City of San Francisco Asks: Can GLBT Museum Donors Meet the Challenge?
The City of San Francisco has issued a challenge to the GLBT Historical Society in the form of a $17,000 matching grant to support The GLBT History Museum, the stand-alone museum that the society operates in the city's Castro District.
The City of San Francisco has issued a challenge to the GLBT Historical Society in the form of a $17,000 matching grant to support The GLBT History Museum, the stand-alone museum that the society operates in the city’s Castro District.
To qualify for the funds, the society must raise an equal amount of money from new individual donors or increased donations from past donors.
“Now is the time for friends of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender history to become a member or make a donation,” notes Paul Boneberg, executive director of the GLBT Historical Society. “Through the city’s challenge grant, every dollar new donors give will be doubled. If they give $10, the city will turn it into $20 — and if they give $500, the city will make it $1,000.
“Plus there’s another way to help the Historical Society benefit from this great opportunity,” Boneberg says. “People can simply ask their friends and colleagues to make a donation — and let them know that the city will match what they give dollar for dollar. This will help us not only reach new supporters, but also secure funds for new exhibitions and other museum initiatives.”
In addition to the challenge grant from the city, a group of Historical Society supporters has agreed to independently match all individual donations up to a total of $13,000 through the end of December. As a result, all donations to the society will be doubled — and gifts from those who have not previously donated will be tripled.
According to Boneberg, donations are welcome by credit card, PayPal or check and can be made online or by mail. The GLBT Historical Society is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, so all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by U.S. law. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.glbthistory.org/donate.
About the GLBT Historical Society
The GLBT Historical Society is a research center and archives that collects, preserves and interprets the history of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and the communities that support them. Founded in 1985, it maintains one of the world’s largest collections of GLBT historical materials. Professors, students, filmmakers, journalists, curators and a wide variety of other researchers regularly use the collection.
The Historical Society also operates The GLBT History Museum, the first full-scale, stand-alone museum of its kind in the United States. Currently featured are two major exhibitions: “Our Vast Queer Past: Celebrating San Francisco’s GLBT History” and “For Love and Community: Asian Pacific Islander Queers Take Action, 1960s-1990s,” plus a special temporary display, “Play Fair! The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Make Sex Safer.”
For more information, visit www.glbthistory.org.