Dallas Purple Foundation donated $90,000 in 2016 to local Dallas organizations to help support people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS and to improve the overall quality of life, health, and wellness of the Dallas LGBT community, foundation officials announced Friday, Jan. 27.
Over the course of its 15 years, Purple Foundation has donated more than $750,000 to agencies including Resource Center, AIDS Services of Dallas and Legacy Counseling Center.
Purple Foundation President Blake Baker said his organization is “so happy to be able to mark the end of our anniversary year with our largest donation to date. Programs and organizations like those we support face many obstacles in finding the funding necessary to continue vital programming. Today it is more imperative than ever to stay true to our founding mission.”
Baker said 2016, the organization’s 15th anniversary year, was Purple Foundation’s “busiest and most successful year ever,” bring in “thousands of visitors from across the globe to revel in its most highly attended Purple Party Weekend to date.” The three-day September Purple Pride celebration and the organization’s quarterly Spin and Score parties also boasted record attendance last year.
Purple Foundation also sponsored a number of other events across the city, including No Tie Dinner, Be An Angel, 5 Factor, Toast to Life and Gay Bingo.
Don Maison, president and CEO of AIDS Services, praised Purple Foundation as “a long-standing partner,” adding that he and his agency “value the work they do and have found their support to be an integral part of our fundraising and planning efforts. We look forward to applying these donations to real programs that make a true difference in the lives of so many.”