San Diego CA— Following their most successful Pride event to date, San Diego Pride is pleased to announce their 2019 charitable giving will exceed a quarter of a million dollars. These funds will be distributed to 61 LGBTQ-serving organizations across the globe.
San Diego Pride works to return proceeds from the annual Pride week to the LGBTQ community through philanthropic giving, sponsorships, and event support. Since 1994, community contributions have well exceeded 3 million dollars.
“San Diego Pride, our events, and year-round programming are made possible by our 70 LGBTQ-serving nonprofit community partners, 117 sponsors, 575 entertainers, 1,966 volunteers, 55,000 Festival attendees, and 350,000 Parade attendees,” said San Diego Pride Executive Director Fernando López. “It is a thing of beauty to be a part of so many people working collectively to highlight the LGBTQ community’s vital resources, rich history, and innovative talent. I love that we are able to join in celebration, as we pursue justice with joy, and reinvest proceeds into the health and happiness of our LGBTQ community.”
In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the theme for San Diego Pride 2019 was Stonewall 50: A Legacy of Liberation as the organization honored the Stonewall generation, their activism, and what the community has gained through their efforts. The San Diego Pride Festival that generates these philanthropic funds is built on the shoulders of hundreds of LGBTQ activists and artists including the iconic Melissa Etheridge and breakout star King Princess who continue to help us all celebrate and honor the LGBTQ community.
“We know that LGBTQ-serving organizations are chronically underfunded across the globe. This is why San Diego Pride intentionally reinvests proceeds from our annual celebration to show the world that LGBTQ people can come together to support our own community’s health, well-being, and safety,” said San Diego Pride’s Director of Philanthropy Sarafina Scapicchio. “This year’s grants will fund vital LGBTQ-focused programming locally, nationally and globally for the most marginalized members of our community – from services for LGBTQ seniors here in San Diego to a drop-in center for LGBTQ youth in Ohio to housing for homeless trans women in Malaysia. We are incredibly proud to be the most philanthropic pride celebration in the world.”
The 2019 Grant recipients are:
Being Alive San Diego HIV/AIDS Services, Bilitis Resource Center Foundation (Sofia, Bulgaria), BlacQ Space (San Diego, CA), Breakthrough Workshop Theatre (San Diego, CA), Building Blocks (Las Vegas, CA), Center for Community Solutions (San Diego, CA), Children of the Sun Foundation (Wakiso, Uganda), Colors+(Fairview Park, OH), County of San Diego LGBTQ&A Employee Resource Group, Creating Kin (San Diego, CA), Diversionary Theatre (San Diego, CA), Fondo de Asistencia para el SIDA AC (Tijuana, Mexico), Fraternity House, Inc. (San Diego, CA), Free to Thrive (San Diego, CA), GLSEN San Diego, Greater San Diego Business Association Chartiable Foundation, Imperial Court de San Diego, Interfaith Shelter Network of San Diego, Interpride – Scholarship Foundation, Interpride Solidarity Fund, Lambda Archives of San Diego, LGBTQ Center of Riverside County, Live and Let Live Alano Club (San Diego, CA), Mama’s Kitchen (San Diego, CA), Media Arts Center San Diego, FilmOut San Diego, Minority Humanitarian Foundation (San Diego, CA), Missiongathering Christian Church (San Diego, CA), North County LGBTQ Resource Center (San Diego, CA), Pacific Arts Movement (San Diego, CA), Paducah LGBT Welcome Center (Paducah, KY), PFLAG San Diego County, Pink Triangle (Uganda), POZabilities (San Diego, CA), QLatinx (Orlando, FL), Quatrefoil Library (Minneapolis, MN), RISE San Diego, San Diego American Flag Football League, San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus, San Diego Historical Society, San Diego Trans Pride, San Diego Unified Council of PTAs, San Diego Women’s Chorus, Sathi Foundation (Punjab, Pakistan), Seed Foundation (Southeast Asia), South Bay Alliance Association Inc.(San Diego, CA), Special Delivery San Diego, Stepping Stone San Diego, Stonewall Citizens’ Patrol (San Diego, CA), Strength for the Journey (San Diego, CA), The Gender Phluid Collective (San Diego, CA), The LGBTQ Center (South Bend, IN), The Neutral Corner, Inc. (San Diego, CA), The Recovery Ride (San Diego, CA), The San Diego Black LGBTQ Coalition (San Diego, CA), The San Diego LGBT Community Center, TransFamily Support Services (San Diego, CA), Transgender Day of Empowerment & Tracie Jada O’Brien Transgender Student Scholarship Fund (San Diego, CA)
Tickets are now on sale for the 2020 Pride Festival, held July 18 and July 19, 2020 in Balboa Park. Purchase tickets here: www.sdpride.org