Pride Foundation

These are a few of my favorite things

Pride Foundation staff surround Executive Director Audrey Haberman (second row center) at a recent staff retreat welcoming the new regional staff team

Pride Foundation’s Audrey Haberman takes a moment to share what she has learned during her 13 years as Executive Director as she prepares for a new adventure as the Managing Director at The Giving Practice at Philanthropy Northwest at the end of May.

Dear Friends,

Although I am excited for a new adventure, it is also difficult to leave this amazing organization filled with so many smart and creative people. I have learned so much from you during this time and for those gifts, I am grateful.

I have always believed that Pride Foundation is successful not because of any one of us, but because of our combined dedication to our work and our shared belief in a better future. From the support of our generous donors and volunteers to the amazing work of grantees and scholars on the ground in all five states, we have been successful because we have created this organization together.

I have learned from many of you that a leader does not have to be in front at all times, and that leadership comes in many forms. Pride Foundation has worked because of our collective humility combined with our passion for championing the leadership of others. I just love this and will carry it with me forever.

There are so many people to thank! First of all, prior to 1998 when I arrived, there were founders, board members and donors who had built, stabilized and set Pride Foundation on the road to success. I wish I could name all of you but I’d like to particularly thank every one of our staff and board members over the years, especially our wonderful current board president Joyce Allen, and also these two individuals:

• Ted Lord, the Executive Director from 1992-2000 who fostered the culture of Pride that makes this such a special place and mentored me before and after I took over the ED role.
• Ric Weiland, who was a board member, donor and deeply respected member of our community, who demonstrated his belief in the role of a LGBTQ community foundation and trust in Pride Foundation specifically when he left us close to half of his estate when he died. To this day, it remains difficult to balance the loss of such a great person and friend with the impact of his generous gift to our entire community.

I have learned and loved that at Pride Foundation, there is no event too large or too small that should not be celebrated along with a good laugh or a song. I offer an enthusiastic shout out to those of you who have endured my toneless singing over the years. Really, though, it is this sense of levity and fun that has been a hallmark of our work, and it has been an honor to carry this flag. Our community has endured many challenges, and I have always appreciated that at Pride Foundation, successes minor and major are celebrated. I leave confident that the current staff and board, with your wisdom and great senses of humor, will continue to flaunt fun.

I learned from Thatcher Bailey, the board president when I was hired, and Allison Beezer, the board president in my first years as ED, that there is wisdom in groups (too bad they didn’t write the book before Malcolm Gladwell did!). This notion that groups should be listened to and trusted, and that groups, not individuals, when presented with complete and transparent information make the best decisions has been proven time and time again here at Pride Foundation. I feel so lucky to have worked with boards and donors who have supported this practice and who understand that we must always act upon our values first, foster a meaningful dialogue and create trusting, long-term relationships in order to determine strategic priorities and direction.

Pride Foundation is so fortunate to have such an abundance of people who make up our community: our scholars, all the staff members of nonprofit organizations working to create a better future for our LGBTQ community, past and current staff and board, our donors who give generously – be it for the first time this year or for many years, our community leaders who advocate openly and behind the scenes, and of course our incredible volunteers who make all of our work possible. It has been a blast to work alongside you, with you and for you. Because of each of you – so talented and dedicated -that Pride Foundation’s best years are yet to come.

Please know that I am grateful and inspired by what I have learned at Pride Foundation. Thank you for your friendship and advice over the years. I look forward to continuing my relationship with Pride Foundation as a donor and passionate supporter, so I know we will continue to cross paths over the weeks, months and years ahead. Thank you for your personal and professional support, and for continuing to inspire me with your community leadership and generosity.

With a full heart and with Pride,

Audrey

Read more about Audrey’s departure “Leadership Love: A changing of the guard”

To contact Audrey, email [email protected] or leave a comment for Audrey below.

Please Vote!

Pride Foundation's Audrey Haberman delivers her vote.

I love voting. I remember joining my parents as they entered their curtained booths, continuing to argue about their political differences up until the last minute. They taught me it’s a powerful way to express my values and my wishes for my community and country.

With mail-in ballots here in Washington, there is no longer a booth, so here I am dragging my kids to the mailbox, and making them take my picture. Of course we were late to school that day, so I’m not sure this year will hold the sentimentality I had hoped to produce! Nevertheless,  I trust that later in life they, too, will remember the moment.  What are your voting memories and stories?

Whether I feel encouraged or discouraged in any particular year, I can’t resist the excitement of living in a democracy. I know that the slogan “every vote counts” might seem over-used but,  it’s true. Let your voice be heard. Let it join with the power and momentum of others who hold similar hopes dear.

In each state, we are weighing in on a variety of ballot measures and candidates that will affect the future and our efforts to achieve full equality for LGBT people.  Participating in elections is one more way, beyond volunteering and making charitable gifts, to boldly and actively create the world you want to live in.  I ask you to please seek out  the resources you need to learn about the issues and candidates, form an opinion that feels right to you, and vote by November 2^nd.

Here are the links to your Secretary of States’ voting guide for Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington State.

Marching proud in Montana!

Corky, Audrey and Chuck at Montana Pride.

What an inspiring time in Montana!

Pride Foundation board members, regional leaders, and staff joined hundreds of revellers at Montana Pride’s rally and parade that ran through Kalispell’s streets this past weekend. We had a blast marching with so many wonderful Montana organizations and leaders, and we enjoyed handing out lollipops to the parade watchers decked out in rainbow leis.

During the rally, I was introduced to the parents of a past board member, Chuck and Corky Jacobs. They were wonderful! They are so proud of their son Aaron, who now lives in New York with his partner John. Corky served as a community member on our Montana grant review team in 2007, moved away for a couple of years, but she’d love to be more involved with Pride Foundation again. I am thrilled.

We were also gathered in Kalispell for our annual retreat. Each year our board, staff and regional leaders travel to one of our five states to learn more about the great work that is happening. I think a highlight for everyone was hearing from Jamee of Montana Human Rights Network, Heidi, from the National Coalition Building Institute that coordinates Montana’s Safes Schools work, and David from Montana Two Spirit. Additionally we were joined by Mary, a volunteer and supporter and also Representative Diane Sands, an openly lesbian elected official. They are all making such a profound difference for LGBTQ people in Montana and they offered all of us great advice about how to help.

Another significant retreat focus for us was how we can better assert our mission through a social justice philanthropy lens. We know that we’ve done some great work in our 25 years and we want to continue to partner within our community and also with our allies for equality. More on that soon!

I highly recommend you consider going to Montana’s Pride event next year in Bozeman.

If We Produced the Parade

Thanks to Flickr:pagedooley

Update: Thanks everyone for your comments on this. I just want to be extra clear that we have no intention of ever trying to produce a pride parade. The folks that do them do such a wonderful job and we are grateful for their work in our communities. We were just trying to visualize how the work that we do all year long, the grants and scholarship, would look in a parade. Thanks for all your thoughts.

Original Post

With June upon us the phone calls are starting to roll into the office, asking about parade details. It’s a common misperception. People see our name, Pride Foundation, and assume we produce their local Pride parade.  So the common refrain of, “We don’t do the parade, we give away money” is echoing through our office.

But all of this has us wondering: What would our work look like as a parade?

The streets would be filled with organizations, small and large, all finding unique and innovative ways to help out LGBT community.

Some of them would be groups you have heard of, such as Planned Parenthood or Basic Rights Oregon. Others would be new to you, such as Umatilla Morrow Alternatives or Voices Rising.  They would be marching down the street, feeling bolstered by their community’s generosity and support.

Right alongside the LGBT organizations would be our scholars —students of all ages from all over the Northwest, carrying signs that declare their hopes and dreams. The signs would read, “I’ll be there for LGBT foster kids” or “I know I’ll make a difference as a visual artist.” We’d be able to see the incredible diversity of their educational and professional aspirations, and also the similarity of their belief in equality.

Next in our parade would be leaders from all over the Northwest who are improving their communities. These are the folks that you don’t hear about as often from us, but they are mighty in their numbers. In this group you would see lots of parents of LGBT folks, who are vocal and visible in their towns and cities. You’d also see all the people who run our steering committees, making sure the funds are available for their local LGBT community.

The parade wouldn’t end here; in fact it would only get longer. Because next would come the thousands of donors and volunteers who contribute to Pride Foundation and other organizations helping our community every year.

There would the people who send us a handwritten note and $3 in cash every year, alongside the people who have endowed scholarship funds that support numerous students. They would be marching along with the volunteers who read our scholarship and grant applications and decide where the funding should go. It would be hard to tell if they were cheering for each other or for the nonprofits, students and leaders they support. In fact, they cheer for both.

And who would line the streets to watch our parade? That would be the people from all the cities, towns, and communities where we work. Some of them didn’t even know there was an LGBT community in their town until the local library got a grant from Pride Foundation.

Others would be the high school and college counselors who proudly display the poster announcing Pride Foundation’s scholarships every fall. There would be the leaders of other foundations, who look to Pride Foundation for advice and partnership in support of the LGBT community. They would clap and cheer loudly as everyone passed by, and later tell their friends about how inspired they feel.

That is what our parade would look like. Where would you be in our parade? Marching along or cheering from the sidelines? Wherever you would be, we thank you for being a part of our work in building the Northwest’s LGBT community.

Thank You, Zan

Zan McColloch-Lussier, our talented, creative and savvy Director of Communications, leaves Pride Foundation this

Zan McColloch-Lussier

month to pursue a new career as a strategic communications consultant. All of us who have worked closely with Zan feel sad to see him go and also extremely excited to watch him succeed in his new adventure.

Zan has been critical to much of Pride Foundation’s success over the last nine years. Among Zan’s accomplishments:

• He led our Campaign for Pride, which raised over $3 million to support grants, scholarship and regional expansion.
• He imagined, designed and championed new communication models and messages that resonate with our community.
• He helped scores of our grantees and community partners with their own communications.
• He has been the voice behind our emails, Tweets, blog and Facebook posts.
• He has supported advocacy efforts across our 5 states and been the staff lead for much of our Shareholder Activism work.

Zan is a leader and mentor for many of our staff and volunteers. To top that off he is a truly a really great guy who is caring, funny, intelligent and hard-working.

Needless to say, we will miss him. We are thrilled that he plans to remain active with Pride Foundation, both professionally and personally. It’s wonderful that Zan is pursuing new professional goals and that he will be able to share his gifts with many other important organizations.

Please join me in thanking Zan for his tireless efforts on behalf of our community by leaving a comment below.

Welcome Amy White!

Welcome to our new Director of Community Strategies and Engagement: Amy White. Amy will be working with our regional staff and volunteers to continue to grow the work we do to support leaders and advocates and non-profit organizations throughout the region. She will also utilize her evaluation skills to also measure our impact, so we will know what type of a difference we are making in every community.

Amy grew up in Sheridan, MT, population 700 and after moving from Montana to Minnesota, eventually graduated high school in Cheney, WA. Over the past few years, Amy has held a variety of leadership positions within the YMCA of Greater Seattle and has taken an active role in diversity and inclusion issues within the Greater Seattle community. Her last position was as the Operations and Program Director at the Downtown Seattle YMCA. She has expertise in organizational management, program design and evaluation, and fundraising. She is a founding member of the YMCA of the USA National GLBT Affinity Group and serves on the Seattle Steering Committee of the Human Rights Campaign.

One of Amy’s favorite volunteer experiences was working as “Sammy the Camel” for the Seattle Art Museum’s grand opening and on the weekend you will find her at estate and garage sales in search of the perfect vintage treasure.

Audrey’s Trip to Montana

I am just back from a fantastic weekend in Missoula and Kalispell, Montana. I went to Montana for the true pleasure of facilitating the grant review, where local volunteers decided how Pride Foundation’s dollars should be awarded in their state. The committee had some very profound discussions about what makes a healthy community. We also talked about ways Pride Foundation can partner and support local organizations, in addition to funds, such as helping with training and consultants for strategic planning and fundraising.

Scholarship interviews also happened simultaneously, and as often happens, the interviewers felt very inspired by the candidates, hopeful about the future, and frustrated we don’t have even more funds to support these deserving students.

We will be able to announce both which organizations and students received funding, after the dockets are approved in mid-May.

A true highlight of the weekend was when a local volunteer and leader, Caitlin Copple,  invited me to her home for a BBQ celebrating the ordinance that was just passed 10-2 in Missoula prohibiting discrimination against LGBT people. It was fun to meet Caitlin’s partner , her mom and many other activists. I heard great stories of what was learned and gained through the campaign and sensed that the community is very motivated after this big win. I would suggest taht you stay in touch with the Montana Human Rights Network.

Regional Program Director

We have been incredibly lucky to have Kevan Gardner as our Regional Program Director for over a decade. Under his watch the program has grown tremendously.  I hope you join us in thanking him for his incredible devotion and work.

We anticipate posting the job opening for the Regional Program Director position very soon.  You can watch for it here. The position will based out of our Seattle office. I welcome any questions you may have about our regional work or this position, and you can reach me via email or by calling 206.323.3318.

25 Years of Giving Together and Building Community

Welcome to Pride Foundation’s 25th year!

In 1985, as AIDS took its toll on our community, many of us wondered about our charitable legacy. Nonprofits addressing LGBT needs were nowhere near as prolific or as stable as they are today. Scholarships for LGBT students would be unheard of for 5 more years.

It was in this climate that a small group of creative and dedicated people started a new resource for the community: Pride Foundation.

When I speak to our founders and early board members, they say they never expected that Pride Foundation would have the reach and capacity that it has today. Twenty-five years later, you have helped us invest more than $18 million in hundreds of nonprofits and students, giving them the community’s financial and moral support. We’ve broadened our reach to have active volunteers in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. And tens of thousands of people, just like you, have enjoyed giving their talents, time and money together.

The fact that we have accomplished all of this together in 25 years is a victory we look forward to celebrating with you this year.

We are working on some fun and interactive ways for you to share your thoughts on the last 25 years and your hopes for the next 25. I look forward to letting you know about them in the coming months.

The Importance of Allies

In the early weeks of the Approve Referendum 71 campaign, I was asked to reach out to non-LGBT agencies to ask them to become a coalition partner.  I enjoyed calling the various non-profits and starting a conversation with them about how meaningful their endorsements would be to our efforts.

While many of the organizations I spoke with were quick to join our coalition, a few were hesitant to endorse a political movement.  Many had never endorsed anything in the past.  But I continued to work with the Executive Directors of these organizations to show them how valuable their endorsements would be.

Often I would get a response along the lines of,  “I am personally committed to the Referendum 71 Campaign, and although this might be new for my organization, I really want to see us step up.”

Flickr:mommypeace

Eventually many of them found a way to help out and lent their nonprofits’ name to our list of endorsers . For those who did not or could not, I know the process of consider was still  important and valuable to their organizations.

One key endorser of our efforts was a child-serving agency, and their Executive Director relayed a conversation to me that she had after a board member asked, “What do gay rights have to do with our mission?”  She reminded them that Referendum 71 was about strengthening all families and that they had both LGBT staff and clients, so it was important to acknowledge their rights. Therefore, LGBT equality was directly related to their work helping children. The board agreed and they were able to endorse the campaign.

I am so appreciative of the leadership of the allied groups who signed on, supported, endorsed, and gave resources to the Approve Referendum 71 campaign. Without a doubt, you helped us win.  And when an ally comes to the Pride Foundation asking for our endorsement, I look forward to our conversations that help us establish a clearer link between all of our movements for fairness and equality.