Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 00:27:27 -0800 From: Eros Publishing Subject: Press release Calendar Item The Pride Foundation's Winter Granting ceremonies, Tuesday, February 11th, with an added celebration of Pride's ten years of giving and the millionth dollar being awarded. For more information call (206) 323-3318. The Pride Foundation is a Seattle-based community foundation dedicated to strengthening our lesbian and gay community. Its primary focus is on raising funds for its permanent endowment and twice-yearly granting cycles. Since 1987, Pride has made grants of nearly $1 million to more than 150 non-profit organizations involved in youth services, AIDS education and support, recreation, the arts, advocacy, and a wide range of health and human service programs. Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 18:51:32 -0800 From: Eros Publishing Subject: Press Release For Immediate Release Do Not Publish After 4/1/97 Contact: Ted Lord, 206-323-3318 Ten Years of Giving to Lesbian & Gay Community Pride Foundation To Award its Millionth Dollar (Seattle) -- In spring of 1987, nine organizations working to support the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons (GLBT) in the Pacific Northwest shared grants totaling $3,000. The grants were given by the Pride Foundation, a new community foundation formed to benefit gays, lesbians and allied communities. Ten years later, at Prides Winter Grant Celebration, twenty-four organizations are sharing grants of $221,229. On February 11th, the community will honor the work of over 150 organizations which Pride has supported to date and the awarding of Prides millionth dollar. Prides growth is a reflection of our communitys growth, commented Seattle City Councilwoman and past Pride Board President Tina Podlodowski. The granting of Prides millionth dollar kicks-off to their tenth anniversary of giving. The strength and vision of the founders of Pride has become a reality. Grant highlights during the celebration include: the first annual awards from the Podlodowski/Mileur Fund for Lesbian and Gay Families With Children, supporting four organizations that will benefit gay and lesbian parents; plus funding for the Washington Talking Book Library to make available gay and lesbian literature to the blind and sight-impaired; and a grant to Central Area Youth and Family Services to underwrite a support group for gay teens in Seattle. The range of projects and programs our community is funding is inspiring. Everyone is doing such great work to support our community as volunteers, donors and activists, commented Peggy Dole, President of Prides Board of Directors. In looking at ways to honor the intention of Prides founders, we felt it was important to stretch beyond our past granting to make a special milestone. With the Podlodowski/Mileur fund awards to four organizations, and $50,000 in granting going to an additional fifteen organizations, we are granting a record amount in this cycle. We are also venturing into new directions in this tenth anniversary year. The ability to provide a longer funding commitment is a great step forward for Pride. The Organizational Leadership Awards have begun as one way for Pride to recognize and support organizations in our community. The five recipients of the $30,000 Organizational Leadership Awards will receive an unrestricted award of $10,000 a year for three years. The Leadership Awards recognize and support organizations of proven leadership, vision, and service that substantially strengthen the GLBT community in the Pacific Northwest. The five organizations selected for outstanding community leadership are: AIDS Housing of Washington, American Friends Service Committee, People of Color Against AIDS Network, Seattle Mens Chorus, and Youth Eastside Services. These are organizations that have shown stability, clarity of vision, and adaptability, said Dr. Margarethe Cammermeyer, well-known for her work as a civil rights activist and a member of the 1997 review team ....and each has articulated the extent to which they have made a difference in the lives of lesbians and gay men throughout the Pacific Northwest. She and other members of the team were selected based on their own histories of leadership within the lesbian and gay community. Other members of the review team included: Bob Carter, a retired activist in Seattles African-American community; Rob Roth, Executive Director of the Community Service Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and a member of Prides Board of Directors; Jeff Sakuma, an Administrator of Community Health and Long Term Care at Group Health Cooperative and an active member of the Asian-Pacific Islander community; Mary Kay Wright, a stock broker at Everen Securities, past-President of the Greater Seattle Business Association, and a founding member of the Pride Foundation Board of Directors. The process uncovered some of the hidden heroes in the lesbian and gay community, explained Rob Roth, a review team member. Some of the organizations selected arent widely recognized for their work even within the lesbian and gay community. The committee was pleasantly surprised to hear about some of the groundbreaking work being done by leaders in education, empowerment, programs and services. The Pride Foundation is the only community foundation specifically targeting the needs of the lesbian and gay community in rural and urban areas of the Pacific Northwest. Since 1987, Pride has awarded grants to over 150 organizations working in a wide range of areas including youth and family services, AIDS education and support, the arts, advocacy, womens health, and other health and community services. A total of 78 proposals were submitted by non-profit organizations requesting $350,000 in support in Prides winter granting cycle, and 28 organizations applied for the Organizational Leadership Awards. The process of selecting organizations to receive limited funding is always incredibly difficult, and the board wants to especially recognize our community volunteers who spent many hours in discussion, said Peggy Dole. The Pride Foundation works hard to strengthen the whole spectrum of our community through our grants and scholarship programs. Recipients will receive their grants on Tuesday, February 11, at the 1996/1997 Winter Grants Award Celebration. This year, the Pride Foundation is celebrating 10 Years of Giving. For more information on supporting the Pride Foundation, volunteering, or to request a grant application contact Karen Matson at 206/323-3318. Pride Winter 1996/1997 Grant Recipients Podlodowski/Mileur Fund for Lesbian & Gay Families with Children Lesbian and gay families with children have unique needs that are currently unrecognized and under-serviced by organizations that serve children and youth. The Podlodowski/Mileur Fund was created to support projects and programs that support the self-esteem and well-being of children from lesbian and gay families. At least $10,000 will be awarded each year from this fund. The first recipients are: Love Makes A Family (Portland, OR): $5,000 to underwrite Parent & Child Programs first Annual LGBT Parent/Children Conference to provide parents an opportunity to unite and learn to advocate for themselves to educators, health care providers and others. Seattle Counseling Services (Seattle, WA): $7,000 to support Our Family Center, a new program focusing on the needs of GLBT parents, to build family strength, recognize and celebrate diversity in our community and encourage development of intergenerational programs and projects. Seattle Public Schools (Seattle, WA) : $6,150 to fund Creating Safe Schools for Sexual Minorities, a project that will stock library shelves with gay and lesbian literature appropriate for elementary school students in order to promote visibility and inclusion for sexual minority students and families in the District. Stonewall Recovery Services (Seattle, WA): $3,000 to support the Kaleidoscope of Families project to fund a resource and support program for GLBT families including parent education classes, weekly support and activity groups and other support for sexual minority parents and their families. In support of Arts and Recreation Alice B. Arts (Seattle, WA): $1,000 to help produce Gay Values Oral History Project, an education and outreach performance project based on true accounts and first-hand perspectives of queer youth, their parents and their lesbian and gay teachers. The Group Theater (Seattle, WA): $4,000 to help stage the Pacific Northwest premier of A Language of Their Own , an award winning play by Chay Yew, focusing on a gay relationship between two Southeast Asian men. Pratt Fine Arts Center (Seattle, WA): $3,000 for City Art Works, a collaborative project with Lambert House youth to design and create a public art sculpture that will tour to 4 locations and then be installed at Lambert House, a GLBT youth drop-in center on Seattles Capitol Hill. In support of Health & Community Services Bailey-Boushay House (Seattle, WA): $4,000 in start-up funding for a new bereavement program to provide counseling and crisis intervention outreach to assist the partners, families and friends of those who have died of HIV/AIDS. Blue Mountain Heart to Heart (Walla Walla, WA): $4,000 for an HIV/AIDS Media and Education Project targeting Latino populations, high school students and at-risk populations between the ages of 16 and 25 via a radio broadcast and print advertising campaign. Lesbian Health Network and Ingersoll Gender Center (Seattle, WA): $3,000 for a collaborative project that will survey the transgender lesbian community about healthcare concerns and stage educational forums for the community and for medical practitioners. Queen City Community Development (Seattle, WA): $5,000 in start-up funds to support their community-building work within the GLBT community. An elder-needs assessment, a day-long facilities conference, and other issues are currently on their agenda. Shanti (Seattle, WA): $4,200 for a specialized recruitment campaign for gay male volunteers fluent in sign language and Spanish to assist with their work providing emotional support to people affected by HIV/AIDS. Washington Talking Book Library (Seattle, WA): $3,379 to make gay and lesbian literature, both fiction and non-fiction, available in alternative formats for the blind and sight-impaired and learning-disabled residents of Washington State. Once recorded, the titles will be available nationally via interlibrary transfers. In support of Education & Advocacy Beyond The Closet (Bend, OR): $4,600 for an educational speakers tour in rural Oregon with the goal of generating positive community interaction in order to break down barriers which exist for GLBT people in rural communities. Gay/Lesbian/Straight Teachers Network of Washington (Seattle, WA): $1,500 to circulate a video, It's Elementary, to Seattle and King County educators, and bring in national speakers for local forums in order to combat homophobia and discrimination in our schools. Montana Advocacy Program (Helena, MT): $2,000 to create and distribute a resource brochure describing the legal rights of people with or perceived to have HIV/AIDS in Montana, including housing, confidentiality and employment issues. Your Family, Friends and Neighbors (Boise, ID): $4,000 in general support for outreach efforts to the Idaho GLBT community, to make more people aware of the ongoing projects for youth, lesbian and gay parents, anti-violence work and other community building events. In support of Youth & Families Central Area Youth & Family Services (Seattle, WA): $4,000 for the Teens Appreciating Ourselves, a youth peer/support group for GLBT teens (including a significant number or youth of color) in Seattles Central District and Rainier Valley area. Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (Olympia, WA): $2,400 to fund follow-up efforts related to Project Open Mind in the Olympia area. This grant will help PFLAG purchase videos and information packets for counselors and fund a straight spouse support group. 1996 Pride Foundation Organizational Leadership Award Recipients AIDS Housing of Washington: AIDS Housing of Washington (AHW) creates housing for people living with HIV/AIDS. AHW has a national reputation for taking risks. AHW raised the funds needed to build Bailey-Boushay House, the first new constrtuction of a residential care facility in the country exclusively for people living with HIV/AIDS. At a time when AIDS was still widely perceived as a gay male disease, AHW launched a capital campaign that reached beyond the gay community for mainstream support and secured the resources needed to turn their vision into reality. AHW is now completing the Lyon Building project in downtown Seattle, a residential facility for people with HIV/AIDS who have histories of homelessness, substance abuse, or mental illness. Recognizing the responsibility that comes with success, AHW shares what it has learned with other organizations in urban and rural areas through the region and the country by providing technical assistance and training...building capacity and helping others do this important work. American Friends Service Committee: In 1989, many in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) communities distanced themselves from youth issues, fearing that outreach would be perceived as recruitment or exploitation. GLBT youth didnt have Lambert House [a GLBT youth drop-in center on Seattles Capitol Hill], and youth support groups hadnt yet come into being. American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) recognized the need to reach out to lesbian and gay youth at risk. This has included outreach to schools that included youth panelists, and the Homecoming Project that sent GLBT alumni back to their schools to meet with students and teachers. AFSC helped incubate POCAAN, Lambert House, and the Safe Schools Coalition...all of which continue to grow into healthy organizations with a broad base of community support. Their mode: Lead, empower, and get out of the way! People of Color Against AIDS Network: Working with diverse communities of color across Washington State (with offices in Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, and Yakima), it would be easy for the organization to get mired in the language of oppression. Instead, the organization has framed its work in a positive and exciting way...focusing on learning, empowerment, and courage. Although their primary focus has been on HIV/AIDS education and prevention, they recognized the role they needed to play in convening GLBT people of color into social and volunteer networks. Today, People of Color Against AIDS Network (POCAAN) is among the primary conveners of GLBT people of color through Entres Hermanos, Brother to Brother, Sistah 2 Sistah, and Queer n Asian. POCAAN has solid strategic insight. With the shifting nature of HIV disease from fatal to chronic, POCAAN is anticipating a decrease in federal and state prevention dollars. They are planning now to secure the resources they need to carry out their mission in the years ahead. Seattle Men's Chorus: Seattle Mens Chorus (SMC) builds bridges with music. SMC performances not only entertain thousands of GLBT people; they also serve as a venue for non-gay family and friends to share our sense of joy in being part of a diverse GLBT community. Through music and song, SMC helps build the esteem of its performers and audiences. From its humble beginnings as an all-volunteer group in 1979, SMC has grown into an institution with 11 staff and an annual budget of over $1.5 million. SMC hasnt been afraid to take risks in its efforts to reach broader audiences. Examples include its performances on public television, sales of compact discs, and a commitment to statewide performances. Although those risks took a toll on its bottom line at first, the Chorus is well on its way to retiring its debt, in part attributed to the confidence and loyalty of its donors. Its latest project is a recording that it is producing in cooperation with PFLAG. Its hope is that GLBT people, their families, and friends can come to better understand the challenges and joys of being part of the GLBT community. Youth Eastside Services: In 1987, Youth Eastside Services (YES) took a chance and launched a program to work with GLBT youth in the Eastside suburbs outside of Seattle. Their hometown of Bellevue and surrounding communities have been slow to embrace these outreach efforts, but YESs commitment hasnt wavered. YES reaches out to schools, addressing issues of homophobia, safe sex, and self-esteem. Now YES works with 12 other youth service agencies through GroupNet, working to assure that GLBT youth have a safe place to be in suburban and rural communities throughout King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. END