2004 Grant Recipients:

Samara Foundation is pleased to announce our Year 2004 grants. Thirteen organizations received $23,500 to benefit the Vermont gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities in a wide range of areas including HIV prevention, youth services, education, media development, social service and initiatives to address same sex domestic violence. Samara Foundation first awarded grants in 1998 and has now awarded over $175,000 throughout the state.

Community Development and Celebration:

Amelia Earhart Underground Flying Society (Grantham, NH)
$800 to support their 25th anniversary anniversary gala in the upper valley. Amelia's is the social hub of the Lesbian Community of the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire and has fulfilled this need since it was founded in 1980. For more information about Amelia's click here.

Pride Vermont 2004 (Burlington, VT)
$1,800 for general operating expenses around planning Pride celebrations during the month of July. Celebrating their 22nd anniversary, Pride has grown from a small local Burlington event to a large statewide celebration.
http://www.pridevermont.org

R.U.1.2?Community Center (Burlington, VT)
$1,500 to support transition to their new centrally located facility and support futher development of the David Bohnett Cyber Center. R.U.1.2? addresses the social, cultural, educational, and health needs of Vermont's queer and allied communities acress all races, ages, and genders through community building, social support, and civic engagement.
http://www.ru12.org

Education, Advocacy & Outreach:

Equality Vermont (Montpelier, VT)
$750 to develop a grassroots network to educate Vermonters on Transgender issues. Equality Vermont is committed to social justice and equality. Through social outreach and educational and political action, Equality Vermont strives to promote the civil rights, personal empowerment and social acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Vermonters. http://www.equalityvt.org

Transgender Day of Remembrance (Burlington,VT)
$1,200 to expand the project's reach through advertising, the production and distribution of educational materials and creation of more options for the event. The Transgender Day of Remembrance memorializes those who were killed due to antitransgender hate or prejudice. Since the first candlelight vigil in 1999 the DOR has grown to include events in over 110 locations. The first Vermont DOR was held in Burlington on November 20, 2002. For more info on DOR click here.

Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force (So. Hero, VT)
$1,750 to support grassroots efforts organizing, the cost of any modifications to displays and to insure that VFTMTF will have a continuing presence at each of the local fairs in Vermont. Their mission is to educate Vermonters regarding the issues surrounding the freedom to marry. The goal is full and equal legal rights for gay and lesbian Vermonters including,in particular, the legal right to marry.
http://www.vtfreetomarry.org

HIV / AIDS Services:

AIDS Project of Southern Vermont (Bennington, VT)
$1,500 to support regional prevention programs for Gay and Bisexual Men and Other Men who have sex with men (MSM) in Bennington County. Their goals are to build healthy communities for MSM, provide health education and risk education workshops, circulate an MSM newsletter, and offer outreach to HIV-positive MSM in Bennington County.
http://www.aidsprojectofsouthernvermont.org

Vermont CARES (Burlington, VT)$1,500 for general operating support. The mission of Vermont CARES is to improve the quality of life, create compassionate communities, and prevent the spread of HIV by working with people affected by HIV/AIDS as catalysts for social and individual change.
http://www.vtcares.org

Vermont People with AIDS Coalition (Montpelier, VT) $3,000 to help fund scholarships for people who are HIV+ and cannot afford to purchase the products that will help maintain their health and well being. The coaltion, in existence since 1991, is a community of peers whoo seek to improve the lives of Vermonters living with HIV and AIDS through mutual support and empowerment, the exchange of up to date information and on-going advocacy. http://www.vtpwac.org

Health & Community Service:

AIDS Community Resource Network (ACORN) (Lebanon, NH))$1,200 to provide education, counseling and testing for those they serve in the community who are at risk for the Hepatitis C Virus. ACORN has been serving the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS, their partners and other family members since 1991 in a rural 4 county region of Vermont and New Hampshire that includes 94 municipalities. http://www.acornvtnh.org

SafeSpace (Burlington, VT)$1,000 for general operating support. SafeSpace is a social change and social service organization working to end physical, sexual, and emotional violence in the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning people (LGBTQQ). SafeSpace provides direct services to LGBTQQ survivors of violence, and educates the community about violence in the lives of LGBTQQ people and about the ways to help people access help and safety. http://www.safespacevt.org

Media & Communications:

Mountain Pride Media (Richmond, VT)
$3,000 for general operating costs. Created in 1996, Mountain Pride Media acts as publisher of Out in the Mountains, Vermont's monthly newspaper for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community since 1986. In addition to Out in the Mountains, Mountain Pride Media is also publisher of www.mountainpridemedia.org.
http://www.mountainpridemedia.org

Youth & Family:

Outright Vermont (Burlington, VT)
$4,500 to help leverage and encourage gifts through their annual phonathon fund/membership drives. For the past thirteen years Outright has been Vermont's only comprehensive and statewide resource for LGBTQ youth.
http://www.outrightvt.org

Thank You!

The 2004 Samara Foundation grants were made possible through the generous support of our individual and corporate contributors and from the generous bequests of our Founding Benefactors: