How a tragedy led to generosity and a great vision

The San Diego Human Dignity Foundation was established in July 1996, in response to a tragic event. On May 18th, 1995 Lincoln Aston was brutally murdered in his San Diego home. Lincoln's friends and family were moved by the tragedy and it became a catalyst for a reexamination of the issues facing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the efforts being made to deal with these issues today and into the future.

Lincoln's family held conversations with Lincoln's friends and expressed a willingness to make a substantial contribution, as a memorial, to a charity or charities that could help ensure that issues of safety, security, aging and self-awareness would be dealt with on an ongoing basis in our community. From the sale of Lincoln's personal possessions, Lincoln's heirs contributed $29,000 as a gift to our community.

The consensus among Lincoln's friends who were charged with determining the best vehicle for the funds was that while a number of organizations deal with many issues of broad importance, most notably The Center, what was needed most was an organization whose goal was long range planning for and preservation of funds to meet the ongoing needs of these and other organizations.

In 1996 The Foundation's original Board of Directors determined that the establishment of an endowment fund would assure funding for LGBT service organizations on a long-term basis. As a 501 (c)(3) public charity SDHDF was formed to establish a permanent charitable endowment.