The power of interfund giving

Neill Coleman, President of Stonewall’s Board of Directors

In mid-March, just days after New York City went into lockdown, Stonewall Board President Neill Coleman and his husband, Danny Stephens, made an interfund gift of $5,000 from their donor-advised fund to Stonewall’s Emergency Response Fund. The Emergency Response Fund is an infrequently used discretionary fund tasked with responding to mass crises affecting LGBTQ people and organizations around the country. Historically, the fund had been utilized in the wake of tragedies such as 2012’s Superstorm Sandy and the 2016 Pulse massacre. The devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on marginalized communities resulted in a sudden spike in needs from our network of grantee partners. With Neill and Danny’s generous gift, we were able to swiftly respond to crucial and immediate community needs, including:

• Zoom licenses for Brooklyn Community Pride Center, Brooklyn’s preeminent LGBTQ center, which allowed the organization to continue providing crucial classes, events, and support groups virtually

• Scheduling software for Fearless Femme 100, an enterprising new mental health project that connects queer and trans people of color with peer counselors and other mental health tools and resources

• Personal protective equipment for B.E.S.T., a Queens-based organization that supports and advocates for the under-resourced, and disproportionally LGBTQ-identified communities working for and living at the Belmont and Aqueduct racetracks.

Interfund gifts are a quick and simple way to ensure your funds support work in the issue areas you care about, and those that matter most. Support for funds like Stonewall’s Emergency Response Fund, or any of our other discretionary and field of interest funds, helps channel resources to the organizations that need them, fast. To learn more about the other funds at Stonewall, head to this link.