Pride Works Year-round

As the year winds down, we are frequently asked what goes on at Pride now that the parade and festival are over for 2007. Work at Pride is year-round. Before the 2007 events were over, we were already in a strategic planning mode for 2008 and beyond.With a mission to foster pride in, and respect for, all LGBT communities locally and globally, the organization continuously works to achieve an end goal of legal, social and political equality for all.

Event production at Pride these days is managed by a committee of 90 people who focus on creating the traditional Pride parade and other celebrations of diversity and equality. In addition to the parade, a focus on human rights will take center stage at the two-day festival and a candlelight vigil will focus attention on the challenges we still face on the road to equality.

Event production is only a part of the "non-profit business" of San Diego Pride. In our "copious free time" we mentor Pride organizations in other cities in their efforts to stage Pride events. Last year, San Diego Pride provided funds for the first Pride march in Ensenada, Mexico and provided operational support to Palm Springs, Phoenix, and other Prides, as well as participating in the international Pride organization known as InterPride.

We are also actively engaged in documenting the history of Pride in San Diego and have launched the Stonewall 40 - generations of Pride in San Diego project and we are asking members of the community who have photos, programs, flyers, or other memorabilia from past pride events, to contact us at history@sdpride.org or 619.297.7683.

Since 1996, Pride has given $1.2 million to community organizations, and we remain focused on the success of the pride events to ensure we can financially support our fundamental belief that funds raised during the San Diego Pride celebration should be used to benefit the community. Pride has a five-prong approach to giving through grant funding, direct community support, support of other Prides, support of The San Diego LGBT Center and through community partnerships.

The Community Partnership Program is a beneficiary program open to nonprofit organizations in San Diego County that promote a sense of community, diversity, and cooperation. Community Agencies provide San Diego LGBT Pride with services or support during the Pride celebration weekend, and, in return, San Diego Pride awards grants based on program sales or the amount of hours the Agency volunteers. By collaborating with community organizations, San Diego Pride is investing in our community and building a stable, community based future for our LGBT equal rights movement.

Another way for the organization to contribute to the community and fulfill its mission and vision is through investing time and financial resources in Senior Housing. Having identified a need for housing for seniors in the LGBT community, we are committed to establish a LGBT Senior Housing Community in the San Diego area for those aged 55 and above. We are working on purchasing a small housing complex that will be an independent living facility available for rent by seniors in the LGBT community. We expect this initial small project will lead to a community collaborative development of a much larger housing community.

We are responding to the changing needs of our community and evolving the organization to meet those needs. So in the months ahead as you start to hear of the 2008 Pride season, plan on participating and be a part of our LGBT equal rights movement.