The board of directors of the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation (SDHDF) and the board of directors of the AIDS Foundation San Diego (AFSD) announced on July 1 that SDHDF will receive the transfer of major endowment funds previously held by AFSD. The AIDS Foundation San Diego/Sunshine Brooks Permanent Fund, valued at more than $2 million, was and still will be used to serve people living with HIV and AIDS.

“We are honored to have been selected by AFSD as stewards of this valuable fund that reflects the generosity of Hattie ‘Sunshine’ Brooks,” said SDHDF Executive Director Tony Freeman. “It confirms and shows confidence in the mission and vision of our organization. We appreciated the acknowledgment of our ability, experience and leadership, and we will play an active role in assuring this fund continues to fulfill the donors’ intentions and serve as a valuable resource for addressing HIV issues.”

In addition to the Sunshine Brooks Permanent Fund, AFSD will transfer its remaining assets to SDHDF, including bequests from the Paul H. Mahailik Trust and the Joy Dime Trust. Disbursements from the endowed fun will continue to be allocated to the HIV Funding Collaborative and San Diego AIDS Walk for at least the next two years to help ensure their continued success.

The fund will become the largest fund managed by the SDHDF, founded in 1996 with a mission to improve the quality of life within San Diego’s GLBT community by promoting responsible philanthropy to enact positive social change.

AIDS Foundation San Diego was formed in 1990, through the merger of AIDS Project, started in 1983, and the AIDS Assistance Fund, founded in 1985. Originally an AIDS service provider, AFSD fell into financial hardship in 1997 and the organization closed its doors and declared bankruptcy. Due to a surprise bequest by the late Brooks, the organization was reconstituted in 2000 by its original board of directors. The Brooks bequest allowed AFSD to settle with its creditors and emerge from Chapter 7 Bankruptcy status as an Endowment Fund.

AFSD will remain in operation from two to five years to receive any bequests, which will be transferred to The Permanent Fund at SDHDF. During that time, there will be significant input from three remaining AFSD Board Members: Ben Dillingham, Norman Blanchford, and Bill Beck. They will serve as donor advisors to The Permanent Fund and will handle any bequests to AFSD. Both entities plan to coordinate grant making to make sure that donor wishes are fulfilled to benefit people with HIV and AIDS.

“We have determined it is in the best interest of the community to transfer the assets to the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation (SDHDF), where we are assured it will be handled and managed with the highest level of integrity and responsibility,” said Dillingham, the Chair of AFSD.

“I’m pleased that an organization as important as The AIDS Foundation has found a home within our community and our community foundation,” said Delores A. Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer of The San Diego LGBT Community Center.

“The San Diego Human Dignity Foundation serves as the LGBT community foundation; investing wisely and serving as responsible stewards. They help to ensure that those that serve to protect and enhance the LGBT community have a foundation upon which to rely.”

The transfer of funds comes at a significant time in the history of SDHDF. Just 12 years after its founding, SDHDF launched the first grant cycle funded solely by earnings from the general endowment. Grants were made to organizations that reflected the funding priorities noted in a GLBT needs assessment, including civil rights advocacy and education, improving access to health services (including HIV/AIDS), and addressing the needs of San Diego’s GLBT youth, seniors and families. In addition, major initiatives are being addressed to increase community impact and improving the foundation’s capabilities.

“This transfer of funds signifies an important milestone in the life of our young organization that is poised for continued growth,” said Freeman, who took the helm in 2007. “We will continue to work to take the foundation to new levels of excellence and significantly increase our community impact, further helping our LGBT sisters and brothers, both in the present and future.”

– Staff report