Vermont Secretary of State Announces Upcoming Release of Vermont’s First Civic Health Index, Community Conversations Scheduled

January 07 2025

Montpelier, VT – Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas announced the upcoming release of Vermont’s first ever Civic Health Index, a report measuring how civically engaged Vermonters are across the state and in relation to the rest of the country. The report is due to be published on January 15.

“Our society, and our democracy, relies on strong communities and engaged citizens,” said Secretary Copeland Hanzas. “We need to be able to come together to solve problems that we can’t solve by ourselves. Supporting Vermont’s civic health is a core mission of my office, and this report gives us a crucial foundation to build from – showing what’s going well, and what needs improvement.”

The report was created in partnership with the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC), UVM’s Center for Rural Studies, SerVermont, Up For Learning, and Vermont Humanities. The NCoC defines civic health as “the way that communities are organized to define and address public problems,” and the report breaks this concept into six domains: Volunteerism and Donating, Political Engagement, Community and Social Context, Cultural Access and Engagement, Media Trust and Access, and Government Trust and Access. Compared nationally, Vermont ranks highly in several areas, with high rates of attending public meetings, volunteering, and collaborating with neighbors. The report identifies remaining gaps and challenges and presents ideas for next steps to continue strengthening Vermont’s civic health.

Organizations and individuals engaged in a range of civic activities across Vermont provided feedback and helped contextualize the data about Vermonters’ civic behavior and mindsets. In addition, the Secretary of State’s office administered the YMCA and Knight Impact Youth Civic Health survey, receiving over 2,500 responses from students in grades 7-12 across the state.

“We are really proud to be the first state to utilize the youth survey results statewide,” explained Director of Civic and Voter Engagement Robyn Palmer. “We felt that it was crucial to bring youth voices to the forefront. Young Vermonters are essential to the future of Vermont’s civic health, and they’re also one of the most engaged demographics right here and now.”

“This is really just the start of our effort,” said Secretary Copeland Hanzas. “This gives us a framework to talk about what we need to keep doing, and what we need to start doing. That’s a discussion we need to have throughout the state, so we’re going to be kicking off a series of community conversations starting this month.”

The community conversations, moderated by Secretary Copeland Hanzas, will be an opportunity to learn more about the report, offer feedback, and help prioritize next steps. The events currently planned are:

• Brattleboro – Brooks Memorial Library – January 15
• South Burlington – South Burlington Public Library – January 23
• St. Johnsbury – St. Johnsbury Athenaeum – February 5
• Barre – Aldrich Public Library – February 13
• Rutland – Rutland Free Library – February 26
• (All events are scheduled for 5:30 – 7:30pm)

The events are open to the public, and anyone can register to attend at this link.

The Secretary of State’s Office is planning to host more events in other parts of the state in the spring, and a virtual only session is also currently scheduled:

Virtual – (Hosted by the Vermont Council on Rural Development) – January 22, 10:00-11:30am

Link to register here.

All the sessions will be recorded and publicly available on the Secretary of State's website.