Liberty Hill Gives $225,000 To 12 Local Lesbian/Gay/Transgender Organizations

   The Liberty Hill Foundation has awarded $225,000 to 12 organizations working on issues faced by local lesbian, gay and transgendered communities.
   Two of the funded organizations – California Freedom to Marry Coalition and Equality California Institute – are active in the movement to establish marriage rights in California.
   “This has been a historic year in the movement for equality,” said Torie Osborn, Executive Director of Liberty Hill. “What seems like an explosion into the national spotlight is really the result of years of organizing. Liberty Hill is proud to fund organizations whose work will push American society forward, set milestones and make history.”
   Liberty Hill’s Lesbian & Gay Community Fund provides critical support to organizations addressing the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) communities. From street theater that fights bigotry in elementary schools to groundbreaking vocational and rehabilitation services addressing the specific needs of gay inmates at Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles, the Fund distributes more than $200,000 annually in grants to grassroots groups working in Los Angeles County.
   Liberty Hill is the only public foundation in L.A. County with a fund dedicated to LGBT projects. In the quarter century since its founding, the Santa Monica-based foundation has given away more than $17 million to grassroots community organizations working for change in Los Angeles.
   Lesbian & Gay Community Fund 2004 grant recipients include the California Freedom to Marry Coalition, Equality California Institute, Fringe Benefits Alliance, a theater group that works with young people, The FTM Alliance that provides aid to the transgender community, the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, Hebrew Union College’s Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for assistance to gay and transgender inmates in Men’s Central Jail, ONE Gay and Lesbian Archives, OUTFEST film festival, REACH LA, a program for young people, Stop Prisoner Rape, and UCLA Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Campus Resource Center.