The Pride Foundation is an LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 philanthropic foundation in the Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

. It was founded in 1985, and has issued over $8 million in grants and over $1.65 million to the more than 50 scholarships it manages.. In 1993, when The Pride Foundation first began granting scholarships it partnered with the Greater Seattle Business Association

Greater Seattle Business Association

The Greater Seattle Business Association is a Seattle, Washington based lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender , and allied chamber of commerce. The majority of the organization's membership are small businesses located throughout the Puget Sound area...

 (GSBA) to collaborate on a joint application process.

The Foundation's first president was Allan Tunning, a small businessman who donated $1.2 million, dying just a year after helping set up the organization.

In 1995, the Foundation was part of a shareholder proxy initiative which convinced McDonald's Corporation to extend its non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation. In March 2000, the initiative convinced General Electric

General Electric

General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 to include orientation in both its policy and its diversity training program.

On February 24, 2008, Pride Foundation announced that former Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

 employee Ric Weiland

Ric Weiland

Richard W. 'Ric' Weiland was a computer software pioneer and philanthropist. He was one of the first five employees of Microsoft Corp.- Early life :...

 (d. 2006) had bequeathed $65 million to support gay rights and HIV/AIDS organizations - the largest-ever single bequest for the LGBT community. Through his estate, Weiland established a fund at the Pride Foundation that will provide $46 million over the next eight years to 10 national LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations that he personally selected and $19 million directly to Pride Foundation for their scholarships and grants supporting the Northwest's LGBT community. Weiland, one of the first five people to work at Microsoft, was a Foundation Board member for several years.

On December 10, 2009, the Foundation was given a Seattle Human Rights Award for its advocacy for the LGBT community.

See also

• LGBT rights in the United States
• List of LGBT rights organizations