David Bromstad donates $5,000 to Safe Schools South Florida; Our Fund matches with another $5,000

Color Splash star David Bromstad, who appears Oct. 18 at a Salvation Army fundraiser in Wilton Manors, has donated $5,000 to Safe Schools South Florida.Our Fund, the Broward-based gay foundation, has matched the donation with another $5,000, part of its recent "Match It" program.

Here's the news release from Our Fund about the Bromstad donation, followed by more information about "Match It":

David Bromstad’s $5,000 Donation to Safe Schools South Florida Doubles to $10,000 from Our Fund

 

 

Fort Lauderdale, FL (October 5, 2013) - David Bromstad, HGTV “Color Splash” personality and nationally-recognized designer based in South Florida, read about Our Fund’s recent matching gift announcement of $80,000 to ten local organizations and noticed that Safe Schools South Florida was one of the ten. A quick call to Robert Loupo, Executive Director of Safe Schools South Florida followed by an online gift on Our Fund’s website turned his $5,000 gift into $10,000. “Safe Schools South Florida has been doing amazing work in the schools and in our communities, and my gift was an opportunity to support their mission with an investment that was doubled!” said Mr. Bromstad. “I was bullied and harassed continually through high school, and I know what hell that can be. I wanted to support Safe Schools South Florida’s great work on behalf of LGBTQ students and help prevent this bullying and harassment from happening to others.”

“We are delighted to have received this gift from David matched equally by Our Fund. “ said Robert Loupo. “This gift will have a major impact on the lives of thousands of students, helping create safer schools and communities by reducing bullying, name-calling and harassment and supporting youth leadership and empowerment through GSAs (gay/straight alliance school clubs), GSA summits and conferences and other student organizations.“

In two and a half years, Our Fund has distributed almost $800,000 to non-profit organizations serving the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community. The “MATCH IT” grant program selected ten organizations throughout the tri-county area with an $80,000 award to be matched by new donors or increased gifts from existing donors of the non-profit organizations. The concept of the program is to help increase LGBT philanthropy in South Florida. “Our Fund is also delighted to have David as one of the first donors who support this year’s matching gift program with his gift of $5,000 to Safe Schools South Florida.” says Anthony Timiraos, CEO/President of Our Fund. “ We have nine other organizations that were selected for this program and deserve the community’s support.”

More information about “MATCH IT” and a listing of other organizations in this program can be found at www.our-fund.org/matchit.

This is the complete news release about Our Fund's "Match It" program:

Fort Lauderdale, FL (October 1, 2013) – Non-profit organizations in South Florida were awarded a total of $80,000 in grants from OUR FUND, South Florida’s LGBT community foundation, for projects that will help improve the lives of LGBT residents of South Florida. The grants require that the selected agencies work with their staff and OUR FUND to obtain equal matching gifts from new donors or increased gifts from existing donors for a total of $160,000.

Projects in areas that included health, education, civil rights, arts, human services, youth, LBT women and transgender were selected from the tri-county area by the Programs and Grants Committee of OUR FUND, a committee comprised of community leaders from all three counties.

The Funding for these projects was provided by the First 100 Funders Fund, created by the generosity of Our Fund supporters who pledge their support for a period of three years by committing to a minimum annual contribution of $1,500. A portion of their gift is allocated to this special Fund designed to increase philanthropy. “Our philanthropic impacts are achieved when our community works together”, Anthony Timiraos, CEO/President of OUR FUND. “Our donors know that they are part of a charitable network that increases their effectiveness and impact – together, we are all making a difference”.

David Jobin, Executive Director of The Stonewall National Museum and Archives, one of the ten recipients, commented that “…this grant will help fund an exhibit that allows SNMA to create a thoughtful conversation among Florida educators, administrators and Florida’s high school student population as it draws natural comparisons in the fight for equality among previously marginalized races and populations.” Latinos Salud, another recipient organization, will “create an intensive rapport-building platform that safely recruits into HIV testing those local gay men who are otherwise reluctant to test. The program will also provide support to those who know but have fallen out of care and services.” says Executive Director, Stephen Fallon.

“We are thrilled to receive this support from OUR FUND during a time when other funding sources have been cut or eliminated. Our ‘Touched by Cancer’ project will increase the knowledge of cancer causes, risk factors and resources within the LGBT community” commented Shelley Goren, President of Gilda’s Club. Robert Loupo, Executive Director of Safe Schools South Florida, said that “… these grants will make a major impact in the lives of thousands of students by creating safer schools and communities through awareness and education”.

The wide variety of projects that are being funded include:

· Compass Community Center: Funds to host the largest display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in Florida.

· Equality Florida: Funds to initiate Gender Identity programs through Equality Means Business and advocate for transgender residents to minimize transphobia.

· Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida: Purchase of software to aid in donor and grant tracking.

· Gilda’s Club: “Touched by Cancer project will increase targeted marketing campaigns to the LGBT community on the causes and risk factors of cancer. Provide lists of health resources helpful to LGBT population.

· Latinos Salud: Expand their HIV testing efforts to target those local gay men who are reluctant to test and provide needed support to those who know their HIV+ status but have been unable to manage their diagnosis.

· Pride Center at Equality Park: Continued funding for a fully-equipped staffed office for LBT women to receive needed support referrals, services and resources.

· Safe Schools South Florida: Funding to continue programs making schools’ environments safer for all students.

· The Stonewall National Museum and Archives: Funding for a statewide distribution of educational materials that will help create thoughtful conversations among our state’s educators, administrators and student population.

· SunServe: Funding for GenderServe, a project that will improve the mental, physical, financial and emotional well-being of all transgender persons in South Florida.

· YES Institute: Expansion of education efforts to help youth facing rejection and harassment on the basis of gender and orientation. Funds will be used primarily in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

These organizations will seek to obtain matching gifts between October 1 and December 31, 2013 as part of the funding requirements. For more information about any of these projects or to make a donation please visit www.our-fund.org/matchit or contact any of the organizations noted above.

Our Fund’s mission is to promote a culture of philanthropy by uniting donors with organizations supporting the LGBT community. Focused on expanding philanthropy in South Florida and working to develop stronger non-profit organizations, South Florida’s only LGBT community foundation has been established to help build endowments that support donor’s charitable interests including organizations providing services throughout the LGBT community.