Pride Foundation

Idaho Women’s Network

The Idaho Women’s Network has received numerous Pride Foundation grants, including one in the Spring of 2008 for their work to ensure equality for Idaho’s LGBT community. Executive Director, Donna Wade, related this story from their work.

“The Idaho Women’s Network is one of the oldest women-led social justice organizations in Idaho and we are proud to work at the connection of traditional women’s rights movement and the gay rights movement. A key step in this movement is to provide basic security in employment,

Taryn from IWN organizing

housing, and accommodation by passing an amendment to the Idaho Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. During the 2008 legislative session, Idaho Women’s Network took the lead on organizing a rally to pressure legislators into giving the Human Rights Act a public hearing, after it had been denied. In response, we organized a rally at the Capital, which drew a crowd of 60 to 70 supporters who held signs and got attention from significant media sources. Most of all, it provided an entire community- silenced by their legislature- an opportunity to demonstrate and have their voices heard.

We will continue our work with an eye to the future, hoping that in five years, the movement to amend the Idaho Human Rights Act will be strong and visible. We will have established supporters, leaders, and allies in every part of the state and will have been working to pass city non-discrimination policies in several Idaho cities. We will have built a long list of supporters from small and large businesses, to faith-based organizations and religious groups, to individuals and families- all ready to mobilize and put needed pressure on legislators.”

Western States Center

Western States Center of Portland, OR received funding from Pride Foundation in 2009 for their Uniting Communities  program, which is building a stronger voice for LGBTQ people of color and stronger alliances between LGBTQ organizations and those organizing communities of color.

In the past 20 years Oregon has faced more than 33 anti-gay ballot measures at the state and local levels. While most of the previous statewide measures were defeated, in 2004 voters approved Measure 36, which banned marriage between same-sex couples. It was a difficult campaign in which the religious Right was able to use race as a wedge. From hiring a person of color as the spokesperson for the campaign to ads that specifically targeted communities of color, the opposition exploited the voices and faces of people of color to project their homophobia.  In response The Western States Center’s developed the Family, Community and Sexuality Project to engage communities of color around LGBTQ equality and support organizations in our region fighting attacks on LGBTQ families.

Latinos Unidos Siempre (LUS) is one of the participants of the Family, Community and Sexuality Project.  The LUS chapter leaders at McKay High School in Salem reached out to the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) after attending several workshops run by Western States Center and Seattle Young People’s Project. LUS and the GSA then decided to hold a joint leadership retreat where LUS student member Gustavo Ayon shared his journal entries on how he become an ally to LGBTQ students. By creating a safe space, a young Latino man felt comfortable coming out to his peers. This profound story deepened the commitment of the organization and convinced other LUS chapters to collaborate with GSAs in their schools.

It is very difficult to get foundation funds for our LGBTQ work so it was very helpful to get a Pride Foundation grant. It allowed us to develop tools for organizations to assess their LGBTQ inclusivity, and provide trainings on how to integrate LGBTQ members and issues into their programs, culture, personnel, and policies.