Pride Foundation

Call it love: our amazing phone team

Twice per year, we welcome our incredible campaign team in to the office as they reach out to friends of Pride Foundation across all five states.  Each personally committed to equal rights and having worked with Pride Foundation for many years, the team always reports how friendly and helpful our supporters are.  Through the fall cycle, more than 500 of you made a generous gift or pledge totaling over $30,000 – incredible!  Thank you donors and the caller team: Nikky, Tyler, Jay and Jill!

Rainbow City Band-ing together to create scholarship

Immaculate conception of a new musical arts scholarship.

The 75+ members of Rainbow City Band – Puget Sound’s own LGBTQ and allied band – are a group that welcomes a challenge!  A new project means time to work together, learn and laugh – all skills that RCB has in spades.  Five years ago the idea was hatched to raise funds to endow a new scholarship fund at Pride Foundation for student leaders focused on musical arts.  With a $25,000 goal, the members knew it would take time and hard work to make it happen.  Starting a musical arts scholarship fund means supporting the education of future LGBT and straight allied leaders.

Five years later, sitting in the Pride Foundation conference room on a warm September evening in the midst of an event planning meeting with the RCB leadership team, it all came to fruition.  A folder was casually handed over.  Opening it with a gasp, the full group realized it was the paperwork and payment check to put everything in motion to set up the music scholarship.

It is a moment in my life I will cherish for all time.  We all burst in to tears.  We all shared an impromptu toast with grape Martinelli’s.  We all knew it was a testament to vision and team work.

Come celebrate!  In honor of Pride Foundation’s 25th Anniversary, Rainbow City Band will graciously perform “Enchanted: A Tribute to Disney Music” on November 7th at Broadway Performance Hall at Seattle Central Community College.  Kids under the age of five are free; all other tickets are $10/person available at the door.  Half of all ticket sales will be deposited in to the newly formed Rainbow City Band Scholarship.  Please join in to celebrate 25 years and the inspiring achievements of Rainbow City Band!

Alaska: Reindeer hot dogs & inspiring people

Pride Foundation's Jody Waits joins VSA Alaska at Out North's Director of Operations, Eyvette Flynn for a toast.

Pride Foundation’s Director of Community Giving, Jody Waits, flew up to Anchorage to meet community leaders and to join in the Anchorage celebration of Pride Foundation’s 25th Anniversary.

Having been born and raised in Michigan, most of my prior awareness (or lack there of) about Alaska came from Sunday afternoon reruns of Northern Exposure.  When Amy, our Director of Community Strategies and Engagement, and I headed to Anchorage to meet community leaders and Pride Foundation supporters, some part of me expected there to be moose wandering in the streets and tractors competing for parking spaces.  I was wrong on both accounts, but people in Anchorage did share some other unique traits and treats with us.

Time and again, staff at grantee organizations, donors and volunteers expressed their affection for Alaska: the natural beauty, the connectivity of the community mixed with personal privacy, the ingenuity of those who call it home.  At every turn we were also greeted with genuine, soothing and enthusiastic hospitality – hand-shakes that eased in to a hug because it seems like you’ve been friends forever.  People were willing to share of their stories, their needs, their struggles and celebrations; a trust that felt very special particularly given the fierce independence streak that resides in Anchorage.

We also learned more about the movement for LGBT equality in Alaska.  Attempting to understand how geographically vast the state is, was the first step.  We already knew that experiences, support and a sense of safety for LGBT people in the Northwest, can vary significantly depending on your location.  With a state capital accessible exclusively by boat or plane; many folks in Alaska reminded us we couldn’t just consider urban or rural circumstances, we had to ponder “remote” residents as well.  What if you are a young LGBT person and you reside in village has 650 residents, no internet service and a few phones for the community to share, none of which could be used in private?

Seemingly driven by an ethic of resourcefulness, Alaskans are solvers and unruffled by a big or challenging task.  There is a thriving LGBT Community Center in downtown Anchorage (big rainbow flag out front), a new LGBT Caucus being formed for the state, legislative action in motion, deep partnerships forged within the non-profit allied community and a strong sense that we’re all in this together – to win, and to win together.

Amy and I came back to Seattle hyped on caffeine (lots of coffee meetings!), having tasted reindeer hot dogs and inspired by every person we met.  Thank you Alaska!  Hope to see you again soon…

Tax Relief Through Giving

Flickr: alancleaver_2000

Pride Foundation’s donor-advised funds are a convenient and strategic way to give. A donor advised fund is essentially a savings account for your charitable giving, which happens to be held at Pride Foundation.  Once you make an initial gift to start your donor advised fund – and receive immediate tax benefits –you can then take your time in making recommendations for grants to organizations you care about.  The deadline to start a new fund and gain a 2009 charitable deduction for the initial deposit, is December 31^st.

With a minimum starting amount of $5,000, having a donor advised fund at Pride Foundation is a tool for many donors and families.  New fund holder, Mike, reported:  “Initially, I didn’t consider starting a donor advised fund because I thought they were for very wealthy people.  Yet, once I learned the details of how a fund actually works, I realized this tool made a lot of sense for me. Through an initial gift of appreciated stock, I leveraged immediate tax benefits and also created the ability to offer personal charitable contributions, through Pride Foundation, to groups and issues important to me for years to come.  Pride Foundation also manages the paperwork and ensures that funded entities have an anti-discrimination policy, which guarantees that all of my gifts reflect my commitment to equality.”

To learn more about starting a donor advised fund, please contact Jody Waits, Director of Community Giving or read more about the funds Pride Foundation offers.

Bold Giving Continues

When I think of the word ‘half’ I am usually thinking about ordering a sandwich, not giving away that much of my income to charitable causes. I create a charitable giving budget every year and I usually end up deciding to give away 4 to 5 percent of my income to nonprofits that I care about. I am going to have to revisit this decision, and what it means to be bold, after learning about folks who exceed my giving ration by 45 percent.

Last week Tracy Gary-from Inspired Legacies was in Seattle to keynote the spring conference for the Northwest Development Officers Association. She spoke about trends in family philanthropy, as well as how to stay engaged and inspired as fundraisers through these ever changing economic times, as we steward our donors’ dreams and gifts.

Then she mentioned a growing number of families and individuals who are choosing to give half of their income, every year, to the nonprofits they care about. Stories of these folks (at all economic levels) are shared on Bolder Giving.org. While many people and families are facing salary cuts, layoffs, and general financial uncertainty, this is not a choice I’m ready to advocate that we all consider. Yet, there is a statement within that says: “I’m going to be a bold and courageous friend to the organizations I love.”

“Is This Good News, Or Bummer News?”

Like many of you, I can count on my mother to cut to the chase.  Today was no exception.  Annually, philanthropy and fund development professionals anxiously wait for the release of research from Giving USA that outlines charitable donations for the prior year.  This morning, the 2008 data went live, including a story on the Today Show – which is how my mother got involved.  The total for charitable giving in the United States in 2008 was just shy of $308 billion dollars.  Mom sent email by 7:12A.M. asking: “Is that good news or bummer news?”

Thanks to Slimmer_Jimmer

She asks a reasonable (and complex) question.  While $308B reflects a 5.7% decrease from 2007, the percentage change is far less than the declines we have seen in the stock market or home values, and far smaller than the increases to unemployment or foreclosure rates.  So, is a decrease actually good news?  For me, the total represents a mind boggling amount of resources shared.  Most important, this total confirms that even during pressing times, people are inspired to give, live out their values and ultimately have the power to change the world.  I think that is pretty awesome news.

The data further reminds us that half of all charitable giving comes from households that earn less than $100,000 annually, which is about 90% of the U.S. population.  That means you, me, our neighbors – pooling our gifts of all sizes and dreams of all scopes – are what make change and help possible.  Thank you for your support of Pride Foundation and the entire non-profit community.   While we know that there may still be turbulent economic times ahead, the generosity of individuals is rock-solid and always inspirational.

Thanks for taking our call!

I still remember when our house had one phone line, a single telephone.  No voicemail. No caller-ID.  Certainly no cell phones or texting.  While the phone technology and capacity has grown and evolved – in its purest form – a phone is still for talking.  In the midst of economic times that are challenging for many and curious for all, Pride Foundation set out on our annual spring Phone Campaign.

From the start, our goal was to reach-out, say howdy, offer an update and largely – say, thank you.  We knew that the shifting job and stock markets might affect the actual tally of dollars raised, but the focus on great conversations with our supporters never wavered.  What is so wonderful about phone conversations, different than email, is that the interactions are live and one can truly experience the tone, enthusiasm and curiosity of another person.  From the first day, we were deeply touched and honored by the words of our friends and donors.  We received feedback, including:

“Thank you for calling!  I wasn’t sure if you would this year – and I was really hoping you would!  I wanted the opportunity to have an update and make my annual pledge!”

“My partner lost his job a couple of months back – and we’re going to have to wait give again until next year.  But we’re with you in spirit and we’ll be back!”

“Thank you for all that you do Pride Foundation!  Now, more than ever, we’ve got to stick together!”

Thank you – friends of Pride Foundation – for the reminders.  That generosity of enthusiasm and resources can shine through tough times.  That conversations are special and a privilege to have.  And, those good old fashioned telephones are a critical link to equality for all people.