IECF staff, the Fund Committee, and guests tour CRIISC’s Out in the IE exhibit July 2026
The region’s LGBTQ+ community has found another ally with IECF’s Out in the IE LGBTQ+ Empowerment Fund.
Founding Chairperson Scott Discount and the leadership committee are determined to make an impact with the fund, which is designed to advance equity, dignity, and opportunity for LGBTQ+ individuals and communities across the Inland Empire, including the Coachella Valley.
The fund’s founding leadership committee includes Discount, IECF Board Chair Jesse Melgar, IECF Board Member Jack Fitzsimmons, Walter Gendell, Sabrina Gonzalez, Angel Rodriguez, Ariel Savage, and Gabriel Maldonado.
Jack Fitzsimmons said the IECF board members leaned into a challenge from IECF leaders to “put their money where the mission was,” which became instrumental in establishing the fund.
“IECF’s ten Signature Funds are permanent charitable funds created to strengthen the communities that make up the Inland Empire,” Fitzsimmons said. “Each one grew from conversations with local residents, donors, and community leaders about where long-term philanthropic investment can make the greatest difference. The Out in the IE LGBTQ+ Empowerment Fund gives donors an opportunity to invest in the sustained success, resilience, and well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals and organizations throughout the Inland Empire.”
(L-R) Scott Discount, Fund chair; Michael Hinkle, IECF Charitable Giving Officer/CV; Jack Fitzsimmons; Fund committee member
The new fund uses a collective-impact approach to fundraising and grantmaking, bringing together community leaders, donors, and nonprofit partners to address critical LGBTQ+ issues and strengthen the region’s nonprofit ecosystem.
This is done primarily through research, data, and community-informed insights to better guide decision-making and maximize impact.
“What really inspired me here was my interest in the scholarship and advocacy, because it’s really critical, particularly within the gay community, that we’re providing opportunities for all queer and trans kids to continue their education and to advocate for them,” said Walter Gendell. “The board knew about our passion around that and thought that Jack and I might be a good fit.” Gendell and his husband Fitzsimmons are fundholders at IECF, where their charitable giving supports the causes they believe in.
The IE LGBTQ+ Empowerment Fund is supported by two unique endowed funds created to ensure sustainable, long-term investment in LGBTQ+ communities.
The Endowed General Fund supports ongoing grantmaking to LGBTQ+-serving organizations. It also invests in advocacy and research that “inform policy, elevate lived experiences, and drive systems-level change.”
Meanwhile, the Endowed Scholarship Fund stands out for its ongoing support for scholarships benefiting LGBTQ+ students and their allies attending colleges and universities in the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley.
Following the establishment of the fund, IECF partnered with the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California (CRIISC) in Riverside, whose Out in the I.E. exhibition inspired the fund’s name and mission. Through the partnership, CRIISC gave IECF permission to use the “Out in the IE” name for the fund, creating a shared identity centered on celebrating and supporting LGBTQ+ communities throughout the Inland Empire. IECF recently provided grant funding to help bring the exhibition online later this year, expanding public access to this important collection of stories and preserving the region’s LGBTQ+ history for future generations. The collaboration reflects a shared commitment to education, visibility, and long-term community impact.
“I thought it was a wonderful collaboration because honestly, our government is trying to erase our stories in the gay community, and we can’t let that happen,” Fitzsimmons said. “The exhibition was an incredible opportunity to hear the stories coming out of the queer community, stories having to do with the impact that the queer community had on the Inland Empire. “It was so on point for people to hear those stories, remember those stories and retain those stories,” he added.
Gendell stressed that it wasn’t just an exhibit one merely “walks through.”
“It was also a digitization effort to bring the exhibition online,” he said. “CRIISC brought in trained archivists to digitize an immense number of records and objects, as well as perform many oral histories.”
“Those stories will live on forever,” he added, “and knowing that these are accessible and will offer educational opportunities for the next generation of queer kids and leaders is important. They can know where they came from and that’s critical.”
Gabe Maldonado gives a tour of TruEvolution
During the Fund’s recent launch event, supporters visited the CRISSC exhibit and later toured the campus of TruEvolution, a Riverside-based nonprofit that advances health, housing, and opportunity for LGBTQ+ people across the Inland Empire.
According to UCLA School of Law’s 2023 Williams Institute data, 13.9 million adults in the United States identify as LGBTQ+. In California, that comes to 1.5 million, the largest LGBTQ+ population of any state.
Data also reports that young people are identifying as LGBTQ+ at far higher rates than older generations—15.2 percent of adults ages 18–24 identifying as LGBTQ+ compared with 1.8 percent of adults age 65 and older.
LGBTQ+ communities also face significant economic and housing challenges. Data reveals that 23 percent earn less than $24,000 annually and up to 40 percent of homeless youth identifying as LGBTQ+.
“The data is important and so is the impact we can make,” Fitzsimmons said. “It’s really important that we are communicating to the community that ‘we are here for you, we believe in you, we value you, and we want you to succeed.’”
Learn more at iegives.org/funds/out-in-the-ie-lgbtq-empowerment-fund/
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