Tammye Nash. |. Managing Editor
nash@dallasvoice.com

The board of directors of Texas Pride Impact Funds this week issued its second “request for proposals” call, asking for Texas-based non-profits that provide support and services to the state’s LGBTQ community to submit grant requests. Through its grants, TPIF “will help eligible organizations whose work — whether current, new or joint projects — is consistent with the TPIF mission of ‘securing the future for LGBTQ Texans by inspiring giving and investment and expand opportunities to enrich our communities,’” according to a press release issued by the organization.

The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Friday, May 10. Grant awards will be announced as early in the fall as possible, a spokesperson said.

TPIF’s call for proposals in its first-ever grant cycle last year “drew proposals from 38 organizations around the state,” the press release noted. In that first cycle, 15 grant requests were funded, for a total of $120,000 in funds distributed by TPIF.

TPIF Vice President Judy Sherman said the organization plans to distribute up to $120,000 in grants again this year.
“The goal of the [request for proposals] is to identify organizations that are doing incredible work but lack the staff or financial resources to fulfill their mission,” said TPIF Treasurer David Carlson. “The health — and future — of the LGBTQ community in Texas is in the hands of non-profit partners who do so much with so little. Very few other foundations will fund LGBTQ nonprofits and programs; therefore, it is vital that we support a wide variety of community needs.”

Sherman agreed, adding, “At the end of the day, we are really looking to serve the most under-served, most marginalized needs across the state. We were thrilled to give a grant last summer to an organization in Midland, a support group working with transgender individuals out there. And then from Midland, down to South Texas. We are supporting a group in Harlingen, on the border, in staging a Pride festival this summer. That is huge. Those groups are typically completely under-the-radar for major funders.

“You hear their stories, you go down there and see how those folks are living, and it will break your heart,” Sherman said. “Those of us in North Texas think we have some idea of what’s going on down on the border, but we don’t — at all. It’s been very enlightening for everyone to see what’s happening there.”

TPIF’s grants are intended for “organizations and projects that align with funding priorities that include health care, seniors, youth, employment, and social support” — priorities determined through TPIF’s statewide needs assessment survey, completed before the first round of grants last year.

Applicants must have status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or documented fiscal sponsorship by an organization with current 501(c)(3) status; documentation proving the applicant does not discriminate “with regard to race, color, gender, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, national origin, political affiliation, ancestry, veteran status, physical disability, socioeconomic status, or source of income in its employment practices, selection of board members, selection of students, or acceptance of clients for services or products, or as otherwise provided by all applicable federal, state and local laws;” and proof that the program or service to be funded “clearly tracks the of the number of LGBTQ Texans served and/or documentation of the impact on the LGBTQ community in Texas.”

All three criteria must be satisfied for the application to be evaluated. RFP applications are available only at TxPIF.org/needs-assessment-grants/grant-process-defined. A list of last year’s grant recipients can be found at TxPIF.org/needs-assessment-grants/2018-grantees/.