Our Values are Stronger than Fear
A statement by PFund Foundation Board Chair, Becky Smith, on the latest Presidential Memorandum.
Since our founding, PFund Foundation has been grounded in the strength of our community. We were created in 1987 out of the love and determination of LGBTQ+ Minnesotans who came together during the devastation of the AIDS crisis.
At a time when the government failed us, the media maligned us, and mainstream society abandoned us, we pooled resources to cover funeral costs, secure legal protections, and ensure our community could survive and care for one another. That spirit of resilience and solidarity gave rise to the community foundation now known as PFund. From the start, our work has been community-led, guided by the belief that when we care for each other, we create a future where every queer and trans+ person can thrive.
Today, we carry that same commitment to solidarity, care, and justice. The latest memorandum from the Trump administration weaponizes the federal government against nonprofits, activists, and donors. This abuse of power is not about “safety” or “security.” It is a political weapon aimed at silencing movements that make this country what it should be: a place where everyone counts, and everyone belongs.
We are not afraid. We learned long ago that silence will not protect us.
Politicians hope that by targeting trans+ and gender-expansive people, immigrants, people of color, and all who dare to imagine a more just world, that they can divide us. By pitting neighbor against neighbor, they want to distract us from their failures to deliver the basics: safe communities, quality healthcare, strong schools, and the freedom to be who we are.
We know better.
Just as we drew on our collective strength during the AIDS epidemic, just as we have resisted wave after wave of attacks on queer, trans+ and gender-expansive people, we will meet this moment together.
To our grantees, donors, and community: your investments in LGBTQ+ futures are secure. Your data is protected. Your leadership and voices are vital. PFund Foundation exists because of you and for you.
We are grounded in values stronger than fear. We believe in freedom: the freedom to be ourselves, to raise our families, to love and live without shame. We believe in community: neighbors showing up for neighbors, people investing in one another’s dignity and dreams. We believe in solidarity: that an attack on one is an attack on all, and together we cannot be silenced.
As people in power try to erase us, our history proves otherwise: we resist, we create, we build. PFund will continue to be a safe harbor and a resource for LGBTQ+ communities across the Upper Midwest. We are not just resisting their cruelty; we are building the joyful, thriving future they cannot imagine.
PFund is, and always will be, a foundation by and for our people. We are stronger together. Join us in creating the future we deserve: one where every queer and trans+ person can live free, safe, and celebrated.
