July 17, 2002

Foundation, LGBT communities unite to establish new endowment
With a newly-awarded $100,000 challenge grant from the National Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership in hand, The Rhode Island Foundation in partnership with a coalition of individuals from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities is organizing an ambitious agenda of activities to better address the concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities in Rhode Island.

"The goals are to strengthen the infrastructure and capacity of LGBT-led organizations, and mainstream nonprofits that provide services to the LGBT communities, largely through a permanent endowed fund that will ensure ongoing resources," announced Ronald V. Gallo, Ed.D., CEO and president of the Foundation.

Forty people - some as individuals, others representing various organizations around the state - attended a meeting at the Foundation to enthusiastically endorse three major strategies for action.

Top on the list is a "community scan" of Rhode Island's LGBT populations which could begin almost immediately, according to Kris Hermanns, the Foundation's staffperson overseeing the formation of the newly-formed Equity Action Fund. "It's a necessary first step," said Hermanns. "The survey will outline the composition, capacity, and needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. It should reach out to 'invisible' groups, building infrastructure and creating bridges among different LGBT communities and between those communities and 'mainstream' institutions," said Hermanns. "Confidentially and respectfully, we need to reach out to sub-communities that are isolated, and to those whose needs are not broadly understood or met, such as gay Latinos, the transgender community, and LGBT youth," she said.

Hermanns expects the scan will take from six to eight months and will include focus groups, on-line surveys, community forums, and small gatherings. She said the Foundation will consult with other community foundations that have participated in the National Funding Partnership and set up an ad hoc committee to oversee the scan. The group plans to send out a request for proposals by August.

The other two key strategies are fundraising and grantmaking, said Foundation President Gallo, and they are intricately linked. "The nature of the $100,000 challenge is that we must raise $200,000 over the next two years," he pointed out. "Most of the total $300,000 and whatever else is raised will go into a permanent endowment that will guarantee perpetual funding of LGBT projects and organizations.

"We believe there is a pent up demand for a neutral intermediary like The Rhode Island Foundation to broker a permanent philanthropic resource for LGBT individuals. The Foundation will work with other regional private and corporate funders to ensure that we distribute at least $50,000 every year until the endowment is generating enough grant dollars on its own."

Hermanns said the resulting grantmaking should be vigorous and creative, based on the Foundation's historical funding patterns. "From high school and college associations to HIV/AIDS-related concerns, to emergency services and legal rights, we suspect we have only scratched the surface of the needs in the LGBT community. The survey in tandem with dependable resources should be very effective." She said that both the Foundation and the National Funding Partnership are particularly committed to strengthening the infrastructure and capacity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community organizations.

Foundation Board Member Carol Grant has agreed to convene and co-chair a short-term task force for the start up phase of the new coalition. The task force will design a work plan and timetable, develop the formal mission, and recruit members to an advisory board which will ultimately be the permanent body working with the Foundation. Members of both the task force and the advisory committee will be selected to represent the full range of LGBT constituencies, as well as the "straight" community. Grant has a comprehensive professional resume, including serving as Vice President for NYNEX's Rhode Island operations and Vice President for Human Resources at Textron, and deep involvement in civic activities.

Organizers said they were pleased that The Rhode Island Foundation has agreed to nurture the Rhode Island Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership. "The Foundation brings experience and perspective to the process of exploring issues, developing strategies, and bringing other funders to the table," agreed Michelle Duso, executive director of Youth Pride, Inc. "Because most LGBT organizations are small - grassroots entities that are relatively fragile - we need a philanthropic option that will be around for the long term. Working closely with the Foundation through the Funding Partnership will provide a critical opportunity to build resources for the future by focusing on strengthening the infrastructure and capacity of Rhode Island's LGBT organizations, leaders, and communities."

With assets approaching $400 million, The Rhode Island Foundation is the state's second largest foundation, and the only one committed to raising new endowment dollars from charitable Rhode Islanders for a variety of causes. The Foundation has seeded similar efforts for women and girls, Rhode Island's Latinos, and residents of Newport County in the past year alone.

The decade-old National Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership was established by national funders and community foundations to address under-funding of LGBT programs. To date, 13 national foundations have raised or contributed $3.7 million, and $2.8 million has been raised in local matching funds. Twenty-nine of the nation's community foundations have joined the effort (Rhode Island is the 30th), and together they have distributed more than 700 grants to public education efforts, anti-homophobia and anti-violence projects, grassroots organizing, support groups, health organizations, arts and cultural activities, and outreach to communities of color and rural populations.