Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund

• Investing $5 million in a comprehensive series of early childhood development initiatives designed to reach every child in Coös County and make the region a model for excellence.
• Sending more than 2,000 children from Coös County schools to participate in the Appalachian Mountain Club programs, such as Mountain Classroom, an outdoor and science education program that connects kids with the natural world.
• Awarding scholarships to post-secondary students from Coös County and surrounding communities in Vermont from the Neil and Louise Tillotson Scholarship Fund.
• Recognizing exemplary North Country teachers with the Louise Tillotson Teaching Fellowships and providing them with professional development and educational opportunities.

• Investing $5 million in business development has helped create new businesses and jobs and increased the flow of tourist dollars into the region.
• Bolstering the region’s economy through entrepreneurial development and technical assistance by supporting the Northern Community Investment Corporation, the New Hampshire Small Business Development Center, New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, Women’s Rural Entrepreneurial Network, Northern Forest Center and others.
• Improving local residents’ lives and increasing tourism through capital improvements — from hospitals to museums to arts centers to ice arenas to playgrounds.

• We are supporting programs that feed hungry families and children. And we are supporting broad efforts to address the causes of the increased need for food assistance, and to improve access to safe, affordable and healthy food.
• We support organizations that expand affordable and safe housing, including Affordable Housing, Education and Development (AHEAD), Habitat for Humanity, and the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund.
• A recent grant supported the startup of an onsite pharmacy at the Indian Stream Health Center; another supported the North Country Health Consortium’s Molar Express dental clinic.
• We support services that ensure that residents have access to legal services regardless of income. A three-year, $200,000 operating grant in 2011 helped to keep the Berlin office of New Hampshire Legal Assistance open after deep budget cuts threatened its closure.

• The Coös Symposium, a signature initiative of the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund, works to build relationships and trust across communities and disciplines, deepen understanding of forces shaping the region, identify potential opportunities for change and further connect communities to the region, and the region to the global community.
• The Coös Networks is a virtual community connecting more than 400 members who live and work in and are passionate about the region. It is a meeting place for exchanging ideas, sharing information and deepening community relationships across disciplines and geography.
• Our Grantee Learning Community provides learning and leadership development opportunities for grantees. Participants learn from one another and from invited speakers and experts about strategies for effectively addressing community needs and delivering services.
• And our Community Practitioners Network, a multiyear leadership program for emerging and seasoned leaders, is helping participants build knowledge, strengthen skill sets, and cultivate a leadership network with shared goals and plans.

The Carsey School of Public Policy’s “Tracking Changes” research includes the following studies:

• Coös Youth Study: a ten-year panel study of youth living in Coös County from 19 public schools. Coös County students created the Empower Coös Youth campaign to encourage the broader community to read the results of this research and consider innovative ways to engage and support youth in the region. Read more.
• North County Community and Environmental Survey: surveys and case studies of adult attitudes and community change in Coös County, NH; Essex County, Vt.; and Oxford County, Maine.
• Socioeconomic indicators for Coös County and surrounding counties in the United States and Canada.