$12K Matching Grant for SoVo Successor

An Atlanta foundation geared toward the LGBT community gave a $12,000 matching grant to the effort to create a new gay publication since the Southern Voice closed abruptly last week.

The Lloyd E. Russell Foundation will give $12,000 in matching funds to the new news outlet, according to a note posted on www.savesovo.com, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"Gay activist and businessman Lloyd Russell was active in Atlanta politics as a Libertarian candidate in the 1990s," according to the Journal-Constitution. "His nonprofit was started to support the gay community in Atlanta and in the Southeast."

The Southern Voice, along with other publications included the Washington Blade, was shuttered a week ago Monday due to ongoing financial problems experienced by its parent company, Window Media.

Like the staff of the Blade, Southern Voice founder Chris Cash and former editor Laura Douglas-Brown plan to start a new gay publication in print and online. Cash told the Journal-Constitution that she is working with an attorney to establish a corporation, which will sell shares. She wants to raise enough money initially to stay in business for one year independent of ad sales.