San Diego Pride presents $80,000 to LGBT serving nonprofit organizations

SAN DIEGO – San Diego LGBT Pride announced today that due to the success of this year’s Pride event, they are able to donate $80,000 of their proceeds back to 40 LGBT-serving organizations through their annual Pride Community Grant Program.

Each year Pride works to return profits from the annual LGBT Pride weekend to the community. Over the years, San Diego Pride’s community contributions have exceeded $2 million, which have been distributed to dozens of organizations through Pride Community Grants, sponsorships, and event support.

“Pride’s annual celebration, year-round advocacy and education efforts serve our community well, but no one organization can do it all, which is why our grant programs are so vital,” said Fernando Lopez, San Diego Pride director of operations. “Pride grants help to fund HIV testing, LGBT youth programs, sobriety services, programs that support our transgender community, LGBTQ arts and culture, QPOC programs, and a variety of other LGBTQ health and human services that our community relies on and enjoys.”

Stephen Whitburn
Stephen Whitburn

Ironically, Stephen Whitburn, the Pride executive director who presided over this year’s successful event was unceremoniously fired from the organization in September. To date Pride has remained tight-lipped about the reasons for his dismissal. Community outrage about this and other board actions led to an overwhelming vote of no-confidence in the Pride Board in November. The Pride Board recently announced major changes in response to the community’s concerns.

“It takes the whole community to make Pride a success so the entire community should be proud of this,” Whitburn told San Diego LGBT Weekly. “Pride attendees, volunteers, community partners and the terrific staff I hired at Pride all had a hand in making this donation to community organizations possible. I’m certainly proud to have been a part of it.”

Founded in 1974, San Diego LGBT Pride is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is: Fostering pride in and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities, locally, nationally, and globally. www.sdpride.org

List of Grant Recipients:

Grant check presentation
Breakthrough Workshop Theatre

2-1-1 San Diego, Being Alive San Diego, Breakthrough Workshop Theatre, CASA RUBY, DETOUR – Depositing Empowerment Through Outreach & Urban Redevelopment, Diversionary Theatre, Family Health Centers of San Diego (FHCSD), Fierté Simcoe Pride, FilmOut, GLSEN, Greater San Diego Business Association (GSDBA), Imperial Valley LGBT Resource Center, Lambda Archives of San Diego, Lead the Way, Live and Let Live Alano Club, Mama’s Kitchen, Mental Health America, North County LGBTQ Resource Center, PFLAG San Diego County, Political Animals, RISE San Diego – LGBTQ Fellows Initiative, San Diego Black LGBTQ Coalition, San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus, San Diego LGBT Visitors Center, San Diego Unified Council of PTAs, San Diego Women’s Chorus, SEED – Malaysia, Special Delivery San Diego, Stepping Stone of San Diego, Strength for the Journey, The San Diego LGBT Community Center, The Industry – Chula Vista, The Neutral Corner, The Recovery Ride, The Trevor Project, Trans Youth Project, TransFamily Support Services, TransPride 2017, Uptown Community Service Center, and Y.E.S. San Diego

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