Past Awardees

The Warten Foundation has become a cornerstone of philanthropy in South Florida. It is dedicated to honoring the legacy of its late founder, Fredrick Warten, by supporting LGBTQ+ organizations and causes. Following Fred’s passing in 2021 at the age of 100, Clifford Cideko assumed Chairmanship and renamed the foundation to honor and celebrate Fredrick’s enduring impact.

Under the leadership of the trustees Clifford Cideko, John Hand, and Randall James, the Warten Foundation’s impact has been transformative. In 2023, the foundation responded swiftly to the devastating flood damage at Broward House by spearheading an emergency grant that enabled immediate reconstruction and the continuation of critical services. The foundation has also strengthened South Florida’s theater and arts scene by funding the first-ever regional theater collaboration to produce the Pulitzer-winning play Fat Ham and underwriting Slow Burn Theatre’s production facilities for a year.

The Warten Foundation’s giving goes beyond the arts and theater. In 2023, they pledged $1,000,000 to Lambda Legal Defense Fund’s Unstoppable Future Campaign, $300,000 to ARC Broward’s refurbishment of their great room, and $300,000 to SAGE to support their LGBTQ+ Elder Program. Warten Foundation has also extended its outreach to include feeding the unhoused and those in need, as well as local and national civil rights organizations like the ACLU and ADL, and has supported several local pet rescues.

In partnership with The Our Fund Foundation, the Warten Foundation helped ArtsUnited retain its gallery space and secure funding for its first full-time Executive Director. This year, the foundation matched Our Fund’s LGBTQ+ Arts and Culture Fund, doubling the amount given to grantees. Through strategic philanthropy and its commitment to the community, the Warten Foundation continues to advance LGBTQ+ advocacy, arts, and culture, building a legacy rooted in creativity and community empowerment.

Melba DeLeon has been a dedicated member and longtime fixture of South Florida’s nonprofit community for nearly two decades. Known for lending her time and talent to many galas and community events, she has played a key role in uplifting and empowering the LGBTQ+ community. Her journey began in New York City, where she volunteered for Pride celebrations; she has continued her advocacy in South Florida after moving here 19 years ago. Melba continues her tireless work in public service by serving on the boards of Pridelines, Unity Coalition, and FlockFest, where she works to advance LGBTQ+ rights, provide essential services, and celebrate the community’s rich diversity. Through her commitment, Melba has become a cornerstone of South Florida’s philanthropic landscape and ensures that vital nonprofit organizations thrive for years to come.

Jeff Delmay’s journey for equality took center stage when he and his husband became one of the six plaintiff couples who sued for the right to marry in Florida. His advocacy helped secure marriage rights for LGBTQ+ couples across the state. His dedication to advancing LGBTQ+ rights is shown in his role as a Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of Equality Florida and his extensive work with the National LGBTQ Task Force and The SMARTRide. Jeff continues to champion equality with a vision for a more inclusive future where everyone can live authentically and thrive.

Michael’s philanthropic journey with The Our Fund Foundation began with a conversation about his vision to establish a bricks-and-mortar LGBTQ-owned and managed facility to protect and uplift unhoused LGBTQ youth in South Florida. From that conversation, Michael drove a 3-year exploration of research, including a one-year trial 6-bed facility, that resulted in the development of the Sunshine Pride House, a 12-bed house in Fort Lauderdale slated to open in January 2024 and is owned by the Sunshine Cathedral Foundation with programs and services provided by local non-profits, FLITE Center and SunServe. Donating more in a single year than any philanthropist in Our Fund’s 13-year history, Michael’s vision attracted philanthropist Terry Merlin, who was on a tandem journey to create a shelter for LGBTQ unhoused youth. Michael’s leadership and leadership gift, along with Terry’s extreme generosity and leadership, made the Sunshine Pride House a reality. It is the intention with this $1M+ investment that the Sunshine Pride House will serve as a model to be replicated in South Florida for LGBTQ marginalized youth.

An artist, teacher, mentor and healer, Niki Lopez is known by many for the passion project she founded in 2014 – What’s Your Elephant – that uses the arts to create a safe space for life’s unspoken topics, including gender discrimination, sexual and emotional abuse, and other traumas. Her creative activism includes being a co-founder for Artists for Black Lives Matter, as well as 1310 Bandits, a nationally recognized, award-winning visionary team of female-led, predominantly LGBTQ filmmakers. Her extensive work has impacted LGBTQ and Afro-Latina communities, women/feminist groups, people of color and sexual abuse survivors.

Spontaneously originating in 2020 during the height of the Covid lockdown, the volunteer-led FLOATARAMA, the country’s largest pride event on the water, has granted $125,000 to LGBTQ youth-serving agencies in South Florida. As importantly, FLOATARAMA has initiated a dialogue and awareness about the importance of philanthropy among a new generation of LGBTQ individuals. Founders Scott Schramm and Roderick MacKenzie are committed to expanding FLAOTARAMA’s reach and influence, and along with it, the circle of donors and supporters that make their work possible.

Larry Hyer’s lifetime of support of LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS causes and his personal involvement as a volunteer and leader of numerous agencies have cemented his reputation as one of South Florida’s leading philanthropists. He supports a variety of LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS organizations, including SAVE, YES Institute, Equality Florida, the AQUA Foundation, Communion, and the University of Miami’s LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS programs. Larry’s work leading and supporting OUTShine Film Festival has been instrumental to the organization’s success as one of the country’s leading LGBTQ film festivals.

Erwin and Didier have long championed a number of philanthropic causes, particularly focused in the LGBTQ community and animal rights, and are proud supporters of The Our Fund Foundation initiatives.

Because of Jim and Peter’s thoughtful generosity to numerous LGBT agencies and causes in South Florida, Our Fund is especially proud that they are our inaugural Raising the Bar Award recipient, designating them as South Florida’s LGBT Philanthropists of the Year. In addition to the impact they have made through their philanthropy which made them the unanimous choice of our selection committee, Jim was also a founding member of Our Fund’s Board of Directors and played an instrumental role in creating the underpinnings of Our Fund’s financial and organizational structure.

Jeff serves as Chair for the National LGBTQ Task Force Gala Miami and is a founding member and Treasurer of the Hollywood LGBTQ+ Council. He also serves as Chair for the Truist PRIDE Business Resource Group for South Florida.

Chuck has dedicated time and resources to impact countless LGBTQ organizations in South Florida over the past decades. Among his volunteer and philanthropic roles, he served as President for Tuesday’s Angels, an organization that provided critical life-saving support for people living with HIV/AIDS in South Florida.

Our Fund Foundation was launched in 2010 by a small group of committed activist philanthropists in response to the low ratio of philanthropy directed to LGBT organizations in the region, and across the country. Chuck Loring, Dick Schwarz, Coleman Prewitt and Mark Ketcham gathered for months laying the groundwork for Our Fund, eventually joined by Our Fund’s founding President & CEO Tony Timiraos. Recognizing that a concentration of LGBT wealth exists in the region for the next several decades due to the dense LGBT population base in South Florida, a LGBT foundation was envisioned as a means of capturing and preserving LGBT financial resources to create a livable community for this and future generations in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties.

Numerous South Florida LGBTQ agencies have been the beneficiary of Doug’s volunteerism. Doug’s name is synonymous with LGBTQ benefits and galas as Doug and the teams he assembles are the first faces seen at check-in for almost every large LGBTQ event in the region. Doug works tirelessly to gather and relay information to volunteers so that events run smoothly with host agencies’ board members and staff able to concentrate on the event knowing that check-in and guest needs are in the capable hands of Doug and his crew.

Designating the Philanthropist of the Year honors, this year’s Raising the Bar recipient is Jayne Baron Sherman. Jayne’s thoughtful generosity, directed at numerous cultural, arts and LGBTQ advocacy agencies, increased at the onset of the pandemic at a time these agencies were especially vulnerable. Jayne’s philanthropic impact in South Florida and nationally has helped to sustain arts and cultural institutions beloved by the LGBTQ community. Jayne and her wife Deby Zum were initial investors in Our Fund’s success as First 100 Funders and remain generous annual supporters. Jayne also regularly provides leadership gifts to Our Fund’s grant funds distributed to South Florida agencies.

Nominated by SAVE, Jonathan has served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of SAVE since 2020 and has served on the Board since 2018. Jonathan also serves on SAVE’s Endorsement Committee, which interviews and endorses political and judicial candidates running for office in South Florida. Recently, Jonathan was appointed by Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber to be the Vice Chair of Art Deco Cultural District Panel. In this role, Jonathan is committed to making Miami Beach safer and more enjoyable for residents and visitors. Jonathan exemplifies how his generation can become engaged and lead bringing vigor and fresh ideas to advance our region’s LGBTQ movement.

Nominated by OUTShine Film Festival for his boundless energy and determined volunteerism, Mark Gilbert’s dedication to the film festival in terms of time, talent and treasure is unmatched. Involved with the Festival in some capacity for much of its history, it was due to his single-minded dedication to the mission of the Festival that the Board was invigorated with new and involved blood, financial debts were resolved, and stable leadership restored.

Designating the Philanthropist of the Year, this year’s Raising the Bar recipient is Wayne Schrebe.   Wayne’s thoughtful generosity directed at numerous LGBT agencies in South Florida has made the difference in the countless number of lives of LGBT people.  A leadership gift from the Wayne A. Schrebe and Roy J. Stegman Fund at Our Fund launched Our Fund’s Protect Our Elders Fund in 2015 and Wayne has provided leadership gifts to both of Our Fund’s capital campaigns in 2014 and 2019.

Paul and his late partner Robert Graham were instrumental through their philanthropy in building a large part of the infrastructure of LGBT life in South Florida. Their names are synonymous with Sunshine Cathedral for the capital investments they made, including the Robert S. Graham and Paul Fasana Chapel. Paul’s longtime passion, however, is for Stonewall National Museum & Archives’ vast collection of LGBT artifacts – for which Paul serves as Chief Archivist – a role he has played since 1995 as a volunteer. In addition to his volunteering, Paul has endowed a fund in perpetuity for Stonewall at Our Fund and supports a large number of local LGBT causes and agencies through his generosity.

Nominated by SunServe, Victor Warren joined SunServe’s board in 2010 and began serving as Chair in January 2018. Under his guidance of one of South Florida’s largest LGBT-serving agencies, SunServe formed the positions and hired a Director of Quality Assurance, a Director of Human Resources and a Director of Development. Victor is a leader in South Florida’s LGBT community and his visibility and impact serve as a reminder of the promise of young activists, leaders and philanthropists.

Nominated by the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida for the hours, weeks, months and years of passion and leadership he dedicated to launching the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida, Doug continues to be a driving force behind the scenes of the Chorus, fueling the amazing growth of the agency. Husband to Don Croxton, a singer in the Chorus, Doug epitomizes the purpose of the Commitment to a Cause Award through both his spirit of volunteerism and his extreme generosity of resources.

Robert Boo says about Board Chair Chris Caputo that he has the ability to influence others and convince them to do something great. It is exactly this quality that made Chris an obvious choice for our selection committee. In Chris, we honor a young, generous leader who we know will inspire his peers to engage with their community as donors, volunteers and leaders.

Because of Jim and Peter’s thoughtful generosity to numerous LGBT agencies and causes in South Florida, Our Fund is especially proud that they are our inaugural Raising the Bar Award recipient, designating them as South Florida’s LGBT Philanthropists of the Year. In addition to the impact they have made through their philanthropy which made them the unanimous choice of our selection committee, Jim was also a founding member of Our Fund’s Board of Directors and played an instrumental role in creating the underpinnings of Our Fund’s financial and organizational structure.

Dick Schwarz was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his good work going back decades. He is a supporter of many organizations – too many to mention in the time allotted here. And he is not only generous with his financial support – but his volunteer work is legendary and has helped to establish the underpinnings of some of our most visible and largest non-profits – including Our Fund where he served as Treasurer in our first five years. Going forward, the Lifetime Achievement Award will be known as the Dick Schwarz Lifetime Achievement Award.