Fund Created to Help Pride Organizations

PALM SPRINGS — The United States Association of Prides (USAP) has launched the Pride Operational Support Fund to respond rapidly to organizations at greatest risk from this health crisis.

Charitable tax-deductible donations can be made online by clicking here. 

Pride organizations in the United States mobilize more than 20 million individuals in communities across the country through their annual events. The COVID-19 virus has forced nearly 100 nonprofit U.S. Pride organizations to cancel or postpone fundraising events, impacting their ability to deliver on their mission and serve the community throughout the year, possibly threatening their future existence.

USAP is focused on developing a national identity of Pride and building vibrant and strong U.S. Pride organizations through collaboration, support, and networking; providing resources and advocacy for its members.

“The United States Association of Prides is deeply concerned by the continuing global spread of the novel coronavirus and the resulting impact on Pride organizations. To promote solidarity and help support financially struggling local Pride organizations impacted by COVID-19, we are calling on individuals and our corporate partners for donations. These donations are needed to help make emergency grants to nonprofit Pride organizations working on the frontlines as beacons of hope and connectivity, providing our nation’s most vulnerable with human rights and social justice community-based support,” said Ron deHarte, Co-President of the United States Association of Prides.

“Pride organizations serve vital roles in their community engaging hundreds of volunteers, employing local contractors, hiring businesses, and in some cases, providing assistance to other nonprofit organizations that support emergent needs, as well as provide food security, essential living expenses, rent, and utility payment support,” added deHarte.

The USAP Pride Operational Support Fund provides a one-time grant award to organizations that, due to COVID-19, have had to cancel or postpone critical fundraising events and programming, resulting in a significant hardship on the organization. This general operating support grant can help with general operating and other non-recoverable expenses.

Donations will be made available for LGBTQ+ organizations in the United States hit hardest by the spread of coronavirus due to cancelations or postponements.  Grants will be available through USAP for unexpected costs and losses related to the COVID-19 virus.

“Many are not aware of Pride budgets entail – beyond simple overhead costs, several organizations might also have staff to worry about regardless of whether their annual event takes place. They depend upon Pride happening as usual, and similarly, so do our community partners, who plan to volunteer annually and receive mini-grants from Pride to support their own nonprofits,” explains USAP Co-President Marsha H. Levine, who continues, “Some even depend on those funds in order to remain open and offer much-needed services to the public. There is more than just a celebration missing for June or the year; there’s a whole cascade effect felt within the LGBTQ+ community. Our ability to offer survival grants helps them hold on – and weather this together.”