WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A program manager at Vital Communities will serve as interim executive director while the nonprofit organization searches for its next permanent leader.
Since 2022, Ellen Hender has been employed at the White River Junction-based nonprofit organization that focuses on leadership, civic engagement, housing, transportation, food and climate change, according to a news release.
“Her promotion from within reflects the deep trust she has earned with staff and within the community through her relationship-centered approach to her work and her sound judgment,” Greg Norman, Vital Communities board chairman, said in the release.
Hender will begin her new role on April 11. She will succeed Sarah Jackson, who has led the organization since October 2020, and is heading to the Middle East where her husband, Robert Jackson, a historian and educator, is reconstructing a traditional Arab sailboat.
Hender has worked on housing, transportation, leadership and civic engagement programs at Vital Communities.
“I’m excited and honored to lead Vital Communities during this transition, ensuring that our partnerships and programs stay grounded in the values and relationships that define our work and support a thriving Upper Valley,” Hender said in the release.
Vital Communities has 14 employees and its annual budget is $1.7 million, according to the release.
In fiscal year 2024, 55% of its budget came from individual donors and foundations; 24% came from government sources; 11% came from area businesses and 9% came from program services and “other,” according to the nonprofit’s latest financial report.
The majority of its expenses, 66%, went toward programs; 23% went toward administration and 9% went toward fundraising.
In July 2025, the organization announced it had successfully raised $75,000 in matching funds to put toward closing a funding gap.
In the organization’s 990 form ending for fiscal year 2024, which nonprofit organizations are required to file annually with the Internal Revenue Service, Vital Communities had $1.9 million in revenue, $2.3 million in expenses and a net income of -$389,431, according to ProPublica’s database of nonprofit organizations.