 2019 to fund this year's Seedling Grants Program.

When you choose to round up during the month of January, you are choosing to support local projects working to strengthen the food system through our Co-op Seedling Grants Program. Over the years, grant funding has been used to support the creation of farm to school programming at various locations, the construction of a fresh produce stand and mobile pantry trailer at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, trail extension and kitchen construction at the Intervale Center, a job training program at Salvation Farms, and many other worthy projects. Thank you for rounding up this month and helping us support the work of the many incredible organizations in our community!

January's 10% Partner:

Howard Center Street Outreach Program

Howard Center’s Street Outreach Program is a street-based, mobile mental health and social services outreach program in Burlington operating 7 days/week to connect individuals with needed services. The program helps individuals access the mental health and medical services they need to improve their health and well-being and connects people with social services to address underlying issues. Street Outreach also responds with Burlington Police to calls for social service needs.

Street Outreach has no eligibility requirements or disqualifiers and services are free. The team is able to respond throughout the community, meeting people “where they are.”

Street Outreach connects individuals to existing services. However, if needed services are unavailable and meeting the need is within the program’s capacity, Street Outreach will temporarily fill the gap, enabling the client to move forward.

Street Outreach also helps connect people to care by assisting merchants, police, other providers, family members, and friends of individuals in need who have questions about Howard Center services or services available through other local agencies.

Founded in 2000, Street Outreach serves hundreds of people every year and its effectiveness has inspired several other cities across the county to create similar programs. Street Outreach is partially supported with local, state, and federal dollars. Local donations help to fill the remaining funding gaps. Thank you to City Market for their support and thank you for rounding up at the register this month to support the team!

Howard Center helps 16,000 people in over 60 locations and four counties each year with mental health, substance abuse, and developmental services. Howard Center’s 24/7/365 mobile crisis service, First Call for Chittenden County is available to meet the needs of Chittenden County children, adults, and families in crisis at 802-488-7777. Howard Center is a funded agency of the United Way of Northwest Vermont. www.howardenter.org. Help is here.

About Rally for Change

In October 2014, City Market updated its program for collecting donations at the register! Previously, we selected a different non-profit each month and donated 5 cents for each bag our customers reused (our "Change for Local Non-Profits" program). Every register also included tear off coupons so customers could donate to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf. In addition, each year in February we sold $1 Hearts for the Intervale Center and in September $1 Lunch Trays for Hunger Free Vermont, with all donations going to each respective organization. We've consolidated all of these programs into our new "Rally for Change" program which allows customers to "round up" their order at each register, each time they check-out at the Co-op.

In the name of education, opportunity, and streamlining how we do things here at the Co-op, we created a Rally for Change program! This program allows customers to “round up” their payment at the register (e.g., a $25.42 checkout could be rounded up to $26 for a $0.58 donation). The Co-op will then donate this “round up” change to a variety of local non-profits each month (so, not just one!) that are doing amazing work in our community. Want to round up to the nearest five or ten dollars? You can do that too! Each month, we’ll share who will be receiving the donations (in our newsletter, with store signage and through staff education).

With more than 4,000 transactions each day through our registers, we all have the opportunity to share what we think of as “small change” to rally for bigger community-wide change. This new Rally program will take the place of the “tear off” coupons we have at the registers and will also take the place of our Change for Local Non-Profits (or bag refunds) program.

Not to worry, a large percentage of each month’s donation will go to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf and we anticipate that this program will actually increase their donations. Through this new program, we will also continue to offer donations to local non-profits that are on the waiting list for our previous "Change for Local Non-Profits" bag refund program (and any new ones that we add to the list!). Here’s how the donation percentages will work out each month:

  • 50% to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, every month

  • 40% to an organization that aligns with the Co-op’s Global Ends 

  • 10% to a local non-profit that may not directly align so closely with our Global Ends, but still works to make our community a better place (much like the Change for Local Non-Profits Program)

This new program gives our cashiers and staff an opportunity to engage with our customers and together we’ll both support and learn more about the organizations that make our community a better place to live. We’re excited to give it a try and are interested to hear what you think!

Past Recipients

Do you run a local non-profit that aligns with our Global Ends?

Your organization can apply to become a Rally for Change 10% Partner. We are currently filling slots 4 years out (it's a popular program and our community has many amazing non-profits!). Visit our donations page to learn how to apply.