The Community Foundation

Established in 1995, The H. Franklin Brooks Philanthropic Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee encourages the inclusion, acceptance and recognition of Middle Tennessee's lesbian and gay citizens by supporting a variety of nonprofit programs in Middle Tennessee enhancing the quality of life for the GLBT community and building bridges between all segments of the community.

The Brooks Fund is focused on preventing disconnection, promoting understanding and providing education and is building an endowment to support the needs of the GLBT community, now and forever.

From The Brooks Fund’s inception to today, we have worked to be a bridge-building entity. We were founded for the purpose of building bridges between the GLBT community and the community-at-large, and between local nonprofits and donors committed to issues of tolerance and education.

We set out to create a permanent source of funding dedicated to these goals and committed to supporting these efforts in Middle Tennessee. That focus remains the same, and The Brooks Fund’s mission continues to be fulfilled thanks to the generosity and support of many and the dedicated leadership of a talented, diverse group of advisory board members.

A Look at The Life of H. Franklin Brooks

H. Franklin Brooks never really talked about himself because he always wanted to talk about what was going on in the lives of others. He was a distinguished gentleman and a gracious host who loved to bring people together. Life was a pleasant party filled with arts, love and laughter. Franklin Brooks wanted all people to feel included, no matter what their way of life.

He was a listener — genuinely interested in all people, not just those like him. He could sit down and listen to a four-year-old child as intently and with as much engagement as he would with a colleague or student. That was the thing that made him so beloved. He had a unique way with people, and his agenda was the whole human family.

For 25 years, Franklin Brooks was one of the most beloved figures on Vanderbilt University’s campus. As an associate professor in the Department of French and Italian, he was repeatedly recognized in the classroom — as much for his creative teaching technique — as for his natural friendliness and personal integrity.

Franklin was instrumental in leading the dialogue that eventually helped include gays and lesbians in Vanderbilt’s anti-harassment policy in the late 1980s. He was also the faculty sponsor for the first lesbian and gay students organization on campus.

After Franklin's death in 1994, a group of his friends wanted to honor him and to continue his forthright championing of human rights, and so The Brooks Fund was created at The Community Foundation. Franklin's tireless work to promote equality for gay and lesbians and diversity among the community as a whole is a legacy that lives on through The Brooks Fund.

Our Advisory Board

The Advisory Board of The Brooks Fund is comprised of community members who share the vision of a more accepting and tolerant community. They include business leaders, educators, community volunteers, nonprofit executives, and professionals from all walks of life. Advisory Board members oversee the activities of The Brooks Fund, which includes grantmaking, fundraising, strategic planning, education, alliance-building, and public awareness.

For more information about the Brooks Fund Advisory Board, click here.

Leadership

Scott Ridgway, Chair
Pam Sheffer, Vice-Chair
Stephanie Barger, Secretary

Members

Adam Barnes
Anthony Barton
Steve Bianchi
Caroline Blackwell
Jeremy Davis
Jason Facio
Roger Gore
Amos Gott
Todd Grantham
Janie Kleiman
Miguel Otero
Amy Parker
Pat Patrick
Ellen Pryor
Randy Silcox
Shelly Steel
Susan Taylor
Nancy VanReece
Cynthia Warner-Brown
Maryglenn Warnock
John Winnett
Keith Wright
Michael McDaniel, Coordinator

Ex Officio Members

John A. Bridges
Iris W. Buhl
Hal Cato
Keith Merrill
Mike Smith
Robyn Smith
William (Bill) Walker

With the help of our generous donors, supporters and volunteers over the past 16 years, The Brooks Fund has granted over $182,000 to a variety of nonprofit organizations.

These organizations offer a wide range of services to the Middle Tennessee community including:
• cultural activities like film festivals and plays
• outreach programs focusing on crisis management, violence prevention, and healthcare access
• youth programs offering counseling, mentoring, and scholarships
• community services such as hotlines, peer counseling, and support groups
• training programs on topics of sensitivity/diversity, youth issues, and safety.

The Brooks Fund is committed to increasing its endowment and support of worthy organizations that are working to build bridges and break down barriers. The Brooks Fund annually accepts grant applications from Middle Tennessee nonprofits supporting the GLBT community, through The Community Foundation’s discretionary grant process. For more information, visit cfmt.org/request  or contact The Community Foundation at 615-321-4939.

Grantmaking snapshot of the past four years:

2011
Jewish Family Service of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, Inc. - To conduct adoption home studies, coordinate child placement and post-placement services to the gay and lesbian community. Jewish Family Service has been providing adoption services for over 35 years to the Nashville and the Middle Tennessee community, and is well known for its welcoming stance toward gay and lesbian perspective adoptive individuals and couples. The grant would enable the Jewish Family Service to continue providing the professional expertise that will guide the GLBT community in their quest to form a family, or, in the case of second parent adoption, to form essential legal ties to the children they and their partners are parenting together.

Nashville in Harmony - To help underwrite outreach and performance activities for the 2011/2012 season, "Mosaic...Voices for Change." The planned activities for the upcoming season are designed to strengthen the core mission of Nashville in Harmony, using music to build community and create social change. By honoring the individual voice, they are creating empowered storytellers with the GLBT community - ambassadors for change our city and beyond through choral performances, community outreach, and service projects.

Oasis Center, Inc. - To support the “Just Us” program, which is dedicated to helping lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth to achieve their full potential. This one-of-a-kind Middle Tennessee program provides support and advocacy through relentless outreach to these youth, their families, and community allies; bi-weekly support and educational events; monthly social event for GLBT youth and their friends; individual support services (offered through Oasis Center; including crisis intervention, counseling, emergency shelter, education support and more); and more.

2010
Nashville Film Festival - To support the GLBTQ programs at the annual Nashville Film Festival which provides a platform for education, entertainment and enlightenment by connecting communities and fostering a greater understanding and tolerance.
Nashville in Harmony - To help underwrite outreach and performance activities for the 2010/2011 season, “A Home for Us All.”

2009
Abintra Montessori School –To underwrite the costs of videos and lesson guides for parent education sessions around LGBT issues.
Nashville in Harmony - To produce a collaborative chorus concert piece with Voices of Kentuckiana.
People's Branch Theatre -To support artistic fees and production costs for the Obie award-winning musical "Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

2008
Abintra Montessori School –To provide support to gay and lesbian families on how to explain their parental configuration or parents of classmates.
Nashville Film Festival - To host LGBT films and filmmakers during the annual film festival.
Nashville in Harmony - To create a chorus performance piece to be performed at a concert in May.

2009
OutCentral, Inc. - To develop a community calendar and database of nonprofit organizations serving the GLBTQIF community.
 

The Brooks Fund hosts a number of social, educational and community events throughout the year. To stay up to date on how you can get involved, sign up for our email list.

The Brooks Fund Annual Wanderlust Party

Wanderlust – The Brooks Fund’s travel-themed party offering the chance to win a coveted $2,000 travel voucher – has become a destination event for people from throughout the community, and an important annual fundraiser.

Check out photos and attendee stories from this year's Wanderlust, and submit your own, here.

In August 2011, The Brooks Fund hosted its 7th annual Wanderlust, drawing a record crowd of nearly 500 and offering guests dancing, drinks, good eats and plenty of fun, all for a great cause.

The Lane Motor Museum’s unique collection of cars and motorcycles served as the perfect travel-inspired backdrop. Janie Kleiman, Ellen Pryor and Randy Silcox served as event co-chairs.

In between dancing to DJ Ron and enjoying his music video display, attendees sampled a lavish buffet by sponsors Bacon & Caviar Gourmet Catering and the Wanderlust signature drink, the “Traveltini." Guests also enjoyed a sampling of beer from Jackalope Brewing Company and wine and spirits from Barefoot Wine and Bubbly and Corsair Artisan Distillery, respectively.

Wanderlust boasted a silent auction with over 100 items, including Southwest Airlines vouchers worth $800 and other travel-themed items like a stay at a villa on an island off Puerto Rico. Chad Veal was also announced as the winner of The Brooks Fund’s travel raffle drawing, receiving a $2,000 travel voucher.
 

The Brooks Fund Speaker Series

In keeping with its goal to provide educational opportunities and connect people in the community, The Brooks Fund typically hosts several speaker series events each year, focusing on topics including estate and tax planning, health and legal issues for same sex couples, adoption law, and more.

An August 2011 Speaker Series event featured Tennessee Repertory Theatre artistic director Rene D. Copeland discussing gay themes in the works of the great American playwright Tennessee Williams.

The Brooks Fund History Project is ongoing and diverse multimedia archival record of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) life in Middle Tennessee.


The initial stage of this extensive and groundbreaking project has focused on collecting oral histories and related materials from members of the GLBT community, which will be archived for use by researchers, educators, and individuals and from which a documentary film will be produced

Since spring 2009, Deidre Duker and Phil Bell have conducted extensive interviews, chronicling the lives of Middle Tennesseans as part of Phase I of The History Project. It contains interviews with gay, transgender and bisexual residents, reflecting on life here before 1970, and how homosexuality was viewed in the larger community.

"Gay and lesbian citizens of Middle Tennessee have a lot to tell us about what life was like for them fifty or sixty years ago,” said Iris Buhl, volunteer chair of The History Project. “They were – and are – an integral part of the fabric of this community. Our knowledge of the history of Middle Tennessee is incomplete without their stories. That’s why the Brooks Fund is committed to this effort.”

Of the 26 interviews collected, 11 are gay men, some of whom led dual lives before the 70s; and five lesbian and two transsexual women. Three more interviews were conducted with same sex couples, one with a group recollecting the early days of gay bars in Nashville; and four with straight observers. The average age of gay men interviewed was about 73; the lesbian and transgender women were, on average, about 71-years-old.

All but two participants were videotaped, which will be archived in the Oral History section of the Nashville Public Library for use by researchers, educators and other interested people. Many also graciously donated relevant memorabilia from the period being recorded. When the interviews are complete, Duker plans to create a documentary drawn from the collected footage, with the goal of showing it on television.

“The biggest revelation was how much courage it took for most of our interviewees to talk to us,” said Buhl. “The old fears are still very deeply engrained in so many of them, even if they are leading relatively open lives now. As a result, each story is very special and each person a hero.”

Phase I of this groundbreaking project has been funded entirely by gifts made to The Brooks Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.