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Samara Nears $1 Million for LGBT Community
 | Samara Nears $1 Million for LGBT Community First Unity Project Grants Announced |
| Resplendent in a psychedelic evening jacket, famed tenor Francois Clemmons receives congratulations on his stunning performance of familiar spirituals in the House Chamber at the Statehouse in Montpelier. ClemmonsÍs performance was part of the Samara FoundationÍs celebration thanking its donors and congratulating grant recipients. |
At the Samara Foundation’s annual celebration of donors and recipients in Montpelier September 12, Director Bill Lippert announced that the foundation was nearing a million dollars in funds it had “leveraged” for Vermont’s lgbt community.
In an unexpected development, Lippert also announced that the Unity Project would make a round of “inaugural” unsolicited “Community Builders” grants totaling $31,000 to ten organizations: the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, ACORN, GLEARN, Mountain Pride Media/Out in the Mountains, Outright Vermont, Pride Vermont, the R.U.1.2? Community Center, Safe Space, the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, and Vermont CARES. The one million dollars includes Samara’s $500,000 in invested assets, $150,000 it has awarded in grants and scholarships over the last six years, and an expected $300,000 in funds raised through the Vermont Unity Project in collaboration with the Vermont Community Foundation.
“That’s a milestone I think deserves recognition,” Lippert said after the event.
Lippert also announced the Unity Project had received a $15,000 grant from the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation and was within $33,000 of reaching its goal of raising $200,000 for the $100,000 match from a consortium of national funders.
The Samara Foundation awarded three scholarships to students who are working for lgbt equality and recognized three more ‘notable students.’ The scholarships were awarded to Alan Blakely of Colchester, Rachel Morgan of Rutland, and Anna Telensky of Jericho. The notable students were Lauren Coppola of Essex Junction, Ashley Hensel-Browning of Cavendish, and Jacob Crumbine of Norwich, who read his application essay to warm applause.
A dozen organizations received grants from the Samara Foundation, including the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, Estrogen Fest, Fletcher Free Library, GLEARN, Mountain Pride Media/Out in the Mountains, The New England Network for Child Youth and Family Services, New Victoria Publishers, Outright Vermont, Pride Vermont, the R.U.1.2? Community Center, Safe Space, Vermont CARES, and the Vermont PWA Coalition.
In an unexpected development, Lippert also announced that the Unity Project would make a round of “inaugural” unsolicited “Community Builders” grants totaling $31,000 to ten organizations: the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, ACORN, GLEARN, Mountain Pride Media/Out in the Mountains, Outright Vermont, Pride Vermont, the R.U.1.2? Community Center, Safe Space, the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, and Vermont CARES. The one million dollars includes Samara’s $500,000 in invested assets, $150,000 it has awarded in grants and scholarships over the last six years, and an expected $300,000 in funds raised through the Vermont Unity Project in collaboration with the Vermont Community Foundation.
“That’s a milestone I think deserves recognition,” Lippert said after the event.
Lippert also announced the Unity Project had received a $15,000 grant from the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation and was within $33,000 of reaching its goal of raising $200,000 for the $100,000 match from a consortium of national funders.
The Samara Foundation awarded three scholarships to students who are working for lgbt equality and recognized three more ‘notable students.’ The scholarships were awarded to Alan Blakely of Colchester, Rachel Morgan of Rutland, and Anna Telensky of Jericho. The notable students were Lauren Coppola of Essex Junction, Ashley Hensel-Browning of Cavendish, and Jacob Crumbine of Norwich, who read his application essay to warm applause.
A dozen organizations received grants from the Samara Foundation, including the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, Estrogen Fest, Fletcher Free Library, GLEARN, Mountain Pride Media/Out in the Mountains, The New England Network for Child Youth and Family Services, New Victoria Publishers, Outright Vermont, Pride Vermont, the R.U.1.2? Community Center, Safe Space, Vermont CARES, and the Vermont PWA Coalition.