JIM STEPP, LIFELONG PHILANTHROPIST, DIES AT 85

Christiana Lilly

The South Florida LGBT charitable community is mourning the loss of one of its biggest advocates.

Jim Stepp, who spent his life giving back to causes advancing the rights of LGBT people, died May 4 at 85.

His husband, Peter Zimmer, shared that Stepp died while in hospice at Holy Cross Hospital after a short illness. There will be no funeral, no memorial, and no flowers, he said in the announcement — he only asked that loved ones donate to their favorite LGBT charity.

For David Jobin, the president and CEO of the Our Fund Foundation, the announcement was exactly what he would expect from the couple — “Understated. Modest. Thoughtful. Jim and Peter are the best of humanity.”

Stepp was a founding board member of the Our Fund Foundation in Wilton Manors, an organization that since 2010 has supported philanthropy giving to LGBT organizations locally and across the country. Each year, it gives more than $1,500,000 to nonprofit agencies. In honor of the late Norm Kent, the co-founder of SFGN, the organization founded a journalism fund.

In February 2019, Stepp and Zimmer were the inaugural recipients of the Raising the Bar Award, also known as the South Florida LGBTQ Philanthropist of the Year, hosted by the Our Fund Foundation. Jobin told SFGN that it was obvious that the couple should win the award, but he also knew they would be too humble to accept it. It took a little convincing that they were the right people to set the standard for the award for years to come.

“They’re just the most modest, unassuming men in the world,” he said. “I worked so hard to convince them … They’re that important to the community and they did it with such grace and dignity and modesty. He will be missed so much. But Peter will carry on that legacy; Peter is a force as well.”

The couple also donated to the Florida AIDS Walk, and in 2011 made a donation from their trust to Stonewall National Museum & Archives. The two were also Platinum Level members of the Pride Center’s Founders Circle and Equality Florida’s Legacy of Equality Society. But Stepp and Zimmer’s days of philanthropy stretched beyond his days in South Florida. While living in New York City, they were also early supporters of SAGE and Lambda Legal.

“They have had an impact on LGBTQ lives for decades,” Scott Bennett, board chair for the Our Fund Foundation, said in a statement.

Jobin added, “Jim’s quick smile along with his quiet Oklahoman steadfastness will be sorely missed by all who knew him and loved him.”