Phelan M. Ebenhack, AP
As the nation marks five years since the Pulse shooting, which took the lives of 49 friends, siblings, and loved ones on Latin night at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., we will never forget how we were both left reeling. We spent hours searching on social media for clues about the well-being of friends and in a state of disbelief that someone would attack LGBTQ people with such violent hatred.
In the weeks that followed, through a collaboration of the Arcus Foundation, Funders for LGBTQ Issues, Our Fund Foundation, and other grant makers, we led the founding of the Contigo Fund, a philanthropic effort led by and for LGBTQ people of color to support the long-term healing and empowerment of people touched by the violence.