Fueling emergency response efforts
All gifts matched up to $50,000!
This Pride, we’re not just celebrating, we’re mobilizing. Across the country, LGBTQ+ organizations - especially those led by BIPOC and TGNC leaders - are being targeted, defunded, and overwhelmed.
From cancelled grants to legislative and DEI rollbacks, the message is clear: our communities are under attack, and our movements are being asked to do more with less.
As Stonewall Community Foundation marks 35 years of resourcing LGBTQ+ liberation, we are embracing our legacy by rising to this moment with urgency and care. Together, we are answering the call boldly, with the help of community members like you. It’s our collective responsibility to meet this moment with intention and generosity.
We’re activating Stonewall’s Emergency Response Fund to raise $100,000 in urgent, life-affirming grants for organizations on the frontlines, courageous groups taking risks to defend the communities they serve. These groups are protecting trans youth, standing up for drag and queer art, and creating access to lifesaving resources where no one else will.
And this Pride, you can double your impact. A generous anonymous fund partner has pledged to match all gifts, up to $50,000, made through the end of June, the month of Pride. That means your support will have double the impact, reaching more communities, more quickly, when it matters most.
This isn’t the first time we’ve had to rise-up. The Emergency Response Fund was created in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and reactivated during the COVID-19 lockdowns. It’s helped sustain legal services, housing programs, HIV prevention, and cultural resilience. Now, we need it more than ever. Because the emergency isn’t coming. It’s already here.
Stonewall’s program team visiting with Tony’s Place staff during a recent visit to Houston, Texas.
Here are a few examples of recent small grants Stonewall has made that have had a big impact:
Lake County Pride in Central Florida is the only LGBTQ+ youth center for 30 miles. A grant of $3,000 helps them continue their work of leading educational efforts in schools and public forums, building partnerships with local organizations, and providing support groups for LGBTQ+ youth and adults.
Tony's Place is a drop-in center for LGBTQ+ youth in Houston, TX. They offer basic necessities such as showers, hygiene items, clothing, hot meals, laundry, charging stations, and safe sex items, and also provide case management and mental health programs. A grant of $5,000 covers art supplies for their art therapy program, a unique and successful way of attracting and retaining at-risk queer youth.
Thursday's Child provides services and care for people living with and affected by HIV on Long Island. A grant of $7,000 keeps their client pantry stocked for six months with personal hygiene and cleaning supplies, helping those in need who can’t afford to purchase those items and keeping them engaged in HIV care.