“There were a million choices, but none of them were about keeping the money,” says Nancy Braus, who just donated a seven-figure inheritance to a Brattleboro center offering temporary housing.



BRATTLEBORO — Activist Nancy Braus has protested nearly a half-century on area streets to tax the rich and feed the poor. But townspeople here still did a double take when they learned she was giving a local family shelter her recent inheritance of $1 million.

“It was a bit of a shock and really takes your breath away,” said Chloe Learey, executive director of the Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development that will use the money to host up to 10 households at a time.

It’s just one way Braus has defied expectations.

“I don’t believe in inherited wealth,” the 71-year-old said in an interview. “I always knew I wanted to learn how to take care of myself and take care of others. I live in a small house. I shop for clothes only when I need underwear. I have no interest in going on a Caribbean cruise. For me, there were a million choices, but none of them were about keeping the money.”

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