News & Updates

For press releases and news articles about Horizons Foundation, please visit our Press page.
 

Rich Chicotel, 1959-2012

It is with great sadness that we share the news that Rich Chicotel, friend and supporter of Horizons Foundation, passed away quite unexpectedly on January 10, 2012. He was 52.

Rich had worked at Shorenstein Company since 1988 and was named Chief Financial Officer in 1998. In 2007, he was named San Francisco Bay Area CFO of the Year, Private Company, by the San Francisco Business Times. He was also a member of the San Francisco Neighborhood Parks Council.

Here at Horizons, we remember Rich for his quiet generosity and his commitment to the foundation and the LGBT community. "I'm very grateful that my work at Horizons gave me the opportunity to meet Rich," said Deb Stallings, Director of Development and Gift Planning. "He hosted a lead-up event for the gala at his spectacular Dolores Park home, and just a month ago, he hosted our Professional Advisors Holiday Mixer at his office at Shorenstein. I'm sure Rich will be missed by many, and we will surely be among them."

Horizons Foundation has set up a memorial scholarship fund where family, friends, colleagues, and community members can make gifts in his honor. Simply note that it is "In memory of Rich Chicotel."

Make your gift to the memorial scholarship online...
Read more about Rich...
 

We've Launched a Blog

Horizons Foundation is delighted to launch our new blog, On the Horizon.

You'll find posts on the LGBT movement, issues facing nonprofit organizations, philanthropy and giving, and other topics. Most will be from Roger Doughty, Horizons' Executive Director. We plan include guest bloggers on occasion as well.

On the Horizon not only offers a simple way to communicate with our donors, grantees, funders, and allies – all of our most important constituencies - but also gives us a forum for sharing the view from our unique position.

Central to Horizons' mission is working with and supporting the full range of our diverse community – diverse by geography, race, gender, issue, class, and more. That means we try to take a broad view of the issues that the LGBT community faces, which in turn produces some knowledge or analysis that might not come up in other contexts and that we believe is worth passing along.

We hope you enjoy this window into Horizons' work.

Visit our blog...
 

We've Updated the QGiving Guide

Horizons is proud to announce our fourth annual QGiving Guide [PDF]. This resource, updated and redesigned in December 2011, aims to help you find LGBT nonprofits in the Bay Area working on the issues you care about - and encourages you to give as generously as possible.

Did you know...

• Less than 5% of LGBT people in the Bay Area make donations to LGBT causes.
• Tens of thousands of people depend on our community nonprofits for support, assistance, care, and advocacy. For LGBT youth, elders, and many others, those programs can be life-saving.
• 96% of Bay Area LGBT nonprofits report being harmed by the economic crisis, and support from government and foundation sources has plummeted.
• Research shows that giving makes people happier.
• The LGBT community needs YOU!

Your gifts, large or small, to whatever organizations or causes you're passionate about, make a difference. Thank you for your generosity and for helping build a strong, enduring, and compassionate LGBT community - for all of us.

Download the QGiving Guide...
(If you'd like a printed copy of the QGiving Guide, please contact us and we'll drop one in the mail.)
 

96% of Bay Area LGBT Nonprofits Negatively Impacted by Recession

Horizons Foundation released the results of the first systematic survey analyzing the economic recession's impact on nonprofits serving the Bay Area's extensive lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. With responses from 52 different LGBT organizations representing a broad spectrum of the community, the survey indicates that 96% of responding nonprofits have been negatively affected by the recession.

"This survey underscores what we've known only through anecdote until now," said Roger Doughty, Horizons' Executive Director. "It's very sobering to learn that 96% of the organizations that LGBT people depend on for everything from healthcare to legal advocacy have been negatively affected. That translates into diminishing support for programs and services that so many people in our community depend on every single day." More...
 

Download the survey fact sheet
Download the summary results of the survey
 

Look for Horizons on Twitter and Facebook

Have you seen the latest Horizons Foundation tweets? Keep up with the news and events, information about our grants, tips for LGBT donors, articles for professional advisors, data on LGBT giving, and more. It's a quick and easy way to stay informed.

You can also spread the word about Horizons and our work via Facebook. With one click, you can let your network of friends know how important it is for each of us to give to LGBT nonprofits. Together, we'll make giving an integral part of the LGBT community.

Follow Horizons on Twitter: www.twitter.com/horizonsfdn
Become a fan of Horizons Foundation on Facebook
 

Guide to Gift Planning Helps You Plan Your Legacy

Horizons Foundation is proud to share our Guide to Gift Planning for the LGBT Community [PDF]. We created the guide as a free resource to help you think about and plan the legacy you want to leave. The guide also highlights how planned gifts to LGBT causes are the key to securing our community's financial future.

Many of us put off planning for the future for all kinds of reasons: maybe it seems very complicated or somber, or maybe we think our "estate" is too small (or nonexistent) for planning to matter. In reality, though, gift planning is about defining your own life and legacy - rather than letting the government's rules define them for you - and providing for the people and causes you care about.

In the guide you'll find information that will help you move forward in your gift planning:

• Taking stock of your goals and what you want your gifts to accomplish
• Learning about different types of assets and vehicles for giving
• Finding our more about how you can support your favorite LGBT causes
• Reviewing the next steps for completing your plans

It's important to remember that you can accomplish multiple goals with your estate, providing for your partner, your family, your children, your friends, and your community. Neither are you limited to supporting just one organization or interest area. Your example may well inspire others to make gift provisions in their own plans, too.

If you'd like to receive a printed copy of the guide or have other questions, please contact Deb Stallings, Director of Development and Gift Planning, at 415.398.2333 x103 or dstallings [at] horizonsfoundation [dot] org.

Download the Guide to Gift Planning for the LGBT Community: PDF
Learn more about the LGBT Community Endowment Fund...
 

RESEARCH FROM HORZIONS: Groundbreaking Study Examines Charitable Giving in the LGBT Community

By all indications, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are at least as generous as other Americans. So why are less than 5% of them giving to support LGBT causes? More importantly, how can LGBT nonprofits capture more LGBT dollars? These are the central questions raised by research released by Horizons Foundation.

The first multi-part study of its kind, Building a New Tradition of LGBT Philanthropy offers a snapshot of current giving to LGBT organizations, and points to ways to expand the pool of individual donors whose untapped potential can power both the immediate and long-term success of the LGBT movement. The research is based on giving data from 39 LGBT and HIV organizations in the Bay Area, an extensive online donor survey, and a series of focus groups with LGBT donors. More...

Read the full research report...
Read the Executive Summary of the report...