Member Benefits
Members of VSFA have access to an array of benefits including:
- Regular engagement with fellow members
- Monthly Food for Thought e-newsletter
- VSFA profile to increase your visibility
- Events to expand your consumer base
- Associate membership in Vermont Retail & Grocers Association
- Business education specific to your industry
- Resources to help save $ on insurance, payroll, & retirement plans
Below you will find overviews on the VSFA Listserv, our exclusive group email discussion list, and the money-saving benefit programs offered through VRGA. Please note: a cancelation or non-renewal of membership will eliminate access to all benefits.
Reduce your insurance costs and increase your coverage, only as a VSFA member! MMG Insurance offers a comprehensive and competitive insurance program designed for your business, with an exclusive 5% discount for our members. The best part? You can use your own insurance agent. MMG works with a network of trusted independent advisors so your current agent can quote you easily on the program. MMG's program features: A Listserv is a group email discussion list. This feature is exclusive to VSFA members and is our most highly valuable benefit. Members maintain direct access and communicate via emails with fellow producers and industry professionals. Members are encouraged to email this group to ask industry-related questions, offer advice, and share recommendations. VSFA uses the platform Topicbox which comes with a whole bunch of bells and whistles including subscription options and message archive so members never miss out on important information. VSFA staff sends out a Weekly Brief each Monday with pertinent association and industry information on upcoming events, education, funding opportunities, and more. The Richards Group offers support with HR initiatives and OSHA compliance for all VRGA members. The certified professionals at The Richards Group can help with everything from planning and document preparation (individualized health and safety plans, employee handbooks, preparation and policies to handle workplace violence/conflict) to OSHA certification for employees and owners. Members gain access to The Richards Group Portal, a one stop shop for workplace policy guidance. Available 24/7, the portal empowers you with the flexibility to find information when you need it. What's a MEP? Watch this video! Provide great retirement plans to yourself and your staff, without the high cost and time drain of paperwork oversight. This plan will reduce employer costs and the retailer's required oversight of their private plan. VRGA is excited to partner with Lincoln Financial Group to offer this unique retirement plan to our members. Why choose a MEP (Multiple Employer Retirement Plan)? The Vermont Retail and Grocers Association MEP 401k Plan affords employers the following benefits: Still have questions? Read up on what makes our MEP work for you. This program is available through numerous independent agents and advisors, if you have a financial advisor ask them about the Retail MEP today! "Working with Lincoln Financial was a wonderful experience. Everything was very smooth, from setup to implementation. Jason Stannard did a great job of guiding me through the process, and the team at Lincoln Financial made the actual transaction and transition a breeze. We ended up saving over $12,000 annually and have less to manage on our end. - Chris Henry, President, The Medical Store When you join VRGA’s program through RCSC, you’ll receive your choice of: RCSC also offers VEND point-of-sale (POS) software, Lavu POS for restaurants and bars, E-commerce and ATMs, as well as a full program dedicated to fee surcharges (passing credit card fees on to your customers instead of your business)! Offer your employees the same benefits large employers do! Whether you employ two people or 100, VRGA Members can offer their employees access to dental benefits from the nation’s leading dental insurance carrier. That means they will receive the same benefits, quality of care, and access to dentists offered by bigger businesses. Northeast Delta Dental is part of America’s largest and most experienced dental insurance provider as well as a local company doing business in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. They cover nearly one million of your neighbors locally and more than 80 million people in more than 141,000 groups across the United States. Delta Dental’s panel of dentists is the nation’s most extensive: 4 out of 5 dentists nationwide participate in their networks, and even more locally. Their unique dual network provides both choice and value to your employees. Northeast Delta Dental members are free to see any dentist they wish but generally receive the most value from their benefits when receiving care from a participating provider. Our partnership with Delta Dental means you have access to a variety of affordable plan options with no minimum enrollments. Learn more about this program. Administered by Northeast Delta Dental (the same people you love from VRGA's Dental Program!), DeltaVision is a low cost vision program with major benefits. Accepted at a wide range of in-person locations as well as five major online retailers (Glasses.com, Ray-Ban.com, lenscrafters.com, targetoptical.com, contactsdirect.com), you won't struggle to apply your benefits. With it becoming harder and harder to retain employees, this inexpensive and easy to use vision program is a no-brainer! Find out more about the plans and where you can use them in this brochure. Ready to join? Click the link below. Payroll, HR and Employee management doesn’t need to be such as process. Allow our local team of trained professionals to take the pain out of pay day, with our scalable workforce management solutions. You’ll be amazed at how simple it is to integrate hiring, payroll, timekeeping, and HR compliance. PayData’s hyper-friendly staff is ready to help elevate your workforce management, with cost saving and compliant ready solutions. Our Vermont based business provides platforms which interface with your point of sale and accounting systems. Better management of your employee time tracking & schedules are a click away. Our 30-year young company is here to help you with your workforce challenges. We look forward to learning more about how we can help. Put us to work! Unishippers of Burlington, VT, locally owned and operated, is an association of over 300,000 individual companies, nationwide, who have combined their shipping needs to qualify for the deep discounts that very large corporate accounts qualify for. Unishippers is a full service shipping company. Offering a large selection of proven and reliable carriers like UPS for your small packages and over 35 freight carriers for heavier freight. As professional shipping consultants, Unishippers creates completely individualized shipping solutions for our customers. To learn more visit unishippers.com or contact Len Rubin, Owner, Unishippers of Burlington, VT 802-862-4889 or email at len.rubin@Unishippers.com
Business Insurance Program
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VSFA Listserv
HR, Workplace Policy and OSHA Guidance
Multi-state 401K program only available through retail associations
Credit-Debit Card Processing
VRGA knows that members get bombarded with credit card processing offers on a daily basis. That is why we took our time and sourced out the best possible partnership. Retail Council Services Corp. (RCSC) offers members one of the industry's most competitively priced processing services for your customer credit and debit card transactions. VRGA members who take advantage of RCSC's processing generally save anywhere between 10-40%.
Delta Dental Insurance Program
DeltaVision Insurance Program
Payroll Processing
Custom, reduced rate, shipping options
