We maintain cash balances to sustain operations, finance growth, and to serve as a contingency fund for unforeseen spending needs. Investment of these funds is guided by our policy requiring preservation of capital, maintenance of liquidity, furtherance of social responsibility, and maximum after-tax yield. The resulting investment options include bank deposits, money market funds and state, municipal and corporate bonds. Negative screens are used to avoid investing in socially harmful industries (e.g. tobacco, military weapons and nuclear power), and positive screens are used to identify beneficial programs such as low-income housing, education financing and community development. At the end of 1999 we had $39,069,413 in socially screened investments, or 83% of our total cash under management, compared to 94% in 1998.

Our corporate credit card is issued through the Vermont National Bank, which donates 1% of all purchases to organizations that help children including:
Camp Ta-Kum-Ta (www.pwshift.com/takumta), David’s House, Foster Grandparents, Lund Family Center (www.lundfamilycenter.org), Make-A-Wish Foundation (www.makeawish.org), Vermont Arts Exchange, Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger and Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (www.vycc.org).

There was no shareholder-related litigation against the Company in 1999.