Weiland Bequest

Ric's Bio

Richard ‘Ric’ W. Weiland was born April 21st, 1953 in Wichita, Kansas. He attended Seattle’s Lakeside School, graduating in 1971. Ric began studies at Stanford University in 1972, and graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1976.

His first job out of college was in Albuquerque, New Mexico with former high school classmates Bill Gates and Paul Allen at the then little-known company called Microsoft. He was one of the first employees at the company and while there he managed the completion of the COBOL complier and helped develop the BASIC interpreter, two of the first interfaces for personal computers. He also helped design and write the predecessor of Microsoft Office, Microsoft Works, one of the first programs to integrate office applications in a single package.

Ric left Microsoft in 1988, after 12 years at the company, and began devoting his time to philanthropy. It is estimated that Ric donated over $30 million during his lifetime. He supported a variety of causes, including LGBT equality, the environment, HIV/AIDS research, and education. Ric was a board member at Pride Foundation from 1997 to 2001 and on the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) board from 2002 to 2005.

Ric died from suicide on June 24, 2006 after suffering from depression. His untimely death greatly saddened those close to him, along with the larger LGBT community, to which he had given so much.

Ric left the vast majority, an estimated 90%, of his estate to charitable interests. Those benefiting from his estate are:

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research
Children’s Hospital
Environmental Defense
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
In The Life Media
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
Lakeside School
Lambda Legal
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF)
Nature Conservancy (WA State and National)
National Wildlife Federation
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
Pride Foundation
Project Inform
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
Sierra Club
Stanford University
United Way King County

Ric is survived by his partner, Mike Schaefer of Seattle, and many nieces and nephews.

Gift FAQ

What are the details of Ric Weiland’s gift to Pride Foundation?

Ric made three different gifts to Pride Foundation through his estate. The largest, $46 million, established what is called a designated fund. A designated fund allows the donor to give money to Pride Foundation to disburse to other organizations. Ric chose 10 national organizations to receive specific amounts from this fund over the course of 8 years. Pride Foundation will begin disbursing this money by March 31, 2008. More info on the designated fund is below.

In addition Ric left two gifts to Pride Foundation’s endowment. The first, $16 million, goes into our current endowment without restriction. Pride Foundation’s endowment is a very long term fund, and by law can never drop below the principal (original investment) amount. Pride Foundation will use this to fund primarily for our granting and leadership development programs, and also for strengthening our infrastructure. Due to our endowment policies, Pride Foundation will receive 1% of the endowment in 2008, 2% in 2009, and so on until we begin receiving 5% from this endowment in 2011. At this point the endowment will continue to provide 5% forever.

The second, $3 million, creates a new educational scholarships endowment, which we will be able to start spending in the Spring of 2009.

Download the full FAQ

Media Downloads

Media Release Download
Images of Ric Weiland
Quotes and Descriptions from the Weiland Designated Fund Beneficiaries

About Pride Foundation

Pride Foundation is a community foundation serving the Northwest’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Pride Foundation makes grants to organizations and gives educational scholarships to students in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Founded in 1985, Pride Foundation has given more than $7.2 million to over 500 organizations and 522 students in an effort to strengthen the LGBT community. Pride Foundation’s funding comes overwhelmingly from individuals, who gave 89% of our $1.7 million in funding during fiscal year 2006/07. Pride Foundation does not receive any government funding.

Please click the following for more information on Pride Foundation:

Grants to organizations
Educational scholarships
History
Mission, Vision, and Values
Board and Staff Leadership

Contact Information for Pride Foundation

For all media inquiries please contact:

Zan McColloch-Lussier
Director of Communications
206.323.3318 X 101
zan@pridefoundation.org