Support the GLBT Historical Society  

The GLBT Historical Society relies on many forms of support to carry out our mission. You can help preserve GLBT history now — and help build a permanent home for its future — with your contribution of time, talent, and money.

Call, email or explore the site to find out about fundraising events, membership, online giving, the capital campaign, and our current supporters. The GLBT Historical Society is a tax-exempt non-profit 501 (c) (3 ) corporation; all financial contributions are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.


San Francisco Pride Parade, 1977.

Donating to GLBTHS
We welcome contributions by mail or online in any amount. Once we receive your contribution, we will send you a personal thank you note and an acknowledgement letter that can serve as your receipt for tax purposes.

Make a Donation

Or, if you prefer sending a contribution via letter carrier, fill out the contribution form and send the completed form and your donation to the address below. Please make checks payable to “GLBT Historical Society."

  GLBT Historical Society
  657 Mission Street, Suite #300
  San Francisco, California 94105

To donate materials to our archives, please consult our Collections Policy Statement.



Become a Member
By becoming a member of the GLBT Historical Society, you’ll receive advance notice of upcoming exhibits, programs, and other events-in addition to news about our progress on the museum. Your regular support is an important part of meeting our regular expenses. Please take a few minutes and become a member now!

Special Offer! Become a sustaining member at the $100 level and receive a copy of Bill Lipsky's book Gay and Lesbian San Francisco.



Volunteer Opportunities
We offer a wide range of volunteer opportunities and can help you find a project that best fits your interests.

Volunteers for the Archives
Archives volunteers will be assigned to a variety of different tasks and projects including cataloging books, checking in periodicals, and assisting in the processing of collections. We will provide training. This is an excellent opportunity for people interested in a hands-on approach to GLBT history, including those thinking about going to library school, getting a history degree, or those who are simply curious to learn more.

Requires a commitment of two hours a week for at least two months. Volunteers assigned to the Archive must be detail oriented and either have legible handwriting or be computer literate.

Volunteers for the Museum
Volunteers are needed to staff the exhibit gallery. The schedule is flexible. Volunteers are also needed to help market and promote the exhibit and to staff special events held at the gallery. Please contact info@glbthistory.org or call (415) 777-5455 ext. 5# if interested.

Volunteers for...
If you would like to volunteer in some other capacity please contact info@glbthistory.org or by calling (415) 777-5455 ext. 5#. Possible volunteer opportunities include web design and maintenance, editorial work, special events, helping with exhibits, routine office assistance, or volunteering professional services. For example, several architects, lawyers, and museum professionals have offered pro bono assistance with various GLBT Historical Society projects.



Internship Program
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Historical Society (GLBTHS) in San Francisco invites applications from undergraduate and graduate students for internships with the Historical Society

This internship program provides students with the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience working with a community based non-profit historical organization. While open to all undergraduate and graduate students, this program would mostly benefit students working toward degrees in history, American Studies, Women' s Studies, LGBT and Queer Studies, Museum Studies, and/or library or information management. Each intern can design a program that closely aligns with their academic needs while also serving the particular and critical needs of the Historical Society.

Inquiries about the internship program can be directed to Karen Bullock-Jordan, Operations Manager of the GLBT Historical Society.

To apply for an internship, contact Karen Bullock-Jordan at 415-777-5455 or email karen@glbthistory.org.





Help us save
$250,000 in funding!

Friends and Supporters of the GLBT Historical Society:

I am writing to ask you send an email right now to help us save $250,000 in funding and secure an extraordinary opportunity to grow the Society.

Here's what going on:

Last August the City of San Francisco allocated $250,000 from its budget to support the GLBT Historical Society for "site acquisition", that is to help us get a permanent home. Realizing that these funds were too little to actually acquire a new facility, the Society proposed to use these funds to create a high-end temporary exhibit in the Castro district of San Francisco. The exhibit would run for a year and take advantage of the extraordinary opportunity provided by the release of the new Gus Van Sant film on Harvey Milk.

Last week the Mayor's office announced their intention to rescind the appropriation of millions of dollars from this year's budget including the $250,000 to Historical Society. We think this is a profound mistake that would stop us from being able to take advantage of the one time opportunity the Milk film provides.

Temporary exhibits are often used by museums. This one would allow us to fully show our collection and demonstrate to the city what an asset a GLBT museum could be. It would allow us a full year to wow potential supporters and build support for a permanent home. And of course the economic benefit to the city and the Castro would be profound.

Please help us save this funding!

There are two things you can do, one will take five minutes and one will take an afternoon.

Send an email to Mayor Newsom and tell him support us and not to cut the funds for the GLBT Historical Society. Sample language and email addresses are below.

Come to the SF Board of Supervisors Budget Committee Hearing at SF City Hall this coming Wed., February 13 at 1pm and help us demonstrate community support for the Historical Society. (The hearing starts at 1 and will be crowded. Our piece on the agenda is item 8, which will probably come up about 2, but could be significantly later.)

It would be tragic if this vital funding is taken back after it was appropriated to us. It represents our best opportunity to catapult our growing momentum toward a permament Home for Our History. Please help if you can. And if you have questions or concerns feel free to contact me.

Paul

Sample language for an email to the Mayor

Feel free to be as brief or as lengthy as you want to be. When you are done send it to the Mayor and his Chief of Staff whose email addresses are:

Gavin.newsom@sfgov.org; Philip.ginsburg@sfgov.org

It would help if you copied me as well at paul@glbthistory.org


Mayor Newsom,

I am a supporter of the GLBT Historical Society.

I am dismayed to learn that your staff is recommending that the city break its agreement with them and rescind $250,000 already provided in this year's budget.

Please intervene. It doesn't make sense to cut funding for the one institution that can maximize benefit to our city from the new film Milk by making the Castro more attractive to tourists. In addition they could use this opportunity to secure support for a permanent home which would be great addition to San Francisco's cultural landscape.

Sincerely,


Thank you so much for your continuned support of the GLBT Historical Society!
Donate
Contributions of any amount are always welcome. Upon receipt, we will send you a thank you note and an acknowledgement letter that can serve as your receipt for tax purposes.
Learn more.

Membership
By becoming a member of the GLBT Historical Society, you’ll receive advance notice of upcoming exhibits, programs, and other events-in addition to news about the museum.
Learn more.

Volunteer
The GLBT Historical Society offers a wide range of volunteer opportunities.
Learn more.


Intern
The GLBT Historical Society intership program is open to all undergraduate and graduate students.
Learn more.

Supporters
Our work would be impossible without the support of government agencies, private foundations, corporations and small businesses, and individual donors.
See the list.

Sponsors
Sponsorships range from $1,000 to $50,000 a year and are open to businesses, organizations and individuals.
Download the Sponsor Packet.