In the news ... 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Microsoft pioneer Ric Weiland leaves
generous gift to Project Inform
February 25, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO, CA —Project Inform, respected
for its national HIV/AIDS treatment and public policy advocacy,
announced today that it has received a generous gift of $200,000
a year for eight years from the estate of Mr. Ric Weiland. Mr.
Weiland was a high school classmate of Bill Gates and Paul Allen,
and became one of the first employees of Microsoft. His estate
has made the largest single gift in the nation’s history
to LGBT organizations, with $65 million going to support the work
of Project Inform and ten other non-profit agencies.
“Ric Weiland was extremely thoughtful about how his generous
philanthropy would have the deepest possible impact on the LGBT
community, for which he cared so much. And so, Project Inform is
deeply honored to have been a part of Ric’s giving,” said
Dana Van Gorder, Executive Director. “Ric’s loss is
both a personal and community tragedy. But his legacy will help
to assure the foundation of organizations like Project Inform that
seek to protect the health and well-being of LGBT people.”
Van Gorder said that Mr. Weiland was a major donor to Project
Inform dating back to 1997. His unsolicited contributions came
in response to the agency’s highly praised HIV journal, PI
Perspective.
Project Inform has reserved the generous gift from Mr. Weiland’s
estate to fund time-limited projects to advance the organization’s
strategic planning, organizational development, infrastructure
and capital costs. In the first year, the Weiland bequest will
support the cost of key consultants who are helping Project Inform
to successfully transition from the leadership of its Founder,
Martin Delaney, to its next generation of leadership; assess new
opportunities to provide leadership and develop programs that increase
the agency’s impact on the epidemic; and strengthen its organizational
culture to increase the diversity of the Board of Directors and
staff, as well as increase services to women and communities of
color.
Through his estate, Weiland established a fund at Pride Foundation,
which funds LGBT organizations in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon
and Washington. The fund will provide $46 million over the next
eight years to 10 national LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations that
he personally selected. In addition, he bequeathed $19 million
directly to Pride Foundation for scholarships and grants supporting
the Northwest's LGBT community.
“Ric was one of Pride Foundation’s closest supporters,
not just as a donor, but as a Board member and volunteer,” said
Audrey Haberman, Executive Director of the Pride Foundation. “All
of us feel such a tremendous loss with him gone. Ric’s bequest
will do what he always wanted—inspire others to give to the
causes they care about to the full extent that they can.”
In addition to Project Inform and Pride Foundation, other organizations
receiving funding from the Weiland Designated Fund at Pride include:
- amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research
- Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
- Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network
- In The Life
- International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
- Lambda Legal
- National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
- Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
- Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
