An eastern Pennsylvania high school rifle team received a large donation from local businesses for new equipment after the school board rejected a grant from the National Rifle Association (NRA) earlier in the week.

The Stroudsburg High School rifle team received over $6,000 in donations from local businesses in the Allentown area, topping the $5,000 NRA grant that students had applied for to replace aging equipment, according to ABC 16.

The donation, which was given to the school superintendent on Wednesday, came from nearly a dozen business owners, some of whom are themselves members of the NRA, the news outlet reported.

The rifle team coach is planning to purchase new equipment for the upcoming fall season.

ADVERTISEMENT

Members of the Stroudsburg Area School Board voted 6-2 on Monday to reject an NRA grant of $4,730 that the team sought to use to replace its shooting rifles, which reportedly dated back to the 1970s.

The team had just found out it had won the grant when the school board, which is required to vote on outside donations to the district, turned it down.

The NRA has faced renewed criticism from anti-gun rights activists after a school shooting in Florida last month that left 17 people dead.

One Stroudsburg board member called the NRA grant "blood money," and another said the board had "no choice" but to "bring national politics" into the decision, in a reference to the national debate sparked by the Florida shooting.

Student survivors of the massacre and gun activists have called for lawmakers to reject campaign donations from the organization, which provides millions of dollars to pro-gun rights candidates each year.