Letters from Leadership

A Letter From The Chair | LGBTQ Community Fund

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Dear Members and Supporters,

It is hard to believe that we passed the five-year mark with the LBGTQ Community Fund. Thanks go out to Jeff Chartrand for his vision for the potential of a fund like this in Northeast Florida and to Michael Meyers for leading us though the first five years. Also, sincere gratitude to the many people involved in the initial exploratory endeavor and the steering committee members to carry out the intent of the fund. There has been so much work behind the scenes looking into the LBGTQ needs of our community and everyone’s work is very much appreciated.

We set some lofty goals in the first five years and with everyone’s help we have reached those goals in many ways, and not just monetarily. We strived to identify needs based on diversity throughout our community and looking back on what we have achieved and the grants we have distributed I would say we have had tremendous success.

The first five-year accomplishments include monitoring and supporting our grantees, published results of the Community Needs Assessment by the Williams Institute, educating the community on the need for the HRO, and continued oral history projects with our last profile being Tom Serwatka. The LGBTQ Community Fund for Northeast Florida has become a benchmark that other funds around the country are looking at in terms of structure and success. We are continuously looking for ways to support our community and key members to feature so please reach out to a member of the board and share your ideas.

One of our greatest events was our five-year celebration of The Many Sides of Pride in October 2018. Thanks to a very creative team we introduced The Many Sides of Pride to the audience in a very unique way. It was a very emotional evening to hear from members of our community with respect to their challenges and success with regards to their Pride. The attendance from the LGBTQ community and allies was incredible and an inspiration to the board that what we have worked so hard to achieve is now reality.

There are many ways to show your support for the LGBTQ Community, so please look over the commitment form and pick what works best for your involvement.

Again, thank you for your support and contributing to the Fund so we can continue to have an even greater impact in the years to come.

My Best,

Joe Barton
Chair

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