Granted: BHT to present its annual grants on Saturday
Through its grants program, BHT helps local nonprofits thrive.
Jim Slattery remembers the first time he witnessed the impact of Brother, Help Thyself. In 2009, the organization’s board met to determine which nonprofits would receive grants. In walked June Horner, a representative for several PFLAG chapters Maryland.
“She talked about a very small grant that PFLAG had received back in the ’80s,” says Slattery. “She spoke about that $150 as if it were $100,000.”
Her anecdote — and the passion with which she spoke — helped Slattery decide to join the board. “Her recounting of that story has stuck with me,” he says, adding she “flipped the switch to where I was like, ‘I want to do this.'”
Slattery has been the group’s president since 2013, and loves to talk about BHT’s milestones. For instance, last year they reached the $3 million mark in grants given to local LGBT- and HIV-related nonprofits. In 2015, they gave out their thousandth individual grant.
Sex worker advocacy organization HIPS has been BHT’s largest single recipient, with more than $130,000 in grants over 18 years. The smallest amount given out was in 1990, when the nonprofit Passages received a one-time grant of $50.
As for this year’s recipients, BHT’s annual Grants and Awards Reception will be held at The DC Eagle, where Slattery expects to award approximately $70,000 to at least 25 nonprofits.
Says Slattery, “We’re always striving to push out as much money as we can to the community at large.”
BHT’s annual Grants and Awards Reception is Saturday, Jan. 28, at 2 p.m. at The DC Eagle, 3701 Benning Rd. NE. To learn more about BHT, call 202-347-2246 or visit brotherhelpthyself.net.
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