People across the country continue to grieve over the tremendous loss of life that occurred on June 12, when a gunman attacked an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, leaving 49 dead and more than 50 injured, nearly all LGBTQ, Latino/a, and young. This is one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history and a violent attack against the LGBTQ community, the Latino/Hispanic community, the Orlando community and our nation.

For funders concerned about this tragedy and how to best respond, please join us for a national teleconference on June 22, 8 to 9 a.m. Pacific time. The teleconference is co-hosted by the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, Funders for LGBTQ Issues, Change Philanthropy, AAPIP, ABFE and Hispanics in Philanthropy. On the call we’ll get the latest updates from Florida’s philanthropic community to learn about the current needs, how local philanthropy is responding and the type of help that is needed now and in future; share some lessons learned by funders from other mass shootings; and explore how philanthropy can play a role right now and down the road. Speakers will include Stacy Carlson, President & CEO of Florida Philanthropic Network; Ben Francisco Maulbeck, President of Funders for LGBTQ Issues: and Joyce White, Executive Director of Grantmakers of Oregon and Southwest Washington.

This will be the first of three teleconferences we plan to offer in the coming weeks. In a second teleconference we’ll hear from community groups working on the front lines in Orlando and in a third teleconference we'll focus on longer-terms needs and responses.