Pride Foundation Named One of Top Twelve Nonprofits

Dear friends,

After a year that has included many celebrations at the local and national level, we have one more exciting headline to share.

Pride Foundation was just named one of the Top 12 high-impact nonprofits working in the field of local LGBTQ equality and support. This esteemed award from comes from Philanthropedia, a division of GuideStar. The rankings are based on in-depth surveys and conversations with hundreds of experts, including academics, foundation leaders, policy makers, and consultants.

Pride Foundation is honored to be recognized for such a prestigious award. We are also thankful to each of you—we reach our successes only with your support. As the holiday season continues, we are reminded of what matters most in our own lives and in the life of an organization like Pride Foundation. We are so grateful for the opportunity to champion for inspired students and innovative nonprofits all year long.

Here is a link to two stories of one scholar (Andrew Nichols) and one grantee (Gay Straight Alliance at Salish Kootenai College) that exemplify what can happen when you take the risk to do what you believe in and when you have a community of friends at your side. These stories also point to the reason Pride Foundation was honored with this award—together we are transforming the lives of people in the Northwest.

I understand that so many of you have contributed generously to many causes this year. Knowing that achieving full equality for all is important to you, I would ask that you consider making a personally significant year-end gift to Pride Foundation. To those of you who have already given generously, thank you. Your gift will be joined with the voices and momentum of the entire community and region. And you never know—you may profoundly change or even save a life.

Thank you.

With Pride,

Kris Hermanns, Executive Director

Pride Foundation

Lambda Legal is No. 1 in Guidestar’s Philanthropedia ranking of LGBT organizations (miamiherald.typepad.com)
Singer Katy Perry to LGBTQ Youth: It’s OK to Ask For Help (bilerico.com)

Last Call: Making Waves

Aug6 by D Gregory Smith

Pride Foundation aims to “make waves” with the first-ever Flathead Lake Equality Cruise on Sunday, Aug. 12, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The boat will depart KwaTaqNuk Best Western Resort at 4 p.m. sharp, so guests are encouraged to arrive by 3:45. Tickets are $45 for individuals and $80 per couple and can be purchased online at www.pridefoundation.eventbrite.com.

Seattle-based Pride Foundation has made a big splash in Montana since hiring on-the-ground staff in 2011, sextupling the number of active donors in less than two years. Pride Foundation has increased from $19,000 to nearly $50,000 the amount of grants and scholarships given out in the state over the past year.

According to Regional Development Organizer Caitlin Copple, who is also the first openly gay member of the Missoula City Council, Montana is part of a larger national trend toward greater acceptance of people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

“From the city ordinances protecting the community from non-discrimination to the increase in the number of high school Gay-Straight Alliances around the state to the changes in both the Republican and Democratic party platforms, Montana is rapidly becoming a more friendly place for gays and lesbians,” Copple said. “Most importantly, more of our heterosexual family, friends, and colleagues are also ‘coming out’ as supporters of full equality in our state.”

Indeed, co-hosts for the upcoming cruise include Rep. Ellie Hill (D-Missoula) and Dr. Tyler Smith of Missoula, Cathy and Ned Cooney of Bigfork, Mary Stranahan of Arlee, and Beth Frazee, Paul Vestal, and Bryony Schwan, all of Missoula.

Special thanks to event sponsors KwaTaqNuk Resort, Fidelity Title of Lake County, Mamalode Magazine, MissoulaEvents.net, Salish Kootenai College, S&K Technologies, Ronan Telephone Company, Blackfoot Telecommunications, and Gateway to Vitality. If you would like to sponsor or co-host, please contact Caitlin@pridefoundation.org.

Founded in 1985, Pride Foundation is dedicated to inspiring a culture of generosity to connect and strengthen organizations, leaders, and students who are creating LGBTQ equality across the Northwest states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. To learn more, visit www.pridefoundation.org or email Caitlin@pridefoundation.org.

Turman Larison Gallery to Host Pride Foundation Benefit (dgsmith.org)
You’re Invited (dgsmith.org)
Free Money! Pride Foundation Deadline July 31 (dgsmith.org)

Helena Screening Tonight!

May23 by D Gregory Smith

Don’t forget- tonight Inlaws and Outlaws will be screened at Plymouth Congregational Church at 7pm! Filmmaker Drew Emery will be introducing the film and staying around after for a Q&A. Copies of the film will also be available for purchase.

What do you get when you fall in love?

Inlaws & Outlaws cleverly weaves together the true stories of couples and singles— both gay and straight — and all into a collective narrative that is as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

At the top of the film, you meet real people one on one. You don’t know who’s gay or straight or who’s with whom. As their stories unfold and stereotypes fall by the wayside, you won’t care because you’ll be rooting for everybody. With candor, good humor, great music and real heart, Inlaws & Outlaws gets past all the rhetoric to embrace what we have in common:

We love.

Inlaws And Outlaws Heads To Montana! (dgsmith.org)
True Story (dgsmith.org)

True Story

May18 by D Gregory Smith

From my friends at the True Stories Project:

Last week President Obama “evolved” on marriage equality, coming to the conclusion that, personally, he supported the right to marry for gay and lesbian couples.

We couldn’t be any happier or prouder – after all, we’re in the evolution business, nudging along hearts and minds one audience at a time.

In fact, last month, we reached our 500th community screening of Inlaws & Outlaws with a very special screening to raise money for our new partners, Washington United for Marriage.

As wonderful as that evening was, we are no less proud of our 499th screening, put together by two churches and a PFLAG chapter in a small town in southwestern Washington. They got over a hundred folks to turn out on a Tuesday night and got a wonderful article in the local paper. The 501st was presented by students at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana as part of Diversity Week. A Virginia chapter of Integrity,the LGBT Episcopal organization put on the 502nd. And Number 503 kicked off the first Pride Week at Salish-Kootenai College, a small tribal school in rural Montana – the first of three screenings this month in that state.

We could go on — and we’d love to! But we can’t do it without you.

With marriage equality finally center stage on the national agenda, we wanted to make it even easier for schools, congregations, and non-profits to host our next 500 screenings.

Introducing our Equality Deal, an easy way to host a screening of Inlaws & Outlaws for free, raise money for your local organization and help more folks evolve in your community.

Here’s how it works:

First, you pick an Equality Deal package that’s the right size for you. The screening license is free when you purchase a package of DVDs with the Equality Deal.
Next, register your event with us, and we’ll make you a nice event page and give you access to lots of free tools to help promote it.
Then, at your film showing, you sell the DVDs at full price, making back your money and, keeping the extra for you or your cause.

We designed it to be win-win, and a great way for us to helping folks in our community evolve. Check out the Equality Deal. We are so ready to welcome you to our Outlaws Posse.

We all know that the fight for equality is truly about love, family, belonging, the pursuit of happiness – something all Americans can relate to. That’s been the idea behind Inlaws & Outlawsfrom the start. All we have to do is share our stories, and that truth becomes eviden to our friends and neighbors. And that’s how you build support for equality.
With gratitude and pride,
Drew Emery

PS If you’re not up for hosting a screening, consider making a donation to our Hearts + Minds Campaign. Every $100 of support helps us offer a free screening to a community organization to help create change.

Inlaws And Outlaws Heads To Montana! (dgsmith.org)
LGBT Locals Cheer Obama’s Marriage-Equality Stance: D.C., Maryland, Virginia groups praise Obama’s support for same-sex marriage (pinkbananaworld.com)

Inlaws And Outlaws Heads To Montana!

May13 by D Gregory Smith

This month, Inlaws & Outlaws heads to Big Sky Country, with three community screenings in Montana!

Salish Kootenai College’s Spirit of Many Colors Gay-Straight Alliance is holding their first annual PRIDE Week and the film kicks it off with a free community screening on Monday, May 14 at 2 pm in the college library.

Later in the month, Montana Pride 2012 and the Montana Human Rights Network team up to present two screenings of the film with a special appearance by filmmaker Drew Emery at each.

On Wednesday, May 23, the film will screen at Plymouth Congregational Church in Helena. On Friday, May 25, the film screens at the Bozeman Public Library. Both screenings are free and open to the general public and a Q&A and discussion with the filmmaker will follow.

The screenings happen as the battle for LGBT rights in the state heats up, including the upcoming vote on Helena’s Non-Discrimination Ordinance. If the city passes the law, it will be the second city in Montana to offer civil rights protections for LGBT Montanans. Missoula became the first in 2010.

D Gregory Smith of Montana Pride shared his excitement over the film’s timeliness. “A basic understanding of the humanity of LGBT relationships is often what’s missing from our discussion of LGBT rights. This film helps remedy that. No one will walk away wondering about differences – the shared humanity is obvious, and celebrated.”


	Montana Outlaws Tour
Mon, May 14 2 pm	Salish Kootenai College Pablo, MT
Wed, May 23 7 pm	Montana Human Rights Network and Montana Pride 2012 Pilgrim Congregational Church, Helena, MT
Fri, May 25 7 pm	Montana Human Rights Network and Montana Pride 2012 Bozeman Public Library, Bozeman, MT
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