2005 – 2007

CVTC got its start in Peterborough, NH as Transportation for Everyone (TFE), an inclusive, grassroots effort to address transportation barriers. TFE was part of the Under One Roof Project, a 5-year grant funded program with the mission to promote the full participation of people who have disabilities and their families in the life of the community. 

TFE focused on developing local capacity to address the public awareness gap regarding transportation access, to assess local resources and to build local solutions. This project ultimately gave birth to Contoocook Valley Transportation Company (CVTC).

In the meantime, the State Coordinating Council for Community Transportation (SCC) in conjunction with NHDOT, and through the state’s Regional Planning Commissions, began organizing Regional Coordinating Councils for Community Transportation (RCC’s). CVTC along with other Monadnock Region transportation providers and community organizations developed the foundation for the current Monadnock RCC.  

2008 – 2009  

CVTC incorporators voted to no longer affiliate with UORP. Rebecca Harris, Program Manager of TFE, became CVTC’s first Executive Director and new Board of Directors was formed. After exploring the possibility of being housed within other larger human service agencies, CVTC received its non-profit status, as a stand-alone entity in November 2008.

Harris and Board began community-building efforts for the Volunteer Driver Program (VDP) in a 13-town service area, including Antrim, Bennington, Francestown, Greenfield, Greenville, Hancock, New Ipswich, Peterborough, Sharon, and Temple in Hillsborough County and Dublin, Jaffrey, and Rindge in Cheshire County.

At that time, CVTC shared the road with two community transportation programs based in Keene, NH—Northwest Chapter of the American Red Cross Volunteer Medical Transportation and Home Healthcare, Hospice, and Community Services Friendly Bus—as well as weekly Medical Transportation to Vermont-based Veterans Administration Hospital and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in West Lebanon, NH. 

In 2009, CVTC launched the CVTC website and TripList, a proprietary trip management program developed by a local business Consensus Technology. TripList was utilized primarily by one part-time Transportation Coordinator to register riders and their ride requests, and capture driver miles and donated time. Monthly mileage logs for each driver were generated for mileage reimbursement. To this day, TripList is key in providing data used in marketing, fundraising, and strategic planning. 

At the end of the first year of service there were 289 trips taken by 62 riders, and 39 Volunteer Drivers logged in 10,119 miles and donated 468 volunteer hours.

2010 – 2012 

Beside the VDP, Monadnock Rideshare was created as an online regional Rideboard that was available to anyone traveling through or within the Monadnock Region. The goal was to facilitate in creating a carpooling community as another transportation option in the region. It was also billed as an environmentally friendly program that would reduce fuel consumption, decrease the number of cars on the road, and reduce pollution and green-house gases. To sustain the program, a full-time Program Manager met with regional employers who would pay an annual fee for CVTC to create a carpooling program by coming on site to encourage employee participation. In 2013, NHDOT, the primary funding source, announced it would no longer be funding regional Rideshare programs. 

In 2013, Harris stepped down as Executive Director and Ellen Avery was voted in as the new Executive Director. The VDP continued to grow, with an increasing pool of drivers, and people served.

In 2012, CVTC served 106 individuals took 2,590 trips, and 34 Volunteer Drives logged in 71,397 miles and donated 3,591 volunteer hours.

2013 – 2014 

A new professional leadership era began with significant cuts in program and administrative support ($150,000) to CVTC’s Operating Budget through NHDOT for upcoming FY 13-14. Strategic Restructuring became the primary focus of the Board of Directors. 

The Board revisited earlier conversations about merging with a larger human service organization. Visits took place with The River Center, Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services, Southwestern Community Services, and American Red Cross (ARC).  

While “merging” conversations were happening, the idea of CVTC expanding services was also considered. Serious discussion with NH American Red Cross began around the idea that CVTC would absorb the Medical Transportation Program serving Cheshire County by 2017.

2015 – 2016 

Facilitated monthly meetings of the Planning Team made up of CVTC and ARC Staff and Board Members. We hired Empower Service Corp to facilitate. The NH Charitable Foundation funded this effort. In April ’15, the CVTC Board of Directors voted to expand our service area to cover a total of 33 towns, 23 in Cheshire County and the original 10 Hillsborough County. 

The announcement was released in October ’15 and by July 1, 2016, CVTC was fully operational. 33 Red Cross Drivers signed up to drive for CVTC and increased the pool of drivers to over 60. We added another Transportation Coordinator and both worked part-time for a total of 40 hours of coverage each week. 

The name was changed to Community Volunteer Transportation Company, to be more reflective of our role in each community through our volunteers. Keeping our acronym was a plus.

In 2016, CVTC served 303 individuals who took 3,853 trips, and 79 Volunteer Drivers logged in 85,558 miles and donated 4,641 volunteer hours.

2017 – 2019 

A Strategic Planning process that would involve the entire Board of Directors over the course of January through April ’18, meeting every three weeks. The 2019-2021 Strategic Plan was adopted at the August ’18 Board meeting. This plan brought an entire new focus to the Board of Directors that deepened the organization’s foundation and created a structure for success. 

Four Standing Committees of the Board, Workforce, Governance/Leadership, Advancement, and Financial Stability were incorporated into CVTC’s by-laws. 

In the spring of 2017, CVTC received recognition from NH Center for Nonprofits (NHCNP) and Volunteer NH (VNH). The Healthy Community Impact Award was given out for the first time by NHCNP. In October, we received the Outstanding Volunteer Service Award by VNH. 

In 2018, CVTC Executive Director, Ellen Avery was appointed by NH Governor Sununu to serve on the SCC. In 2020, the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce presented CVTC with their Nonprofit of the Year Award.

As a member of the regional Public Health Advisory Board, Leadership Council for a Health Monadnock (LCHM), CVTC joined the Health Access Workgroup, a priority area in the region’s Community Health Improvement Plan. CVTC added the Town of Mason (Hillsborough County) to our service area, to bring the total up to 34 towns.

In 2019, we served 309 individuals took 4,383 trips, and 85 Volunteer Drivers logged in 97,201 miles and donated 5,195 volunteer hours.

2020 – 2022 

March 16, 2020 was the day NH went into “shelter at home” in response to the COVID-19 virus. Here at CVTC, staff made adjustments to working all or partially from home. 

Proudly, CVTC operations NEVER closed down, solely the result of gracious and courageous Volunteer Drivers that kept driving. They masked up and disinfected their cars for each rider. Food shopping became our number one ride destination; as most Medical appointments had been cancelled. When vaccines were made available, we extended our days of service to include Saturdays and Sundays to maximize the number of riders getting inoculated.

In 2021, the Board of Directors updated the Strategic Plan for 2022-2024.  

In 2021, CVTC served 289 people took 3,984 trips, and 60 Volunteer Drivers logged in 91,287 miles and donated 4,452 volunteer hours.