Founder Alan Schubert | Area served South Florida | |
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Formation 1993; 24 years ago (1993) Type Charitable organization
(IRS exemption status): 501(c)(3) Purpose Healthcare, Education, Ending HIV/AIDS Headquarters Wilton Manors, Florida, United States | ||
The Pride Center at Equality Park, Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Greater Fort Lauderdale “provides information, news and events that affect South Florida's LGBT community.” Established in 1993, the center is headquartered within “30,000 square feet of meeting and office space for individuals, programs and services, as well as synergy among organizations” to “celebrate, nurture and empower the LGBTQ communities and our friends and neighbors in South Florida.”
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Pride Center Florida reports hosting “more than 60 regular meeting groups each month” serving “more than 25,000 adults and youth” annually with a focus on “HIV testing, education, outreach and risk reduction services to prevent the spread of HIV infection and to enhance HIV/AIDS awareness.”
In 2015, Pride Center Florida generated more than $2 million in annual revenues, primarily from grants and government contracts of $1.2 million and $527,000 in annual members' dues and contributions. Net assets exceeded $6.2 million, including property and equipment valued at more than $5.3 million. Programs are supported by a diverse group of local and national sponsors, such as Wells Fargo, Jet Blue, Whole Foods, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Ketel One, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau, and AHF AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
SAGE, "the country's largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT older adults," is one of the center's most popular programs, including "398 active members" with "175 LGBT seniors attending weekly get-togethers." In August 2016, SAGE estimated there are "43,000 LGBT older adults in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties."
The agency organizes an annual Tropical Plant Fair each spring, including several dozen vendor booths.
Founder Alan Schubert
The Pride Center grew out of the initial vision of founder Alan Schubert, one of the earliest public leaders of Fort Lauderdale’s gay and lesbian community. Schubert died of cancer on June 1, 2016. He was 70 years old. Schubert's legacy includes the Pride Center where the main building bears his name and a long history of financial support and bringing community resources together on behalf of causes that included “the Broward Gay and Lesbian Youth Group, the Child Care Connection, the Jewish AIDS Network, Broward Public Library, Human Rights Campaign, Center One and Tuesday's Angels.”
Upon his death, The Pride Center said: Alan Schubert's "impact on this community and beyond is immeasurable. In 1993, Schubert--philanthropist and gay pioneer--conceived the idea for the then Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida. Alan determined that a safe community center in Fort Lauderdale could assist existing and new groups serving the LGBTQ communities."
Housing for LGBT Seniors
In August 2016, a partnership between the Pride Center and Carrfour Supportive Housing secured financing to develop, build and operate South Florida's first supportive housing community that will significantly serve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered seniors. Carrfour’s competitive application for tax credits won funding from Florida Housing Finance Corporation for “housing credit and gap financing for affordable housing developments for persons with a disabling condition,” providing the financing needed to begin construction of The Residences at Equality Park as an initial 48-unit apartment complex on the Pride Center's campus at North Dixie Highway and Northeast 20th Drive in Wilton Manors, Florida.
The effort to create affordable, supportive housing in Wilton Manors began in 2012 when City Commissioner Tom Green proposed development of affordable housing for the community’s primarily LGBT seniors. Three years later, the proposal won unanimous support from the City Commission to create “12,346 square feet of retail space and 130 affordable housing units” within The Pride Center's five-acre campus. Pride Center formally partnered with Carrfour to pursue funding, develop and operate the housing complex.
Public Outreach
Since 2010, Pride Center Florida has published a quarterly newsletter, known as the Pride Center Voice. The newsletter is distributed in print and electronically. The organization also maintains an active social media presence, including on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.