The 2015 Alliance Fund Grant Awards Reception was held at the Arizona Inn where a $52,500 was awarded to support 15 local programs. Sylvia Mulka, Grant Panel Chair, kicked-off the event by thanking the 12 community volunteers and advisory board members who helped determine the awards.
Grants were awarded for the following programs and organizations:
- Queer Female Writers Influencing Modern Literature ($4,000): Casa Libre en la Solana
- Bisbee Pride, Arts-Based Rural Community Outreach ($3,325): Central School Project/Bisbee Pride
- Out Loud! ($5,000): Foundation for Creative Broadcasting (KXCI)
- 2015 PFLAG Scholarships ($2,500): Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
- Cultural Competency Training Using Project Visibility ($2,275): Pima Council on Aging (PCOA)
- Anti-Violence Project ($4,000): Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation (SAAF)
- Camp Born This Way ($5,000): Camp Born This Way
- EON Youth Program ($5,000): Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation (SAAF)
- Project Ally (Arizona Life Links for Youth) ($5,000): Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation (SAAF)
- MSHAPE ($2,150): Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation (SAAF)
- Community Forum on LGBT Senior Issues ($1,750): Southern Arizona Senior Pride
- Transforming Community Project ($5,000): Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA)
- LGBT Programming within Bob Polinsky Memorial Tucson International Jewish Film Festival ($1,500): Tucson Jewish Community Center
- Arizona Queer Archives “Community Box Project” ($2,000): UA Foundation-Institute for LGBT Studies
- Safe Zone Training ($4,000): UA Foundation-LGBTQ Affairs
The LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund was created in 1999 by the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona in partnership with the National Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership. The Fund addresses a chronic pattern of underfunding of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender programs and supports efforts to address these issues through philanthropy and endowment building, making grants in five areas:
- Youth and Youth-Parent Issues: Increasing support for LGBT individuals and their parents/families
- Human Services Issues: Improving health care, substance abuse treatment, and social services
- Political Advocacy & Involvement: Educating legislators and working for changes that promote civil rights for all
- Education Issues: Educating both the larger community and the LGBT community to promote acceptance, health and well-being
- LGBT Community Infrastructure: Giving organizations the tools they need to be effective.