The Community Foundation : The Brooks Fund

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About The Brooks Fund

The Brooks Fund In 1995, The H. Franklin Brooks Philanthropic Fund was created at The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to encourage the inclusion, acceptance and recognition of Middle Tennessee's lesbian and gay citizens by promoting respect and equality, improving services and strengthening alliances. This fund was named after Franklin Brooks (see below).

The Brooks Fund is focused on preventing disconnection, promoting understanding and providing education within the LGBT community of Middle Tennessee. Our major impact areas include an educational finance fund, youth social services, community awareness and access.

By supporting and encouraging the development of programs to enhance the quality of life for lesbians and gays in Middle Tennessee, the Brooks Fund can increase philanthropic awareness within the LGBT community, as well as raise LGBT visibility within Middle Tennessee.

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Upcoming Events

The Brooks Fund 6th Annual Wanderlust Travel Raffle
June 11, 2010
Buy tickets

Past Events

5th Annual Wanderlust Travel Raffle
Friday, June 12, 2009
Lane Motor Museum
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Guests at the fifth annual Brooks Fund Wanderlust Travel Raffle enjoyed some familiar treats and took in new scenery at this year’s event setting, the Lane Motor Museum. Almost 300 participants gathered on June 12 to celebrate and support the Brooks Fund of The Community Foundation, and for the chance to win a $2,000 travel voucher, good for travel in the U.S. or abroad.

Wanderlust guests bid on silent auction items valued at $21,000, including getaways, hotel and entertainment packages, artwork, and more, and perused the unique cars on display at the museum. The event also offered Southwest Airlines tickets and a three-piece set of luggage from Dillard’s as door prizes. DJ Mindub was on hand to entertain, and guests enjoyed cocktails and Bacon & Caviar Catering’s travel-themed hors d'oeuvres, including Route 66 snacks from Chicago to Los Angeles. At the end of the evening, NewsChannel 5 anchor, Scott Arnold, joined the Brooks Fund to announce the winner of the raffle prize.

2009 Travel Raffle pictures
click photo to enlarge

Thanks to the 2009 Travel Raffle sponsors:

The Brooks Fund Speaker Series - Ben Papa, attorney-mediator, on Family Law Issues
Learn about Ben Papa
March 26
5:30 p.m. - refreshments
6:00 p.m. - presentation
The Community Foundation office, 1st floor

An Evening with Augusten Burroughs

The Brooks Fund welcomes New York Times best-selling author Augusten Burroughs to Nashville for a reading, discussion and book signing. Augusten Burroughs is the acclaimed author of Running with Scissors, Dry, Possible Side Effects, Magical Thinking, and his newest novel A Wolf at the Table.

Donations to The Brooks Fund will be accepted at the door and a percentage of book sales at the event will benefit The Brooks Fund. This event is free.

April 8, 7:00 p.m.
Ingram Hall on Vanderbilt University's campus

Don't miss this opportunity to see a great author while supporting the Brooks Fund! More information.

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About Franklin Brooks

For 25 years, Franklin Brooks was one of the most beloved figures on the Vanderbilt University Campus. As an associate professor in the Department of French and Italian, Franklin was instrumental in leading the dialogue that eventually helped include gays and lesbians in Vanderbilt’s anti-harassment policy in the late 1980s. He was the faculty sponsor for the first lesbian and gay student organization on campus. Franklin’s work to promote equality for gay and lesbians and diversity among the entire community lives on through The Brooks Fund.

While at Vanderbilt, Franklin was instrumental in leading the dialogue that eventually helped include gays and lesbians in Vanderbilt's anti-harassment policy in the late 1980s. It was important to Franklin that young gay people had positive role models—to make certain they knew that there were gay people in the world living their lives and not cowering in the margins. To that end, he was the faculty sponsor for the first lesbian and gay student organization on campus.

After Franklin's death in 1993, a group of his friends wanted to honor him and to continue his forthright championing of human rights, and so The Brooks Fund was created at The Community Foundation. Franklin's tireless work to promote equality for gay and lesbians and diversity among the community as a whole is a legacy that lives on through The Brooks Fund.

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The Brooks Fund Celebrates 14 Years and Thanks Supporters

The Brooks Fund of The Community Foundation recently met to celebrate 14 years and thank donors and supporters during a reception at Provence in Green Hills.

"The thank you party is a great example of living the Brooks Fund’s mission statement,” said Suzanne Bradford, Brooks Fund board president. “We look around and see a diverse group of people coming together for the common good of our entire community. We are delighted to celebrate our 14th birthday of creating an endowment to forever give back to our neighbors.”

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES.

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The Brooks Fund History Project

The Brooks Fund has announced an ongoing and diverse multimedia archival record of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender life in Middle Tennessee. The initial stage of this extensive and groundbreaking project will collect oral histories from members of the LGBT community, from which a documentary film will be produced. "Gay and lesbian citizens of Middle Tennessee have a lot to tell us about what life was like for them fifty or sixty years ago,” said Iris Buhl, steering committee member. “They were – and are – an integral part of the fabric of this community. Our knowledge of the history of Middle Tennessee is incomplete without their stories. That’s why the Brooks Fund is mounting this effort.” Over time, The Brooks Fund History Project will expand to archive relevant LGBT historical information such as photographs, documents, and memorabilia.
Give online.

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Advisory Board

The Advisory Board of The Brooks Fund is comprised of community members who share the vision of a more accepting and tolerant community. They include business leaders, educators, community volunteers, nonprofit executives, and professionals from all walks of life. Advisory Board members oversee the activities of The Brooks Fund, which includes grant-making, fundraising, strategic planning, education, alliance-building, and public awareness.

From Out & About Newspaper: The Brooks Fund elects new board members

2010 Members

Officers
Suzanne Bradford, Board Chair
Scott Ridgway, Board Co-Chair
Roger Moore, Board Secretary

Members
Lee Adams
Kathy Austin
Thomas H. (Tom) Bailey
Stephanie Barger
Anthony Barton
Erik Cole
Elaine Fahrner
Paul Fleming
Beth Fortune
Amos Gott
Todd Grantham
Janie Kleiman
Jill Martin
Brent Meredith
Miguel Otero
Pat Patrick
Ellen Pryor
Van Pond Jr.
Steve Powers
Pam Sheffer
Randy Silcox
Rob Sikorski
David Taylor
Michael Valentine
Beth Vincent
John Wade
Cynthia B. Warner
Cynthia Wiel
Amy Williams
LaRhonda J. Williams

Ex Officio Members
John A. Bridges
Iris W. Buhl
Hal Cato
Keith Merrill
Mike Smith
Robyn Smith
William (Bill) Walker

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Grantmaking

With the help of our generous donors, supporters and volunteers over the past eleven years, The Brooks Fund has granted over $135,000 to a variety of nonprofit organizations. These organizations offer a wide range of services to the Middle Tennessee community:

cultural activities like film festivals and plays
outreach programs focusing on crisis management, violence prevention, and healthcare access
youth programs offering counseling, mentoring, and scholarships
community services such as hotlines, peer counseling, and support groups
training programs on topics of sensitivity/diversity, youth issues, and safety.

The Brooks Fund is committed to increasing its endowment and support of worthy organizations that are working to build bridges and break down barriers.

Click here for more information on grants.

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Past Grant Recipients

Organization	Summary
Council of Community Services, 1996	Funding the services of person to conduct research and focus groups for aiding in creation of The Brooks Fund.
Planned Parenthood Association of Middle Tennessee, 1997	Provide support for outreach campaign among the Middle Tennessee lesbian community promoting range of health care services and safe and welcoming environment and for training and education for clinical staff about specific needs of lesbian patients as well as overall sensitivity/diversity training on issues related to sexual orientation.
Oasis Center, 1997	To conduct a conference for professionals and youth entitled Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Youth: Hearing the Unheard. Conference highlights included keynote address by Christopher Portelli of the Sexual Information and Education Council of the United States; a youth panel comprised of members of One-In-Teen, a local LGBT youth organization; and nine separate workshops dealing with topics ranging from religion, legal issues, mobilizing for education, and domestic violence and crisis prevention
Unitarian Universalist First Church of Nashville, 1997	Pass through organization to create The Self Loan Fund
Center for LGBT Life in Nashville (now closed), 1999	Provide some program and operational support to assist with continued outreach.
GLSEN (now closed), 1999	Assist a newly formed chapter with start-up and leadership/resource development.
Mockingbird Public Theatre, 1999	Assist with the production of Gross Indecencies: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde.
National Conference for Community & Justice, 1999	Assist with the continuing development of gay/lesbian educational component of their Building Bridges and Camp MiniTown diversity programs for school-aged children.
Oasis Center, 1999	Develop a peer counseling program, including a teen crisis line and discussion groups with young people residing in The Oasis Emergency Shelter, and Teen Talk summits for youth ages 14 to 18 on Welcoming Diversity and Difference.
PFLAG, 1999	Provide support for outreach via billboards and local movie theater screen ads.
Nashville CARES, 2000	Provide support for an education/leadership retreat for gay and bisexual men of color.
National Conference for Community & Justice, 2000	Support for the continuation of the Building Bridges program and to work in collaboration with Oasis Center to provide training and resource materials for educators
Oasis Center, 2000	To provide outreach and training to school personnel and peer-led efforts outside of schools that focus on tolerance and acceptance of sexual identity differences. The focus this year included outreach to principals and parent councils.
PFLAG, 2000	Provide support for outreach via billboards and local movie theater screen ads.
Nashville CARES, 2001	To purchase supplies for a community building art exhibit by and for gay/bisexual men. This empowerment intervention helped Nashville CARES reach out to new members of the community
National Conference for Community & Justice, 2001	To support training of Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools staff in the prevention of discrimination against LGBT youth. With this grant, the Brooks Fund encouraged collaboration between NCCJ other local organizations serving teens in crisis (e.g., the Oasis Center, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) thereby allowing for more efficient and effective use of scarce charitable resources.
Oasis Center, 2001	To support training for school personnel on tolerance/acceptance on sexual identity.
PFLAG, 2001	Provide support for outreach via billboards and local movie theater screen ads.
YWCA, 2002	To provide training on same-gender violence issues. This donation was the first made for this effort, and with this initial grant, the YWCA was able to leverage other monies in support of their outreach.
Nashville Independent Film Festival, 2002	To launch the first Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, held in conjunction with NIFF’s annual event. This grant helped NIFF raise additional money to support the gay/lesbian film festival, which has continued each year without further support from the Brooks Fund.
PFLAG, 2002	Provide support for outreach via billboards and local movie theater screen ads.
Rainbow Community Center (formerly the Center for LGBT Life in Nashville), 2002	To develop programming for LGBT youth and increase presence within the LGBT community.
Equality Tennessee (now closed), 2002	To compile a written history of LGBT life in Tennessee.
Nashville Children’s Theatre, 2003	Support for the production of The Wrestling Season, a play about being gay in high school.
Nashville Film Festival, 2006	To help with promotion and production of the LGBT portion of the Film Festival
Tennessee Equality Project Foundation, 2006	To provide public discourses on issues affecting the LGBT community, specifically targeting areas outside of metro Nashville
YW, 2006	To continue outreach efforts to LGBT communities on domestic violence
Eating Disorders Coalition of Tennessee, 2007	To host a screening of a feature documentary on the prevalence of eating disorders in the gay community
Nashville Film Festival, 2007	To host gay/lesbian filmmakers at the Nashville Film Festival
Abintra Montessori School, 2008	To provide support to gay and lesbian families on how to explain their parental configuration or parents of classmates
Nashville Film Festival, 2008	To host LGBT films and filmmakers during the annual film festival
Nashville in Harmony, 2008	To create a chorus performance piece to be performed at a concert in May 2009
OutCentral, Inc., 2008	To develop a community calendar and database of nonprofit organizations serving the GLBTQIF community
Abintra Montessori School, 2009	To underwrite the costs of videos and lesson guides for parent education sessions around LGBT issues.
Nashville in Harmony, 2009	To produce a collaborative chorus concert piece with Voices of Kentuckiana.
People's Branch Theatre, 2009	To support artistic fees and production costs for the Obie award-winning musical "Hedwig and the Angry Inch.