Dear Ron,

June 2, 2025

As we step into Pride 2025, we do so with deep gratitude—for the communities rising with courage, the leaders forging change, and the donors making this work possible. Pride is more than celebration. It’s a call to act, to invest, and to imagine a future rooted in justice and belonging. This month, we honor Pride in Action – Then, Now & Next—from a national convening in Houston to grassroots breakthroughs in West Texas. Thanks to you, Pride is not just a moment. It’s a movement.

Reflections on Funding Forward 2025

This Pride Month, we’re proud to spotlight the success of Funding Forward 2025, the annual national conference hosted by Funders for LGBTQ Issues, with Texas Pride Community Foundation serving as the host partner in our home state of Texas.

Held in Houston, the convening brought together more than 300 funders and movement leaders to ignite bold conversations, strengthen cross-sector collaboration, and reaffirm our shared commitment to equity—especially across the South.

The opening plenary featured TPCF Executive Director Ron Guillard, who welcomed attendees from across the country on behalf of the Out in the South (OITS) cohort and honored the visionary impact of Funders for LGBTQ+ Issues’ OITS initiative. From that moment to Borderland Rainbow Center Executive Director Amber Pérez’s call for deeper investment in communities like El Paso, one message rang clear: where we fund matters. Amber’s presence highlighted how OITS support helped launch and sustain TPCF—and how our existence has fueled the growth of grassroots organizations like Borderland Rainbow Center. A TPCF grantee every year since 2018, BRC has steadily expanded its services across the El Paso region.

DID YOU KNOW? While one-third of LGBTQ+ adults live in the South, only 11% of national LGBTQ+ funding reaches the region.

This underinvestment is a call to action—and your support is part of the solution. Together, we’re not just telling a new story of Southern resilience—we’re building it.

Short Film Stories of Pride from across the State

At Funding Forward’s Unbothered Constellations Film Showcase, we premiered Vol. 1 of We Got Us—an original short film by our Donor Relations and Communications Specialist, Míchél Macklin (third from right, above). This moving debut offers an intimate glimpse into the powerful grassroots organizing transforming communities in West Texas.

Set in the Permian Basin, We Got Us lifts the voices of local champions like Patty Reeves of PFLAG Midland and Bryan Wilson of Pride Center of West Texas. These leaders are helping transform a region long shaped by silence into one where LGBTQ+ youth—especially trans youth—can be seen, affirmed, and celebrated.

Across places like Odessa and Midland, LGBTQ+ Texans are creating new spaces for visibility, safety, and belonging. This film is a testament to their courage—and a powerful reminder that when we invest in community-led leadership, we are not only preserving stories, we are shaping futures.

Honoring Pride, Fueling What's Next

HAPPY PRIDE — however you celebrate, reflect, or simply breathe more freely this month.

As we mark our 10th anniversary and our evolution into Texas Pride Community Foundation, we’re spotlighting the power of community and the work still ahead. Your support has helped us invest over $2.2 million into 125 LGBTQ+ organizations across Texas.

But with rising attacks—especially on trans people, youth, and rural communities—our fight is far from over.



All month, we’ll share stories of impact and resilience. Join us in carrying this momentum forward—into the next decade and beyond.

Questions? Ideas? Comments? We are all ears. 

Write to us at info@TexasPrideCF.org.