From: UfmccHq@aol.com
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1998 14:03:33 EDT
Subject: LATE NEWS:  Ford Foundation Makes Historic $100,000 Gay Youth Grant

N E W S   R E L E A S E
From The Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches

For Immediate Release:  October 6, 1998

Ford Foundation Makes $100,000 Grant
To World's Oldest and Largest Gay Spirituality Organization
Announcement Made At UFMCC's 30th Anniversary Dinner

LOS ANGELES -- The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches
(UFMCC), the oldest and largest spirituality organization touching the lives
of gays and lesbians, has received a $100,000 grant from the Ford Foundation,
the world's largest philanthropic foundation.

The grant is designated for UFMCC's programs for at-risk gay and lesbian
youth.

The announcement of the grant was made at UFMCC's 30th anniversary banquet in
Los Angeles on Oct. 6 where Willie Brown, mayor of San Francisco, was the
keynote speaker.

UFMCC has a long history of commitment to gay and lesbian youth. The world's
first alternative public school for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered
youth, The Eagles Nest, was sponsored and housed by UFMCC in Los Angeles.

The $100,000 Ford Foundation Grant will be used to sponsor UFMCC's flagship
youth program in West Hollywood and to replicate at-risk youth programs in two
additional cities.  The additional cities will be announced later. The West
Hollywood youth program is operated by UFMCC's founding church, Metropolitan
Community Church of Los Angeles.

"We are deeply grateful to the Ford Foundation for recognizing and supporting
UFMCC's commitment to at-risk gay and lesbian youth," said the Rev. Troy D.
Perry, UFMCC Moderator and veteran civil and human rights activist. 

"This is a significant step forward in our relationship with the Ford
Foundation and marks an historic milestone on behalf of LGBT youth," added the
Rev. Nancy Wilson, Senior pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of Los
Angeles.

The Ford Foundation grant of $100,000 follows recent grants of $50,000 from
the Gill Foundation and $10,000 from the Wells Fargo Bank Foundation.

Founded in 1936, the Ford Foundation has provided more than $8 billion in
grants to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote
international cooperation, and advance human achievement.

The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches was founded in
1968, nine months before the Stonewall Rebellion, to provide positive,
affirming houses of worship for the gay community.  Over the past 30 years,
UFMCC has grown to more than 42,000 members and adherents in 15 countries.
For additional information, visit the UFMCC website at http://www.ufmcc.com or
send e-mail to ufmcchq@aol.com.

(END)

________________________________
For Additional Information, Contact:
UFMCC Communications Department
8704 Santa Monica Blvd.,  2nd Floor
West Hollywood, CA  90069

Tel. (310) 360-8640
Fax: (310) 360-8680

E-mail: info@ufmcchq.com

website: http://www.ufmcc.com


NOTE:  Members of the press who wish to write stories on UFMCC's flagship
youth program in West Hollywood for at-risk youth and street kids may arrange
for interviews in person or by phone by contacting the Rev. Dawn Wilder,
program director, at MCC Los Angeles at (310) 360-8640.