The HOPE Fund (Helping Others through Partnerships and Education) was created to strengthen organizations and projects that support LGBTQ+ individuals and families, through targeted grantmaking, projects and technical assistance.
To date, over 170 grants totaling $2.5M+ have been made to nonprofit organizations in the region that serve the LGBTQ+ community.
Recent grants from The HOPE Fund include:
2024
- Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc. – Greater Michigan Chapter: Support for a tailored dementia outreach program for older adult LGBTQ+ community members and their families.
- LGBT Detroit: Support for dedicated staff and design planning for a new health focused LGBT Detroit facility.
- Planet Ant Theatre, Inc.: Support for two productions created by artists in the LGBTQ+ community and a permanent production slot in the Planet Ant Theatre’s regular theatrical season.
- Stand with Trans: Support to expand the Trans Lifeline Library to include a health provider network
2023:
- Health Emergency Lifeline Programs: $25,000 to launch a patient assistance fund for uninsured and underinsured patients of Corktown Health;
- SAGE Metro Detroit: $25,000 for the development of a comprehensive marketing strategy to improve access to services for LGBTQ+ older adults in southeast Michigan
- Girls Group: $25,000 to formalize affirming services for LGBTQ+ high school students in Washtenaw County
- Grants of $5,000 each to LGBT Detroit, Equality Michigan, Affirmations, SAGE Metro Detroit, Ruth Ellis Center, and Stand with Trans, in partnership with the Consumers Energy Foundation, to support DEI learning opportunities for staff and/or board members
2022:
- Hands Across the Water: $21,800 to convene multiple child welfare agencies in southeast Michigan to better serve LGBTQ+ youth and families who have involvement in the child welfare system be approved.
- Lawrence Technical University: $25,000 to conduct a community design/informed study to help build and grow LGBTQIA+ student services, provide a designated space on campus, and develop needed resources
- Nonprofit Enterprise at Work: $25,000 to promote the inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals within faith communities through a partnership between the Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network and Inclusive Justice
- Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association: $25,000 to provide Alzheimer’s/dementia education and support services for LGBTQ+ community members and their families
- The Arts Center: $5,000 to host an exhibit of work by Detroit-area artists from the LGBTQIA+ community, in partnership with Mighty Real/Queer Detroit and Macomb County Pride
- Stand With Trans: $25,000 to create a virtual resource library for transgender youth and their families
2021:
- Affirmations Lesbian and Gay Community Center: $25,000 for general operating expenses
- Equality Michigan: $25,000 for general operating expenses
- LGBT Detroit: $25,000 for general operating expenses
- The Ruth Ellis Center: $25,000 for general operating expenses
- SAGE Metro Detroit: $25,000 for general operating expenses
2020
- In 2020, five area LGBTQ+ organizations received grants totaling $200,000 from The HOPE Fund of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan to support operating needs during the COVID-19 crisis. Read about it here.
2019
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Ruth Ellis Center: $25,000 for support to establish the Center for Lesbian and Queer Women and Girls
- Equality Michigan: $25,000 for support to build an integrated voter engagement program focused on encouraging the involvement of the LGBTQ community
- Affirmations: $25,000 for support to rebuild and enhance volunteer opportunities and engagement
- American Cancer Society Michigan: $7,500 for support for resource development and training for health care professionals on LGBTQ-sensitive cancer screening, in partnership with Corktown Health Center
2018
- Fair Michigan Foundation: $15,000 for support for the Fair Michigan Justice Project, which investigates and prosecutes hate crimes targeted at members of the LGBTQ community
- Health Emergency Lifeline Programs: $24,000 for support to develop and implement a media, marketing and public relations strategy for the Corktown Health Center
2017
- American Civil Liberties Union Fund of Michigan: $10,000 for support for the Friendly Caller program, designed to combat social isolation experienced by LGBT older adults
- Neutral Zone: $20,550 for support to develop Queer Youth Stories, a digital storytelling and dialogue project for gay-straight alliances in southeast Michigan
- Ruth Ellis Center: $25,000 for support for an organizational racial equity action and implementation plan
2016
- Community Health Awareness Group, Inc.: $20,000 for support for the LGBT Detroit Leadership Academy, a social justice training program for LGBT African-American young adults and allies ages 18-30
- Equality Michigan: $10,000 for support for organizing affinity groups to strengthen and diversify the LGBTQ movement in southeast Michigan
- Freedom House: $25,000 for support for case management, human services, and related programming for LGBT asylum-seekers
- Progress Michigan Education (dba Engage Michigan): $20,000 for support to expand the media and communications capacity of LGBT organizations in southeast Michigan
- Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.: $20,000 for support for the Name Change Project, which helps transgender people in southeast Michigan change their names as part of the transition process
2015
- Corner Health Center: $10,000 for support to strengthen organizational infrastructure to enhance LGBTQ+ youth health services
- Non-profit Enterprise at Work (NEW): $25,000 for support for capacity-building, expansion and creating efficiencies in services of Inclusive Justice and the Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network
- Michigan AIDS Coalition – $4,500 for support for the 2015 Hotter Than July Annual Gathering for LGBT Issues
- Presbyterian Villages of Michigan Foundation: $25,000 for support for Community Connections to develop a toolkit, and to train volunteers and staff members to be inclusive in serving LGBT older adults in southeast Michigan
- Ruth Ellis Center: $25,0000 for support to strengthen organizational capacity in branding and communications
2014
- Affirmations Lesbian and Gay Community Center: $25,000 for support to increase communications capacity and to strengthen digital media resources and Web presence
- Affirmations Lesbian and Gay Community Center: $10,000 for support for the establishment of the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce
- Michigan AIDS Coalition: $15,750 for support for educational and professional skills building programming that serves LGBT African Americans
- Michigan AIDS Coalition: $5,250 for support for the Annual Gathering for LGBT Issues
- Non-profit Enterprise at Work (NEW): $1,900 for support to enable the Gay Elders of Southeast Michigan to grow their capacity to become a SAGE-affiliated chapter
- Ruth Ellis Center: $21,600 for support to improve the organization’s capacity to expand core services
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Beyond ongoing grantmaking, The HOPE Fund has undertaken some short-term special projects over the years.
Through the Racial Equity Initiative, The HOPE Fund aimed to identify and work with leadership of local LGBT People of Color organizations to increase their capacity to meet the needs of their constituents. From 2007-2013, The HOPE Fund was supported by the Arcus Foundation, the Ford Foundation and Funders for LGBTQ Issues to undertake this work.
In 2003, The HOPE Fund received a special grant from Funders for LGBTQ Issues to develop an estate planning education program focused on educating LGBT people about the importance of estate-planning and planned giving to charities benefiting the LGBT community.
Results included the development of an estate-planning guide for LGBT people, a marketing campaign that included a series of LGBT-targeted ads, and a series of educational sessions for both nonprofits and individuals.