After nearly four decades of work together, we are filled with gratitude for every person and organization in the Pride Foundation ecosystem. No matter how you show up in this work, your acts of generosity ripple out in our communities, and impact the lives of LGBTQ+ people across the region. These milestones are just a snapshot of all we have achieved together, and how our ecosystem has grown and changed through time.
1985
Pride Foundation is incorporated by Mary Kay Wright, Tarl Oliason, Allan Tonning, and Dan Block.
1986
Pride Foundation holds its first board meeting with its nine founding members.
1987
Pride Foundation takes part in the National March on Washington to demand that President Ronald Regan address the AIDS crisis.
1987
Pride Foundation awards its first grants – a total of $7,150 to 13 organizations.
1988
Pride Foundation welcomes our first Executive Director, Jolly Sue Baker!
1988
Pride Foundation holds its first annual Croquet Classic.
1989
Pride Foundation awards its first grant outside of Seattle to organizations in Tacoma, WA and Vancouver, BC.
1989
Alan Tonning, one of Pride Foundation’s founders, leaves a $1M bequest to the foundation. The Advocate notes that this is “the largest bequest to an LGBT organization.”
1990
Pride Foundation launches its new Mastercard, which supports their efforts to advance LGBTQ equality.
1991
Pride Foundation awards their first grant in Oregon to the Bradley Angle House in Portland, providing support for survivors of domestic violence.
1992
Pride Foundation moves their offices to 2920 E. Madison St. in Seattle with new Executive Director Ted Lord.
1992
Pride begins its grants banquet for donors, volunteers, and grantees.
1993
Pride Foundation’s scholarship program is established with the Brian M. Day Scholarship.
1994
The Pride Foundation Community Scholarship is launched, which is available to current and future LGBTQ and allied student leaders.
1994
Pride Foundation establishes Stand Up and Be Counted, awarding $100,000 in Washington State for LGBTQ+ education and visibility.
1996
Pride Foundation launches their work in Spokane, Pierce, and Yakima counties in Washington state, beginning its regional expansion.
1996
Pride Foundation awards its one millionth dollar!
1996
Pride Foundation staff, board, and volunteers attend the Community Foundations meeting.
1997
Pride Foundation is recognized as an Outstanding Philanthropic Foundation.
1997
The Paul Arnold Memorial Scholarship for young people studying interior, fashion, or graphic design is created.
1999
Pride Foundation has its first shareholder advocacy victory with McDonald’s, leading the company to add sexual orientation to its equal employment opportunity (EEO) policy.
1999
Pride Foundation opens its website and moves to its current location on 20th and Madison in Seattle, along with new Executive Director Audrey Haberman.
1999
The Bellevue Chapter of PFLAG Scholarship is established through Pride Foundation and made available to East King County high school graduating seniors.
2000
Pride Foundation partners with General Electric to include sexual orientation in their equal employment opportunity policy.
2003
Pride Foundation successfully partners with Walmart, the country’s largest private employer, to add sexual orientation to its equal employment opportunity (EEO) policy, impacting 1.3 million workers across the country. Read more about this here.
2004
“Campaign for Pride” raises $3M to expand Pride Foundation’s reach and capacity.
2004
Pride Foundation receives “Apples and Oranges” Collaboration Award during the 1st Annual Fruit Bowl Awards at the Seattle LGBT Community Center.
2005
Pride Foundation was the only LGBT organization to make Seattle Magazine‘s “2005 Best Places to Work” list and was the smallest organization to do so.
2005
Pride Foundation awards its one millionth dollar in scholarships!
2005
The Leather Community endowed the Tony DeBlase scholarship for students entering the fields of sex education, sex therapy, research or furthering the understanding of human sexuality, especially alternative sexuality.
2007
Pride Foundation partners with Precision Castparts Corp to add sexual orientation to their equal employment opportunity (EEO) policy, impacting 29,600 employees.
2007
Pride Foundation partners with Washington Group International (now the Washington Division of URS Corporation) to add sexual orientation to their equal employment opportunity (EEO) policy, impacting 25,000 employees.
2007
Whidbey Giving Circle (WGC) – a fund of Pride Foundation – invests in student leaders and organizations that support the LGBTQ community on Whidbey Island in Washington.
2007
Pride Foundation awards its ten millionth dollar!
2008
Former Pride Foundation Board Member and Microsoft founder Ric Weiland leaves $65M to Pride Foundation and the LGBT community, with $46M being given to 10 national organizations, and $19M being endowed at Pride Foundation. Read more here.
2008
Pride Foundation launches their Racial Equity Initiative as part of a national focus spearheaded by Funders of LGBTQ Issues. Read more about the Racial Equity Initiative here.
2008
Pride Foundation partners with Expeditors International and Glacier BanCorp to add sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to EEO policy, impacting 1,919 employees.
2009
Dylan Orr, a former Pride Foundation scholar, becomes the first openly transgender person appointed by the Obama Administration. Read more here.
2009
Pride Foundation launches the Queer Youth Initiative to increase the capacity of LGBTQ+ youth centers in the region.
2009
After engaging in conversations with management, Procter & Gamble adds gender identity and expression to their EEO, impacting 121,000 employees.
2010
We award our twenty-five millionth dollar!
2010
Pride Foundation partners with Amgen and Avista Corporation to add gender identity and expression to their EEO policies, impacting over 20,000 employees.
2011
Pride Foundation hires on-the-ground staff in each of five states served – Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Eastern Washington, and Western Washington.
2011
The Beyond the Bridge Fund is established at Pride Foundation to support organizations and projects in the Puget Sound area that reduce key risk factors (bullying, family rejection, homelessness, religiously motivated intolerance, and homo- and transphobias).
2012
Pride Foundation hires CEO, Kris Hermanns. Read Kris’ exclusive interview with Seattle Gay News here.
2012
Pride Foundation supported efforts in Helena, Montana to pass the city’s non-discrimination ordinance. (The ordinance was amended in 2017 to become fully inclusive after removing gender restrictions in public accommodations.)
2012
With support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, we launch the LGBTQ+ Homeless Youth Initiative.
2012
Pride Foundation and Freedom to Marry launch a $1.5M public education campaign to help spread the word about the importance of the freedom to marry in Washington ahead of the fall ballot initiative. Read Kris Hermann’s editorial for the Seattle Gay News here.
2012
Pride Foundation supports a number of advocacy efforts that lead to the 2012 passage of marriage equality in Washington.
2013
Pride Foundation awards its 50 millionth dollar!
2013
Pride Foundation partnered with local community members in Pocatello, Idaho to successfully defeat an attempt to repeal its fully inclusive non-discrimination ordinance.
2014
Pride Foundation launches our Scholar Alumni Group—made up of over 1,800 leaders—to continue building a support network for scholars.
2014
Pride Foundation co-founded the Coalition for Inclusive Healthcare in Washington State to remove the trans-specific exclusions from private and public health insurance coverage.
2014
Pride Foundation launches its Alumni Group to continue building a network of support for past scholars and fellows—a group of over 1,200 leaders.
2014
Pride Foundation celebrates three shareholder advocacy victories – Schnitzer Steel, Greenbriar Companies, and PACCAR.
2015
Pride Foundation celebrates seven shareholder advocacy victories, including Stillwater Mining Company and Alaska General Communications, Inc.
2015
Pride Foundation partners to pass Alaska’s first non-discrimination ordinance in Anchorage. Read more about it here.
2015
Pride Foundation celebrates its 30th anniversary, highlighted by US Senator Patty Murray and a partnership with StoryCorps to capture and document the rich oral history of the LGBTQ community.
2015
Washington Health Authority mandated that private health insurance provide inclusive coverage for medically necessary care for transgender people, in part due to the efforts of the Coalition for Inclusive Healthcare.
2015
Pride Foundation awards its sixty millionth dollar!
2016
Pride Foundation works with Morten Group, LLC to center racial equity across the whole organization. Read more about our racial equity core here.
2016
Pride Foundation launches TRANSform WA, a public education project to increase awareness, understanding, and empathy for trans and gender diverse people.
2016
In Montana, we launch Open To All, our supportive business initiative that includes hundreds of local businesses committed to being inclusive of LGBTQ+ people.
2016
Pride Foundation acquires Equity Foundation, allowing for a whole new magnitude of change in Oregon and LGBTQ philanthropy across the region.
2016
Pride Foundation co-founded Washington Safe Alliance and Washington Won’t Discriminate to combat attacks on the state’s 11 year non-discrimination ordinance, specifically targeting the trans communities, successfully defeating a ballot initiative and legislative attempts.
2016
Pride Foundation successfully distributed the entirety of Ric Weiland’s $53M designated portion of his estate plan, and secured local and national press coverage—Seattle Times, Geekwire, and Chronicle of Philanthropy—regarding this historic gift.
2017
Pride Foundation launches its new Rapid Response Fund to make sure that groups on the ground responding to emerging developments have the critical resources that will be needed to come together and protect one another in the coming days, months, and years.
2017
Pride Foundations hosts its first-ever gala, The Equity Awards, in Portland, Oregon.
2017
Due to Pride Foundation’s advocacy efforts, Anchorage and Seattle-King County are selected as 2 of 10 counties selected for HUD’s youth demonstration program to accelerate progress and preventing in ending youth and young adult homelessness. We are now partners in both projects.
2017
Pride Foundation makes an historic level of community grant investments, exceeding half a million dollars for the first time.
2018
Pride Foundation convened the first-ever LGBTQ roundtable in Alaska. LGBTQ and allied organizations shared their work with one another and identified ways to collaborate across the state.
2018
Pride Foundation partnered with the Fair Anchorage campaign to defeat an attempt to repeal the city’s non-discrimination ordinance.
2018
Pride Foundation collaborated on the creation of one of the first rural resource guides for Washington and North Idaho.
2018
Pride Foundation made an historic level of scholarships awards this year, exceeding $500,000—making the total program awards more than $5 million over the past 25 years.
2018
Pride Foundation awarded its 70 millionth dollar!
2019
Brandy Pirtle-Guiney, Portland, OR, becomes the first Pride Foundation Board President outside of Washington.
2019
Pride Foundation made an historic level of investment through our Community Grants program—$550,000.
2019
Open to All, Pride Foundation’s supportive business initiative in Montana, welcomes its 300th participating business! Learn more about Open To All here.
2020
In the face of COVID-19 and in support of movements for racial justice, Pride Foundation pivoted to establish Crisis Community Cares Efforts in our corner of our region. In 2020, Pride Foundation raised more than $800,000, and awarded $430,000, to support and care for our communities.
2020
Pride Foundation made an historic investment through Community Grants program this year: $665,000!
2020
Pride Foundation made one of the largest discretionary grants in our history: $30,000 to the WA Black Trans Task Force.
2020
TRANSform Washington, Pride Foundation’s public education program, hosted the first-ever statewide convening on nonbinary messaging and strategy.
2020
We awarded $665,000 in Community Grants—a historic amount!