Category Archives: Vermont
Thanks for Helping our Spring Flowers Bloom!
Thanks to thousands of Front Porch Forum members… We made it! So many folks generously chipped in to reach FPF’s spring Supporting Member Campaign goal. These dollars will fund FPF operations in the months ahead.
If you meant to donate to FPF and haven’t yet had a chance, there’s still time. Please give today!
FPF is a Vermont Public Benefit Corporation and not a nonprofit. Contributions are not tax deductible.
Help FPF Raise $175,000 by May 4, 2022
Is FPF useful to you? To your community? More and more Vermonters sign up, read and post every day. If you’re among them, please help us continue to provide our essential civic service to every town in the state.
We need to raise $175,000 statewide from our members by this Wednesday, May 4, 2022, to meet our spring budget goal. Please donate today.
If you are in the position to donate, please do. We’re eager to keep FPF going strong. We need your help to get there.
Please give today and help the spring flowers bloom! https://frontporchforum.com/supporting-members
Thank you,
Front Porch Forum’s 24 employees
FPF is a Vermont Public Benefit Corporation and not a nonprofit. Contributions are not tax deductible. Ad sales to local businesses cover most of our expenses, and your Supporting Member contribution helps close the gap.
While we prefer online donations by credit card or PayPal, we also accept payment by check, with gratitude, at: Front Porch Forum, PO Box 73, Westford, VT 05494-0073
Keep Your Local Forum Going Strong – Donate Today!
Front Porch Forum’s annual spring Supporting Member Campaign starts today! If you are able, please support FPF by donating now by credit card, PayPal or check: https://frontporchforum.com/supporting-members
FPF helps neighbors stay informed and connected locally. In the face of our world’s growing challenges, building community among neighbors is critical. FPF is serving more people than ever before… for every 1,000 households in Vermont, 750 people actively participate on their local Forum.
If you value FPF, please support our work by participating and — if you are able — by donating today.
Thank you.
FPF is a Vermont Public Benefit Corporation and not a nonprofit. Contributions are not tax deductible. Ad sales to local businesses cover most of our expenses, and your Supporting Member contribution helps close the gap.
FPF’s 2021 Public Benefit Report
Front Porch Forum is a Vermont public benefit corporation. To that end, our social mission (aka public benefit) is front and center in all our work.
Each year, per state law, we publish a report about our progress in helping neighbors connect and build community in our territory.
Take a look on our About Us page or find the report right here. Feedback is always welcome.
An Evening of Courageous Conversations
On November 18, FPF participated in a virtual event celebrating Vermonters taking One Small Step. VPR and StoryCorps have spent the last several months connecting residents with different views who might never talk otherwise for a simple, personal conversation. Hear voices from the project followed by an interactive conversation with participants and experts, including Front Porch Forum’s co-founder Michael Wood-Lewis. Learn about the project’s intentions and how to incorporate “courageous conversations” into our daily lives. Listen to the show here.
Front Porch Forum and Braver Angels joined the panel to share how we help facilitate these conversations, build community and provide the tools to do have these conversations.
Healthy Social Media? Experts Weigh In
Vermont’s own example of “Small Tech,” Front Porch Forum, drew several mentions this past week as the antithesis of Facebook and other destructive Big Tech.
Michelle Goldberg stated in the New York Times:
“Deb Roy, director of the M.I.T. Center for Constructive Communication and former chief media scientist at Twitter,… believes that the potential for a healthy social media exists — he points to Front Porch Forum, the heavily moderated, highly localized platform for people who live in Vermont. But it’s notable that his best example is something so small, quirky and relatively low-tech. Sure, there are ways of communicating over the internet that don’t promote animosity, but probably not with the platforms that are now dominant.“
While Jason Kelley and Danny O’Brien at the Electronic Frontier Foundation shared…
“[FPF] users say that while most of the internet ‘is like a fire hose of information and communication, Front Porch Forum is like slow drip irrigation.’ While many of the most popular social networks need to scale to perform for investors, which relies on moving fast and breaking things, Front Porch Forum could be described as a site for moving slowly and fixing things.”
And civic tech expert Micah Sifry said in his SubStack newsletter The Connector…
“Ian Bogost makes a good argument in The Atlantic for legislators or regulators setting speed and volume limits on sites like Facebook. Getting the tuning right won’t be simple, but in the same way that we’ve come up with safety rules for all kinds of products, we need them for social media. I’d start by looking at what has worked for a platform like Front Porch Forum, and try limiting the size of people’s ‘friend’ lists and the speed of comments.”
Thanks for Filling Our Leaf Bag!
Thanks to thousands of Front Porch Forum members… we made it! So many folks generously chipped in to reach FPF’s fall Supporting Member Campaign goal. These dollars will fund FPF operations in the months ahead.
If you meant to donate to FPF and haven’t yet had a chance, there’s still time. Please give today!
FPF is a Vermont Public Benefit Corporation and not a charity. Contributions are not tax deductible.
Help FPF Raise $200,000 by Oct 28, 2021
Have you found Front Porch Forum useful during the pandemic? More and more Vermonters have as they continue to sign up, read and post every day. If you’re among them, please help us continue to work on our community-building mission and provide our essential civic service to every town in the state.
We need to raise $200,000 statewide from our members by this Thursday, October 28, to meet our fall budget goal. Please donate today.
If you are in the position to donate to FPF now, please do. We’re eager to keep FPF going strong. We need your help to get there.
Please give today and help us fill the leaf bag: https://frontporchforum.com/supporting-members
Thank you,
Front Porch Forum’s 24 employees
FPF is a Vermont Public Benefit Corporation and not a charity. Contributions are not tax deductible. Ad sales to local businesses cover most of our expenses, and your Supporting Member contribution helps close the gap.
While we prefer online donations by credit card or PayPal, we also accept payment by check, with gratitude, at:
Front Porch Forum
PO Box 73
Westford, VT 05494-0073
Do You Value FPF? Please Donate Today
Today we are launching Front Porch Forum’s annual fall Supporting Member Campaign. If you are able, please support FPF by donating now by credit card, PayPal or check: https://frontporchforum.com/supporting-members
With the pandemic and other challenges, more people are using FPF than ever before to stay informed and to reach out to neighbors. Our workload continues to increase, and our costs and staff have grown accordingly.
We know that many of our members are not in a position financially to make a contribution this year. Regardless, please DO keep using your local FPF. Your engagement makes a big difference — it’s more important than ever to build community among neighbors.
If you value FPF, please support our work by participating and by donating today.
Thank you.
FPF is a Vermont Public Benefit Corporation and not a charity. Contributions are not tax deductible. Ad sales to local businesses cover most of our expenses, and your Supporting Member contribution helps close the gap.
Introducing the FPF Directory
Finding great local businesses just got easier with the FPF Directory.
The Directory is a collection of more than 10,000 Vermont businesses and nonprofits that participate in Front Porch Forum. Browse the 245+ categories to find local businesses and organizations that meet your needs:
Find featured listings at the top of the Directory page:
Scroll down to check out new listings in your area:
A slider at the top of the page allows you to search for the local businesses closest to your community, or to search across the entire state:
You can also “favorite” businesses to add them to your personal “My Favorites” list:
Have a look at the FPF Directory today, and start building a list of your favorite local businesses!
About Blog
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more
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