About Us

Contact Us

Front Porch Forum, Inc.
P.O. Box 64781
Burlington, VT 05406-4781
(802) 540-0069
contact at frontporchforum.com
http://frontporchforum.com

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Front Porch Forum hosts networks of online neighborhood forums that blanket metro areas. In our initial pilot, we cover all 19 towns of Chittenden County, Vermont with 130 forums and 16,000 households subscribe, including more than 40% of Burlington, Vermont's largest city.

In 2009, we expanded our service to Starksboro, VT, as well as the five towns of Grand Isle County, VT, with more locations on the way.

Our mission is to help neighbors connect and foster community within the neighborhood. Common sense and a growing body of research tell us that well-connected neighborhoods are friendlier places to live, with less crime, healthier residents, higher property values, and better service from local government and public utilities.

Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis launched the Five Sisters Neighborhood Forum in the spring of 2000 in hopes of learning more about their corner of Burlington, Vermont and the people who live there. Six years later, the original forum's incredible success led the couple to launch Front Porch Forum to help others invigorate their neighborhoods too.

Loads of wonderful stories tumble out of the many neighborhood forums hosted by Front Porch Forum. Members testify, the media reports, and we investigate several ourselves. All of this great community-building is attracting local awards and national recognition.

Members and others contribute to this effort financially, and local businesses and other entities sponsor many of our neighborhood forums.


Special Thanks

Front Porch Forum is grateful for the hard work and dedication of the people who help make it happen, including:

Web Development & Support: Justin Henry
jdhenry.com

Technical Advisor: Jan Schultz

Initial Web Design & Development
Rob Maurizi

Web Hosting & Server Administration: Corey Gilmore & John Peach
J.P.Peach & Associates

Some of the photographs used around the site
Carolyn L. Bates Photography

Those lovely little icons that appear in places throughout the site: Mark James
FamFamFam

Front Porch Forum is indebted to three organizations that have recognized our work with national innovation awards, including cash grants. Thanks to the Case Foundation, the Orton Family Foundation, and the Rural Telecom Congress.

Special appreciation to our expansion sponsors in Starksboro (Orton Family Foundation) and in Grand Isle County (Comcast, Lake Champlain Islands Chamber, and 16 local businesses).

Financial contributions from members are greatly appreciated, and we are very grateful to the neighborhood forum sponsors (local businesses). Thanks too to many advisors, and, especially, our great Five Sisters neighbors. And none of this could happen without the growing number of good folks who have joined their own neighborhood forum and started posting messages and building community with their neighbors. Our Neighborhood Volunteers deserve extra recognition too, for their recruitment efforts and for keeping the conversations flowing. Thanks all!