NCP Receives Generous Grant from Krakoa NH Fund

North Country Pride receives grant from NH Charitable Trust – Krakoa NH Fund, Littleton, NH (March 15, 2024) – North Country Pride, a non-profit created to ensure that New Hampshire and Vermont’s rural North Country regions are inclusive and supportive for all, has received a grant from the Krakoa NH fund, part of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. The grant in the amount of $4,375.00 was received in March and is earmarked for general operating expenses to help assist with the group’s commitment to supporting the queer community at large.

The investment came as a wonderful surprise to the group. North Country Pride, Vice Chair, Ashley Brown stated, “We were so pleased to have received this grant, especially in light of the disheartening events from last year. It is so nice to know folks from around NH and VT are aware of what was happening and have rallied to show support.”

In August of 2023, Littleton Selectboard member and NH State Senator, Carrie Gendreau, publicly criticized inclusive artwork sponsored by North Country Pride and went on record to state that the artwork was “not good”, that they “didn’t want any more of it in their town”, and that the flower and image portrayed in the artwork was demonic in nature. The fallout from these remarks caused concern in the LGBTQIA and arts community, as well as in the region at large, where a culture of inclusivity has traditionally drawn large amounts of visitors to the region. The controversy grew regionally and nationally, causing negative press for the town, and resulted in the resignation of the Littleton town manager, who had a gay son.  North Country Pride, their allies and the community spent months working to address and combat the negativity these comments caused.

“Up until this past year, we’ve always felt welcomed in our north country communities”, Jill Kimball, Co-chair, North Country Pride stated. “We still believe the remarks expressed by Sen. Gendreau were representative of a very small portion of the community. These Krakoa NH funds are representative of the larger support we see, and are an example of what we already knew was true. The majority of the people in our rural region ARE supportive and welcoming to ALL.”

North Country Pride is a 5013c, NH non-profit organization located in Littleton, NH., where a dedicated group of volunteers from area towns and businesses are working to bring celebration, education, empowerment, and inclusion to all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, friends, and family in northern New Hampshire and Vermont. For more information visit northcountrypridenh.org

About the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation is New Hampshire’s statewide community foundation, founded in 1962 by and for the people of New Hampshire. The Foundation manages a growing collection of 2,000 funds created by generous individuals, families and businesses, and awards more than $40 million in grants and $6 million in scholarships every year. The Foundation works with generous and visionary citizens to maximize the power of their giving, supports great work happening in our communities and leads and collaborates on high-impact initiatives. For more information, please visit www.nhcf.org or call 603-225-6641.