World’s First LGBTQ Community Foundation Begins 40th Anniversary Celebration
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World’s First LGBTQ Community Foundation Begins 40th Anniversary Celebration
San Francisco-based Horizons Foundation, a Top-Ten LGBTQ Movement Funder, Celebrates Four Decades
January 15, 2020, San Francisco – Horizons Foundation, the world’s first LGBTQ community foundation, this month marks four decades of creating a world where all LGBTQ people live freely and fully.
“Over the last 40 years, Horizons has helped to shape the LGBTQ community and movement, especially in the Bay Area,” said Roger Doughty, Horizons’ President. “We are thrilled to celebrate this remarkable milestone while doubling down on our commitment to our community.”
In celebration of its 40th anniversary, Horizons today announced details about its 40th Anniversary Gala Celebration, which will be held on Saturday, September 12 at PIER 27 in San Francisco. More details and a link to purchase tickets, as well as other special content, announcements, sponsor listings, and information about Horizons’ other public, 40th anniversary events, will be made available throughout the year at horizonsfoundation.org/40.
Horizons’ four-decade history includes the first foundation grant to an AIDS service provider, as well as early and frequent funding for hundreds of Bay Area organizations, including many that would become leading community institutions. Grantee partners have included Transgender Law Center, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lyon Martin Health Services, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Project Open Hand, the Gay Games, Bay Area American Indian Two Sprits, LYRIC, Fresh Meat, Gente Latina de Ambiente, and Openhouse.
Horizons awarded nearly $5 million in the last year alone, when it was recognized as one of the top ten funders of the LGBTQ movement of all time. In its grantmaking, Horizons prioritizes emerging, grassroots organizations; bold, innovative solutions; and the most under-resourced segments of the LGBTQ community, including people of color and transgender people.
The foundation’s support of the LGBTQ community now extends across the country and the world. Horizons is the national home to Give OUT Day, which last year alone helped nearly 500 LGBTQ groups raise more than $1 million to support their work. Horizons also operates the Global Faith and Equality Fund, which is a leading global funder of work to stop the exportation of homo- and transphobia from the U.S. to other parts of the world, especially in Africa.
Horizons is also carrying out a long-term plan to secure the future of the LGBTQ community, including by developing the LGBTQ Community Endowment Fund, a permanent source or resources for the community. Last year, Horizons announced that it had identified over $100 million in future legacy gifts, many for the endowment, which will support the community for generations to come.
Horizons thanks early Pride-level sponsor Levi Strauss Foundation for their support of Horizons’ Ruby Anniversary and their longstanding commitment to the LGBTQ community.
About Horizons Foundation
Horizons Foundation (www.horizonsfoundation.org) envisions a world where all LGBTQ people live freely and fully. The world’s first community foundation of, by, and for LGBTQ people, Horizons invests in LGBTQ organizations, strengthens a culture of LGBTQ giving, and builds a permanent endowment to secure our community’s future for generations to come. In 2020, Horizons is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Learn more at horizonsfoundation.org.
