As COVID-19 continues to impact our community, many non-profit organizations are feeling the pinch as they struggle to keep up with the growing need and diminishing funds.

Seattle Out & Proud – also known as “Seattle Pride” – is hoping its latest round of community grants – totaling $31,000, will provide some much-needed assistance to the six organizations which will share the funds.

“As the needs in our community – and the LGBTQIA+ community in particular – continue to grow, we want to do our part to help the recipient organizations which are contributing in such meaningful ways,” said Seattle Pride Executive Director Krystal Marx. “We celebrated Pride Month in June, but Seattle Pride’s work continues year-round in helping nonprofits across the region which are doing so much to assist those in the LGBTQIA+ community and to advance diversity, inclusivity and equal human rights for all.”

Twice each year Seattle Pride awards grants to charitable organizations which support the local LGBTQIA+ community, with $127,000 donated since 2017. This summer’s community grant recipients include:

  • Feeding el Pueblo Fund ($5,000) – A GoFundMe community food drive to bring culturally relevant foods to South King County Latinx communities in Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park, SeaTac and White Center.

“We offer gratitude to Seattle Pride for its generous donation to our community effort. As a result of the pandemic, many of our communities have experienced loss, grief and great uncertainty. A way that we offer support for the healing of our community is to offer food items which are connected to our cultural roots, which comfort us in times of uncertainty.” – Roxana Pardo Garcia, Community Leader & Volunteer Campaign Lead, Feeding el Pueblo

  • LGBTQ Allyship ($5,000) – Building power among LGBTQIA+ communities and allies statewide to work towards economic, racial and gender justice.

“We are grateful for the support of Seattle Pride in bolstering LGBTQ Allyship’s work in addressing LGBTQ+ marginalized senior invisibility, social isolation and economic challenges during COVID-19. Seattle Pride’s grant will provide much needed educational opportunities and community support to enhance our senior community’s resilience and fortitude during these challenging times.” – Debbie Carlsen, Executive Director, LGBTQ Allyship

  • National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) ($3,000) – Encourage and acknowledge young artists working in media arts – promoting their accomplishments through festivals and programs, and celebrating their talent and the compelling stories they tell.

“In a pandemic year when funders are pivoting their focus from the arts, which is perpetually in danger of being deemed ‘not essential,’ Seattle Pride is steadfast in uplifting the voices of underrepresented and marginalized storytellers. NFFTY is grateful for the continued support of Seattle Pride, which underwrites our featured LGBTQIA+ filmmaker showcase and provides a cash award to a promising queer filmmaker.” – Dan Hudson, Executive Director, NFFTY

“Seattle Public Schools is tremendously grateful to Seattle Pride for its generous donation to support the “Our Students, Their Stories” portrait/storytelling project. This project captures images and stories from LGBTQIA+ staff, students and their families across the district. The project will culminate in a book and photo exhibit which will be used as educational material for staff training, and for students across all grade levels.” – Lisa Love, Manager/Health Education, Seattle Public Schools

  • Three Dollar Bill Cinema ($5,000) – Strengthens, connects and reflects diverse communities through queer film and media.

“We are so thrilled and thankful to receive the grant from Seattle Pride. We will be using it for our 25th anniversary programming at the Seattle Queer Film Festival to support our free workshops, panels and diversity and inclusion initiatives during the virtual festival. We are dedicated to creating a space for LGBTQIA+ visibility with film and community online.” – Kathleen Mullen, Interim Executive Director, Three Dollar Bill Cinema

  • YWCA ($5,000) – Works to eliminate race- and gender-based disparities in housing, economic advancement and health.

“YWCA is proud to be a recipient of a Seattle Pride grant to support GenRising, YWCA’s diverse group of young professionals under the age of 45. GenRisers engage underrepresented communities in inclusive philanthropy and are the next generation of philanthropists, policy influencers and leaders. Thanks to this generous support, our fall GenRising event will explore how we can advance racial justice for Black women in philanthropy and the nonprofit community.” – Fran Kreman, Foundation Giving Officer, YWCA of Seattle & Snohomish Counties

“I’m so proud of the diversity of organizations and grassroots efforts that our grant program is supporting in this time of community need,” added Marx. “Our community has many faces, and we’re all in this together – including our extended family of supporters, funders and community partners.”

One longtime community partner – Sound Credit Union – was particularly helpful this year, enabling Seattle Pride to award its $5,000 grant to the Feeding el Pueblo fund to address food insecurity in the Highline community of South King County.

“Sound is proud to partner with Seattle Pride. The cultures of both organizations believe in creating communities which are inclusive, diverse and bring everyone together in unity,” said Jennifer Reed, Sound Credit Union’s vice president/public relations. “When we heard Seattle Pride had to cancel the in-person parade, we wanted to reallocate our sponsorship funds to continue our support of the organization and initiatives important to the community during the pandemic. Feeding el Pueblo is a wonderful cause which brings us together, across many cultures, around food while helping fight hunger injustice.”

Earlier this year, Seattle Pride announced a special round of grantmaking totaling an additional $25,000 to organizations providing direct COVID-19-related services, including El Centro de la Raza,  Entre Hermanos,  FEEST,  Ingersoll Gender Center,  PFLAG,  COVID-19 Relief Fund for Undocumented People, UTOPIA Seattle and Ventures. For a complete list of Seattle Pride grants by year, visit SeattlePride.org.

About Seattle Pride/Seattle Out & Proud Foundation
Seattle Out & Proud/Seattle Pride is a 501c(4) not-for-profit organization which produces the Seattle Pride Parade, Seattle Pride in the Park and other pride-related events and promotions, as well as, year-round statewide advocacy in support of diversity, inclusivity and equal human rights for all.

The Seattle Out & Proud Foundation is Seattle Pride’s 501c(3) non-profit foundation which provides grants and sponsorship support to community-based LGBTQIA+ organizations statewide, educates members of the public about the LGBTQIA+ community and the rights of its members, to eliminate discrimination against and further the civil rights of members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and to connect, inspire and strengthen the LGBTQIA+  community by promoting the arts and supporting leadership development.

To learn more about the Seattle Pride and Pride-related events, grants and advocacy visit www.seattlepride.org, subscribe to our e-newsletters and advocacy alerts, and follow on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn @SeattlePride and on Twitter @OurSeattlePride.