The Empowering Spirits Foundation (ESF), Inc. is an American non-profit, non-partisan

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

organization based in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

, United States.Wiser Earth Organizations: Empowering Spirits Foundation
The Foundation is based in San Diego with chapters in other

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

s. ESF members engage in service-oriented activities in communities typically opposed to LGBT rights. ESF programs include neighborhood revitalization, housing builds, canned food drives, and environmental cleanup, causes which allow for both sides to work together in what ESF calls a "positive environment". The programs take place in under-served areas or those

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

in nature, as these are the people ESF is attempting to influence. Additionally, ESF is active in U.S.

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

History and leadership

The Empowering Spirits Foundation was established by A. Latham Staples in 2008 after the passage of

Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in cou ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

out of frustration as to how he thought LGBT rights organizations were approaching the gay rights issue. Staples said, "The day after the passage of Proposition 8, various gay rights organizations attacked Christians, the

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

, and minority groups. In my mind, this intolerance only amplified the hate, it didn't create change". Staples, a long time activist, was laughed at when he suggested to one of those organizations that the LGBT community should foster dialogue with such groups instead of attacking them. Four days later, ESF was established. In 2009 Echoing Green, an

angel investor An angel investor (also known as a business angel, informal investor, angel funder, private investor, or seed investor) is an individual who provides capital for a business or businesses start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownersh ...

in social entrepreneurial organizations, announced it would fund ESF for two years. ESF was the only grantee selected from the category of "Civil & Human Rights" when Staples was named a 2010 Echoing Green fellow for "enacting innovative solutions that address root causes to social problems." On March 4, 2013, ESF announced Staples had stepped down as president of the organization as he had accepted the position of chief executive officer at PremloCare, Inc. (later renamed EXUSMED, Inc.), a healthcare company based in San Diego. He remains the chairman of ESF. Today, ESF is headed by Lisa Kove, current president of the foundation and Executive Director of the Department of Defense Federal Globe.

Catholic Diocese of Portland, Maine

In May 2009, the Empowering Spirits Foundation filed a complaint with the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory t ...

to seek revocation of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Diocese of Portland The Diocese of Portland is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States comprising the entire state of Maine. It is led by a bishop, and its cathedral, or mother church, is the Ca ...

’s tax exempt status. This complaint was filed after Mark Mutty, the Diocese’s public affairs director, announced plans for the church to gather 55,087 signatures needed for a state

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

on same-sex marriage in an attempt to overturn Maine’s new same-sex marriage law. Mutty is quoted as calling the church’s action "one of the biggest grassroots movements in Maine history." Erik Stanley, senior counsel for the

Alliance Defense Fund Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF, formerly Alliance Defense Fund) is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group that works to curtail rights for LGBTQ people; expand Christian practices within public schools and in government; and ...

, responding on behalf of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, stated in a letter to ESF that the IRS allows tax-exempt organizations to "engage in lobbying activities, including advocating a position on a public referendum, without violating their tax-exempt status so long as the activity is not a substantial activity of the organization."

Events

Empowering Spirits Foundation members engage in service-oriented activities in communities throughout the nation. These events range from small events at nursing homes and food banks, neighborhood clean-up endeavors, and neighborhood restoration projects, to participation in large citywide rallies.

Proud Hearts Reach Out

The Empowering Spirits Foundation held its first annual nationwide service-oriented event to promote LGBT rights called "Proud Hearts Reach Out" in conjunction with

National Coming Out Day National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an annual LGBT awareness day observed on October 11, to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people ( the LGBT community, sometimes also called the queer community) in " coming out of the closet". Fir ...

October 9, 2009. The nationwide event was created in response to the

California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sac ...

decision to uphold Proposition 8. Roughly 5,000 volunteers attended the ESF service events held across 36 states, in partnership with

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a C ...

, MyOutSpirit.com, the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

, and the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society.

National Equality Rally

The Empowering Spirits Foundation, along with other LGBT organizations, co-organized the National Equality Rally which took place from April 27 through May 3, 2009, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, Pennsylvania. The rally featured a series of cultural programs, panels, parties and outdoor events, and a tribute to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

Mayor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California f ...

, who is a proponent of gay rights.

References

External links

Empowering Spirits Foundation
— official website {{LGBT History of LGBT civil rights in the United States LGBT political advocacy groups in the United States LGBT law in the United States Same-sex marriage in the United States Discrimination in California Charities based in California LGBT charities