2022-2023 Annual Report

Each year, as another season draws to a close, I look back at what we’ve been able to accomplish. This year, as I prepare to depart my role at Pacific Pride Foundation, I’m especially grateful for the generosity and commitment shown by the donors, volunteers, staff, board, and committee members that make up our PPF Family. 2023 was a year of togetherness, expanded access to programs and services, and continued grounding in our values.

This year, we began to see ourselves as creators and defenders of sacred, joyous spaces – especially in the moments when our community needs them most. Whether producing the annual Pacific Pride Festival with 70 partner organizations, hosting Sunset at the Canary mixers, or supporting other community events, PPF is constantly co-creating spaces where LGBTQ+ people of all ages, cultures, abilities, and identities can connect.

This year was also a year of renewed challenges from forces that would seek to silence and erase LGBTQ+ people. In the context of an unprecedented amount of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the country, we have begun to see signs of this ideology in our backyard. This Pride season, in the midst of our celebrations, we saw organized groups of people attending local city council and school board meetings to argue against the annual Pride proclamations that recognize the existence and contributions of LGBTQ+ people.

Through it all, PPF has shown up, and you’ve shown up with us, to ensure that our community has a place – and also a voice, both locally, and beyond. Together, we are creating and defending community spaces through advocacy at all levels.

Whether defending our community at local school board meetings, or providing feedback to the White House on issues impacting LGBTQ+ people, we have been a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.

In fact, while we provide the only syringe exchange in Santa Barbara County, distributing more than 4,000 doses of the life-saving drug Narcan every year, PPF is regularly asked to provide feedback to the White House Office of Drug Control Policy on the state of harm reduction efforts on the ground.

While PPF took the lead in MPOX vaccination efforts locally in 2022, this year, we were asked to present to NVAC, the body that makes recommendations about federal vaccine policy, about the impact of the MPOX vaccine on the LGBTQ+ community.

PPF assembled a powerful coalition to provide mental health and reproductive services to lesbian, bisexual, trans and queer immigrants. At the same time, we were invited to Washington, DC to participate in a briefing with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health to discuss lesbian health.

Time and again, we are consistently punching above our weight when it comes to advocacy.

In the past 12 months, PPF has been recognized for that outsized impact. In November, we received the Michael Towbes Community Impact Award – an award given to a select group of community organizations that are making a significant impact on the Santa Barbara community. This award allowed us to expand access to our services for monolingual Spanish-speakers, with the goal of providing full access to all of PPF’s operations in both English and Spanish by 2023. Additionally, PPF received the Community Partner award from Planned Parenthood California Central Coast for our collaboration to vaccinate the community against MPOX, as well as our long-standing partnership to understand and better serve the health needs of the LGBTQ+ community.

PPF is far more than an organization, an event, or a program. The real power of PPF is the support that you – our donors, volunteers, supporters, board, and staff – pour in every day. The impact that PPF is able to achieve is because of you. As PPF doubles down to serve our community, we’re asking you to double down with us.

Together we can ensure a vibrant, thriving, and visible LGBTQ+ community in Santa Barbara County, and well beyond.

In Community,

Kristin Flickinger
Executive Director

Read our 2022-2023 Annual Report

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Santa Barbara Office: 608 Anacapa Street, Suite A, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 (805) 963-3636

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Pacific Pride Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization (tax ID number 95-3133613) under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.