{{Short description|American non-profit organization}} {{update|date=March 2022}} {{Infobox organization |name = Empowering Spirits Foundation |image = Empowering Spirits Foundation Top_large.jpg |image_border = |image_size = |caption = The ESF logo symbolizing a ring of unity. |formation = 2008 |type = |headquarters = San Diego, California, United States |location = |membership = |language = |leader_title = President |leader_name = Lisa Kove |key_people = A. Latham Staples, Chairman |num_staff = |budget = |website = {{url|https://web.archive.org/web/20090727074911/http://www.empoweringspirits.org:80/}} }} The '''Empowering Spirits Foundation''' ('''ESF'''), Inc. is an American non-profit, non-partisan LGBT rights organization based in San Diego, California, United States.<ref name="ESFAbout">{{cite web |url=http://www.empoweringspirits.org/about/ |title=About ESF |publisher=Empowering Spirits Foundation|access-date=2014-06-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217023753/http://www.empoweringspirits.org/about/ |archive-date=2013-12-17 }}</ref><ref name="WiserEarth">[http://www.wiserearth.org/organization/view/c169c5a5c09f75d33327e1e86832df97 Wiser Earth Organizations: Empowering Spirits Foundation] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206103452/http://www.wiserearth.org/organization/view/c169c5a5c09f75d33327e1e86832df97 |date=December 6, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="Idealist">{{cite web |url=http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Org/196562-329/c |title=– Empowering Spirits Foundation |publisher=Idealist.org |date= |access-date=2014-06-29 |archive-date=2010-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614214418/http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Org/196562-329/c |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="PhillyGayChapter">{{cite web|url=http://www.philadelphia.com/empowering-spirits-foundation-b24486692 |title=Philadelphia.com |publisher=Philadelphia.com |access-date=2014-06-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704225126/http://www.philadelphia.com/empowering-spirits-foundation-b24486692 |archive-date=2014-07-04 }}</ref><ref name="DCGayChapter">{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtondc.com/empowering-spirits-foundation-b24486642 |title=Washington DC.com |publisher=Washington DC.com |date= |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref>

[[Image:esfrally.JPG|thumb|350px|Empowering Spirits Foundation Rally in San Diego, California]] The Foundation is based in San Diego with chapters in other U.S. states.<ref name="DCGayChapter"/><ref name="LAGayChapter">{{cite web |url=http://www.losangeles.com/empowering-spirits-foundation-b24486672 |title=Los Angeles Gay |publisher=Losangeles.com |date=2014-04-16 |access-date=2014-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217100906/http://www.losangeles.com/empowering-spirits-foundation-b24486672 |archive-date=2012-02-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="SFGayChapter">{{cite web |url=http://www.sanfrancisco.com/empowering-spirits-foundation-b24486882 |title=San Francisco.com |publisher=San Francisco.com |date= |access-date=2014-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128065420/http://www.sanfrancisco.com/empowering-spirits-foundation-b24486882 |archive-date=2016-01-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ESF members engage in service-oriented activities in communities typically opposed to LGBT rights.<ref name="WiserEarth"/><ref name="SeattleGayChapter">{{cite web |url=http://www.seattle.com/empowering-spirits-foundation-b24486702 |title=Seattle.com |publisher=Seattle.com |date= |access-date=2014-06-29 |archive-date=2014-07-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713132513/http://www.seattle.com/empowering-spirits-foundation-b24486702 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="MNGayChapter">{{cite web|url=http://www.minneapolis.com/empowering-spirits-foundation-b24486722 |title=Minneapolis.com |publisher=Minneapolis.com |access-date=2014-06-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508164641/http://www.minneapolis.com/empowering-spirits-foundation-b24486722 |archive-date=2013-05-08 }}</ref>

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 in nature, as these are the people ESF is attempting to influence.<ref name="Gaysd">{{cite news |url=http://www.gay-sd.com/communities/organizations/empowered-to-do-good/ |title=Empowered to do good |publisher=Gay San Diego |date=2010-07-03 |access-date=2010-08-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710183725/http://www.gay-sd.com/communities/organizations/empowered-to-do-good/ |archive-date=2010-07-10 }}</ref>

Additionally, ESF is active in U.S. politics.<ref name="ESFAbout"/><ref name="ESFFoundingRelease">{{cite web|url=http://www.empoweringspirits.org/news/news_releases/archive/2008/1000.html |title=Empowering Spirits Foundation Founded After Passage of Prop. 8 |publisher=Empowering Spirits Foundation Press Release |date=2008-11-11 |access-date=2009-06-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722161146/http://www.empoweringspirits.org/news/news_releases/archive/2008/1000.html |archive-date=2011-07-22 }}</ref>

==History and leadership== The Empowering Spirits Foundation was established by A. Latham Staples in 2008 after the passage of Proposition 8 in California out of frustration as to how he thought LGBT rights organizations were approaching the gay rights issue.<ref name="ESFAbout"/><ref name="ESFFoundingRelease"/><ref name="SDGLNESF">{{cite news|url= http://sdgln.com/2010/01/29/bridging-gap-between-lgbt-community-and-non-lgbt-neighbors|title= The Empowering Spirits Foundation: Bridging the gap between the LGBT community and non-LGBT neighbors |publisher=San Diego Gay & Lesbian News|date=2010-01-29|access-date=2010-02-03}}</ref><ref name="MyOutSpirit">{{cite web |url=http://www.myoutspirit.com/index.php?pag=resource&roid=181&PHPSESSID=gaoombmmgiim |title=MyOutSpirit |publisher=MyOutSpirit |date= |access-date=2014-06-29 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191651/http://myoutspirit.com/index.php?pag=resource&phpsessid=gaoombmmgiim&roid=181 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Staples said, "The day after the passage of Proposition 8, various gay rights organizations attacked Christians, the LDS Church, and minority groups. In my mind, this intolerance only amplified the hate, it didn't create change".<ref name="SDGLNESF"/> 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.<ref name="ESFAbout"/><ref name="Gaysd"/><ref name="SDGLNESF"/>

In 2009 Echoing Green, an angel investor 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."<ref name="ESFEchoingGreen">{{cite web|url=http://www.empoweringspirits.org/news/news_releases/archive/2010/1030.html|title=Echoing Green To Fund Empowering Spirits For 2 Years, ESF President A. Latham Staples Named 2010 Fellow|publisher=Empowering Spirits Foundation Press Release|date=2009-06-22|access-date=2009-08-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722161256/http://www.empoweringspirits.org/news/news_releases/archive/2010/1030.html|archive-date=2011-07-22}}</ref><ref name="EchoingGreen">{{cite web|url=https://fellows.echoinggreen.org/fellow/a-latham-staples/ |title=A. Latham Staples - Echoing Green Fellow |publisher=Echoinggreen.org |date= |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref>

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.<ref name="LGBTWEEKLY">{{cite web |url=http://lgbtweekly.com/2013/03/04/esf-founding-presidentceo-steps-down-named-ceo-of-premlocare/ |title=ESF founding president/CEO steps down, named CEO of PremloCare |publisher=LGBTWeekly.com |date=2013-03-04 |access-date=2014-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808043042/http://lgbtweekly.com/2013/03/04/esf-founding-presidentceo-steps-down-named-ceo-of-premlocare/ |archive-date=2014-08-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="ESFKove">{{cite web |url=http://www.empoweringspirits.org/about/governance/leadership/board/lisa_kove/ |title=Empowering Spirits Foundation &#124; Lisa S. Kove |publisher=Empoweringspirits.org |date=2008-11-11 |access-date=2014-08-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811072826/http://www.empoweringspirits.org/about/governance/leadership/board/lisa_kove/ |archive-date=2014-08-11 }}</ref>

===Catholic Diocese of Portland, Maine=== In May 2009, the Empowering Spirits Foundation filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service to seek revocation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland's tax exempt status.<ref name="SFGatePortland">{{cite news|url= https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/maine-church-accused-of-tax-law-violation-3297910.php|title=Maine Church Accused of Tax Law Violation|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|date=2009-05-22|access-date=2009-05-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/northeast/view/2009_05_22_Group_challenges_church_fight_vs__gay_weds|title=Group Challenges Church Fight vs. Gay Weds|publisher=Boston Herald|date=2009-05-22|access-date=2009-06-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid85446.asp |title=Maine Diocese in Violation of Tax Law? |publisher=Advocate |date=2009-05-21 |access-date=2009-05-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529070139/http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid85446.asp |archive-date=2009-05-29 }}</ref> 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 on same-sex marriage in an attempt to overturn Maine's new same-sex marriage law.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/us/2009/05/21/D98AQQM80_us_gay_marriage/index.html |title=Gay Rights Group: Main Diocese Violating Tax Law |publisher=Salon Magazine |date=2009-05-21 |access-date=2009-05-22 }}{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Mutty is quoted as calling the church's action "one of the biggest grassroots movements in Maine history."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/article_11307.php |title=Maine drafts gay marriage ballot question |publisher=Dallas Voice |date=2009-05-22 |access-date=2009-05-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529010546/http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/article_11307.php |archive-date=2009-05-29 }}</ref>

Erik Stanley, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, 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."<ref>{{cite news|url= http://ncronline.org/news/politics/complaint-filed-irs-against-maine-diocese |title=Complaint Filed with IRS against Maine Diocese|publisher=National Catholic Reporter|date=2009-05-29|access-date=2009-06-02}}</ref>

==Events== [[Image:ESF Proud Hearts Reach Out2.jpg|thumb|left|ESF volunteers build a new trail in the Gonzalez Canyon in San Diego, California.]] 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.<ref name="ESFAbout"/><ref name="Gaysd"/>

===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 October 9, 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gaylesbiantimes.com/?id=14768 |title=Freedom Jubilee created in response to Prop. 8 decision |publisher=Gay & Lesbian Times |date=2009-05-27 |access-date=2009-05-28 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526064452/http://www.gaylesbiantimes.com/?id=14768 |archive-date=2011-05-26 }}</ref><ref name="ProudHeartsRelease">{{cite web|url=http://www.empoweringspirits.org/news/news_releases/archive/2009/1001.html |title=Proud Hearts Reach Out Created in Response to Prop. 8 Decision |publisher=Empowering Spirits Foundation Press Release |date=2009-05-26 |access-date=2009-09-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722161205/http://www.empoweringspirits.org/news/news_releases/archive/2009/1001.html |archive-date=2011-07-22 }}</ref> The nationwide event was created in response to the California Supreme Court decision to uphold Proposition 8. Roughly 5,000 volunteers attended the ESF service events held across 36 states, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, MyOutSpirit.com, the American Cancer Society, and the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society.<ref name="ProudHearts">{{cite web|url=http://www.empoweringspirits.org/news/news_releases/archive/2009/1021.html |title=5,000 Plus Gays & Lesbians Help Local Communities Nationwide |publisher=Empowering Spirits Foundation Press Release |date=2009-10-10 |access-date=2009-10-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722161246/http://www.empoweringspirits.org/news/news_releases/archive/2009/1021.html |archive-date=2011-07-22 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://blog.mysocalledgaylife.com/?p=2300|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707035020/http://blog.mysocalledgaylife.com/?p=2300|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-07-07|title=5,000 Plus Gays & Lesbians Help Local Communities Nationwide|publisher=My So Called Gay Life|date=2009-10-12|access-date=2009-10-12}}</ref>

===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, Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=90863 |title=Equality Forum honors Newsom, the New York Times |publisher=Edge|date=2009-05-07|access-date=2009-06-01}}</ref> The rally featured a series of cultural programs, panels, parties and outdoor events, and a tribute to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is a proponent of gay rights.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/02/22/same.sex/index.html|title=Mayor Defends Same-Sex Marriages|publisher=CNN|date=2004-02-22|access-date=2009-05-28}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090312065236/http://empoweringspirits.org/ Empowering Spirits Foundation] — official website

{{LGBTQ}}

Category:History of LGBTQ civil rights in the United States Category:LGBTQ political advocacy groups in the United States Category:LGBTQ law in the United States Category:Same-sex marriage in the United States Category:Discrimination in California Category:Charities based in California Category:LGBTQ charities