United Way of Central Ohio has a history of “firsts” in the LGBT community. We're continuing that tradition by launching the first United Way LGBT giving group in the country -- PRIDE Council!
• United Way helped lead the GLBT Census, an anonymous online survey of LGBT households that provided the most detailed information on central Ohio’s LGBT community ever compiled.
• In 2001, UWCO fun
ded an inaugural gift of $10,000 to the Legacy Fund of the Columbus Foundation.
• UWCO has been an early and ongoing supporter of the Columbus AIDS Task Force, funding more than $4.5 million in programs since 1990.
• Over the years, UWCO has supported events in the LGBT community, including the Kaleidoscope Garden Party, A Night Out, the Human Rights Campaign Dinner, and the Pride Parade.
• Janet E. Jackson, United Way of Central Ohio’s President and CEO, served as Grand Marshall for the 2008 Pride Parade.
• In 2003, the United Way board of trustees elected then Columbus City Councilwoman Mary Jo Hudson as a member, providing a very real “seat at the table” for LGBT perspectives.
• When Councilwoman Hudson became the State of Ohio Commissioner of Insurance and had to resign her board seat, it was filled by Tom Grote, the co-founder and former board chair of the Equality Ohio Education Fund. Grote also serves as a board level chair on the UWCO Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
• In 2008, UWCO launched Pride Leadership; an 8-month training program directed at LGBT professionals and designed to facilitate their placement onto volunteer boards and leadership roles on committees.
