The Kevin J. Mossier Foundation was a Minnesota-based left-of-center foundation that donated towards LGBT-interest advocacy and other related nonprofits. The foundation was founded by and named after Kevin J. Mossier, who was an entrepreneur.

The foundation ceased operations in 2014, but the organization morphed into the Mossier Social Action and Innovation Center.

Kevin Mossier

The Kevin J. Mossier Foundation was named after Kevin J. Mossier, an entrepreneur in the travel business. Mossier was from Grand Rapids, Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota. ¹

In 1970, he founded The Travel Company of Minnesota, Inc. It was the first Twin Cities agency to feature an automated reservation service. ²

In 1985, he created RSVP Vacations, the first travel agency specifically geared towards gay customers. He created the agency after suffering discrimination while he was on vacation with his boyfriend. Mossier donated a portion of his profits to LGBT-interest organizations, both locally and nationally. ³

In 1996, Mossier established the Kevin J. Mossier Foundation to work on LGBT issues. ⁴ He would die that year at the age of 46 of Hepatitis B. ⁵

Today, the foundation morphed into the Mossier Social Action and Innovation Center. ⁶ There is also a scholarship awarded by the Pride Foundation in his name. ⁷

Workplace Equality Index

Shortly before his death from Hepatitis B in 1996, Kevin J. Mossier established the Kevin J. Mossier Foundation. The foundation was established to give money towards gay rights and other causes that would benefit the gay community. The foundation was seeded with the money raised from the sale of RSVP Vacations. ⁸

The trustees of the foundation had a rule,that it would only invest in companies that were LGBTQ-friendly. They approached John Roberts of Denver Investments to help them out and manage their money. Roberts and his team developed a set of metrics based on “equality for LGBTQ employees.” ⁹

The metric Roberts and his team created the Workplace Equality Index. It was based on prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, domestic partner benefits, and support for LGBTQ employees. ¹⁰

Funding LGBT Activism

The Kevin J. Mossier Foundation became one of the leading funders of LGBT activism in Minnesota. The foundation funded groups like Freedom To Marry, the ACLU, and GLAAD. ¹¹

In 2013, the foundation funded business-related ventures related to the LGBT community: The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) and StartOut. The foundation funded an IGLTA scholarship program for students pursuing LGBT tourism as a career and programs geared towards developing more LGBT tourism destinations and human rights issues related to LGBT travel. ¹²

The foundation also funded StartOut, which is a venture designed to help LGBT entrepreneurs. StartOut received funding to open chapters in the midwestern United States. ¹³

Also in 2013, the foundation awarded $53,000 to Freedom to Marry Minnesota, a pro-same-sex marriage organization. ¹⁴

Leadership

The former director of the foundation was Cathie Hartnett. While serving as director of the foundation, Harnett was the executive director of the National Youth Recovery Foundation. ¹⁵ The foundation had no other employees and was managed by an outside accounting firm called Gaasedelen and Goldberg PA based in Edina, MN.

Funding

The 2014 Form 990 was the final one on file. The foundation was winding down operations and sold off virtually all of its assets. It spent $1.4 million in total, disbursing $1.1 million in grants and contributions.

Among the organizations receiving grants in the final year of the Mossier Foundation were the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, Outfront Minnesota, Bolder Giving, Freedom to Marry, National Youth Recovery Foundation, and the Minneapolis Foundation.

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