LGBTQ+ Funding during COVID-19
Five area LGBTQ+ organizations receive grants totaling $200,000 from The HOPE Fund of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.
The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan announced that five key LGBTQ+ organizations have received grants totaling $200,000 from the Community Foundation’s HOPE (Helping Others through Partnerships and Education) Fund. Each organization received $40,000 to support operating needs during the COVID-19 crisis.
The organizations receiving grants are:
“2020 has been difficult and different,” said Allan Gilmour, Chair of The HOPE Fund of the Community Foundation. “With multiple crises in our nation and magnified in our region, we adapted our annual grantmaking strategy to meet the current needs of organizations serving the LGBTQ+ community.”
“The grant from The HOPE Fund of the Community Foundation has given us the freedom to be flexible and meet the unexpected needs of the LGBTQ+ community during the COVID-19 pandemic.” said Jerry Peterson, Executive Director of the Ruth Ellis Center.
The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan has been supporting these and other groups for the last 25 years through The HOPE Fund. Many of these organizations — like other nonprofits nationwide – have increased demands and at the same time have had to cancel fundraising events and rethink how to engage donors amidst the COVID-19 crisis.
“We are doubling the annual grantmaking from The HOPE Fund,” Gilmour says. “It was particularly important in these times to be able to proactively support these groups and provide general operating support so that organizations can allocate resources the way they see fit. We are thankful for our donors and The HOPE Fund endowment funds that make this possible.”
The HOPE Fund, established in 1994, was created to strengthen organizations and projects that support LGBTQ+ individuals and families, through targeted grantmaking, projects and technical assistance. To date, more than 173 grants totaling over $2.5 million have been distributed, resulting in a more responsive array of services, programs and organizations for southeast Michigan’s LGBTQ+ community. The HOPE Fund endowment continues to grow and will be able to help meet future needs of the community.