The board of directors of the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation (SDHDF) recently approved grants that total $100,000 to 12 local non-profit organizations that serve San Diego’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The grants were awarded through the San Diego LGBT Pride Fund held at SDHDF, which was established by San Diego LGBT Pride to disburse funds raised during San Diego’s annual Pride festival.

“On behalf of our community, San Diego LGBT Pride was pleased to be able to grant $100,000 to SDHDF as part of our approach of giving back to the community at large,” said San Diego Pride co-chair Philip Princetta. “San Diego’s LGBT Pride is one of our nation’s few Pride festival events that produces a positive cash flow and invests that money back into the LGBT community through grants.”

Twelve local non-profit organizations received grants, including: Auntie Helen’s Fluff N Fold ($4,000); Diversionary Theatre ($15,000); ElderHelp of San Diego for the Aging as Ourselves program ($8,750); the Gay Men’s Chorus of San Diego ($7,500); J*Pride, an outreach program affiliated with the Jewish Community Center ($5,000); the Live and Let Live Alano Club ($6,000); SAGE, support services for gay GLBT seniors ($8,000); the San Diego Women’s Chorus ($5,000); Special Delivery ($3,250); Stepping Stone ($15,000); SYTES, for a girls’ coming out program ($7,500); and Walden Family Services for an LGBTQ foster care program ($15,000).

Since its inception in 1996, SDHDF, with the help of these alliances, has granted more than $600,000 to San Diego non-profits serving the LGBT community. SDHDF has increased its general endowment to $250,000 and is also home to 16 donor-advised funds totaling another $250,000. For more information on SDHDF’s programs, contact David Pierce at (619) 291-3383.

A two-hour town hall meeting and mayoral debate is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 2, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, located at 6845 University Ave. The candidates for San Diego mayor will appear before the audience for a one-hour debate, and an hour will be allotted to a town hall-style meeting.

There is free parking on site. The event is free to the public but people must RSVP, as there are only 600 seats available. Individuals can RSVP to envisionsd@kpbs.org.

The Scott Carlson Thanksgiving Dinner, a free Thanksgiving dinner for people living with HIV/AIDS, their friends and families, will be served at First Unitarian Universalist Church (across from UCSD Hospital), on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 24. There will be an abundance of food and people to meet, organizers said. Food will be served from 12:00 noon until 2:00 p.m. (the program starts at 11:30 a.m.). No RSVP or tickets are required. There is limited free parking available in the church parking lot.

The Imperial Court de San Diego, in cooperation with the Asian Pacific Islander Community AIDS Project (APICAP), presents the Scott Carlson Thanksgiving Dinner. The Imperial Court is a non-profit organization that produces benefits and raises money for various causes. They have been associated with the dinner since at least 1991. APICAP is a non-profit community based organization whose mission is to provide prevention education, direct services, and advocacy about HIV and other health-related issues to APIs and the broader community, their families and friends living in San Diego County.

Scott Carlson, a local activist who helped establish the first food bank for people with HIV in San Diego, is the founder of the Thanksgiving Day dinner. The dinner will be held at Bard Hall within the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, located at 4190 Front St.

People interested in volunteering or donating money or food can contact co-chairs City Commissioner Julia “Jhigs” Legapsi at (619) 993-8315 or Jess San Roque at (619) 229-2822. Individuals can also contact the church office at (619) 298-9978.

San Diego LGBT Pride has announced actions the organization has taken to solicit new board members, hire a new executive director and develop a screening process that will take effect in 2006. Pride also cites plans for pooling its resources with various community groups to increase representation at Pride’s annual celebration.

“We thank the community for allowing us the patience to make important changes that will benefit everyone,” said Philip Princetta, San Diego LGBT Pride co-chair. “It remains our priority to set in place a knowledgeable, well-placed board that represents a broad swath of our community. We would also like to remind the community that the Pride board is a policy-making body, and we look forward to a new executive director who will carry out producing the event.”

A detailed job description for the executive director position has been posted on San Diego LGBT Pride’s Web site, and includes application instructions and a designated e-mail address for interested prospects. Additionally, the position opening has been announced through community publications and online bulletin boards.

Princetta said Pride has interviewed eight board candidates since holding a well-attended open house on Aug. 31. Two of the applicants began their candidacy process on Oct. 19. Also, new board-member application packets were created for the continuing recruitment effort, which are available through the Pride office or by visiting the Web site. Princetta said the goal is to develop a board of directors consisting of 16-20 people.

“We are actively working to attract both bisexual and transgender participation on the board, as well as 40 percent people of color, while adhering to our bylaws, which dictate we must have a 50-50 parity of male to female member,” he said.

In other developments, the Pride board is consulting with screening organizations, such as Applicant Insights, to examine the scope and logistics of implementing a screening policy that will apply at least to volunteers connected with the Children’s Garden and Xone areas. “We are still investigating every conceivable angle before a policy is set in place,” Princetta said.

Pride said they will begin the process of meeting with various community organizations that have an interest with the annual event. Pride will also take advantage of The Center’s Community Leadership Council to address questions and concerns about Pride as they arise.

Princetta added that Pride will use its Web site to remind the community “on a permanent basis” that it is invited to attend the committee meetings. The Web site will soon feature a community questionnaire, which will be available in hard copy as well as various locations. The questionnaire will allow community members and leaders to offer input about Pride, should they be unable to attend public forums pertaining to Pride.

Lastly, San Diego LGBT Pride has donated $105,000 to the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation, plus $1,000 to New Orleans LGBT Pride (via Houston Pride) for its hurricane relief fund.

Pride weekend 2006 is scheduled for July 28-30. For more information, call (619) 297-7683 or visit the Pride Web site at www.sdpride.org.