18 | OutBoise Magazine | NEWS
OutBoise.com | Issue 5.2 | March 2015
Change through Education, Outreach
“We all deserve the right to
live our lives safely, openly, and
genuinely.” These were Steve
Martin’s closing words during his
testimony before the Idaho House
State Affairs Committee regarding the Add the Words bill. These
words, not only come from a personal perspective, but they also
echo in Martin’s work life as well.
by Gary Simpson
der and queer (LGBTQ) equality.
This organization includes staff in
Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon
and Washington and they have
invested over $50 million to build
organizations, support students,
and connect leaders in our fivestate region in the last 30 years.
As organizer, Martin has traveled the state, letting people
from community organizations as
Martin has been a big influknow about the organization’s
they work toward enhancing the
ence in our community in the past grant and scholarship programs.
lives and addressing the needs of
several years. More importantly, He has also been involved in
LGBTQ youth, adults, and famihe has been the regional devel- general LGBTQ advocacy and
opment organizer for the Pride
outreach work working with volun- lies by positively impacting local
Foundation for the past four years. teers throughout the state, as well communities in Alaska, Idaho,
as networking with like-minded
Montana, Oregon, and WashingThe Pride Foundation is a non- organizations such as the ACLU of
ton. Grantees must either be a
profit Northwest-based foundaIdaho, Planned Parenthood and
nonprofit 501c3 organization or
tion. Founded in 1985, they award Add the Words.
have a fiscal sponsor with that stacommunity grants and academic
tus. The annual grant application
scholarships to organizations and
The Pride Foundation’s grants
cycle typically is open from mid to
students promoting and striving for program seeks to fund proposed
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgen- ideas, projects, and strategies
late June to late July/early August.