2016/2017 PRIDE FOUNDATION COMMUNITY GRANTS
[Click the state to see grants in that area.]
ALASKA | IDAHO | MONTANA | OREGON | WASHINGTON
Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s)
Location: Anchorage, AK
Area Served: Juneau, AK
Project Name: Syringe Access Program
Population: General, Rural/Remote, HIV
The Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s) is a key collaborator within the state of Alaska in the provision of supportive services to persons living with HIV & AIDS and their families, as well as in the elimination of the transmission of HIV infection and its stigma. Four A’s specific HIV prevention efforts in Southeast Alaska include services that would otherwise be extremely limited or unavailable to the LGBTQ community in Juneau. The program includes free rapid HIV testing, community-wide condom distribution, outreach that raises awareness of HIV & AIDS, and education to empower people to lower their risk of acquiring or transmitting the virus. Funding will be used to support their Syringe Access Program in Juneau—a program whose usage rates have quadrupled over the last two years. Emphasis of these programs is placed on reaching men who have sex with men (MSM), a high-risk population for HIV infection.
Identity, Inc.
Location: Anchorage, AK
Area Served: Alaska, Statewide
Project Name: Community Educational Forum Project
Population: Trans, Rural/remote
Identity, Inc.’s mission is to advance Alaska’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community through advocacy, education, and connectivity. Funding will be used for the community educational forum project, which is designed as a portable, interactive exhibit in partnership with the Anchorage Museum and the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER). These forums and tour are a key part of linking participants to the Alaska LGBTQ Health Needs Assessment—a project funded by Pride Foundation in 2015—which will help funders, service providers, and physicians understand LGBTQ patient needs, identify existing services, and create linkages between the two.
Alaska Family Medicine Residency
Location: Anchorage, AK
Area Served: Alaska (Statewide)
Project Name: LGBTQ Health Curriculum
Population: General, Trans, Urban/City, Rural/Remote
Alaska Family Medicine Residency (AKFMR) is the only family medicine residency in the State of Alaska and is affiliated with Providence Health. Through the Providence Family Medicine Center (PFMC), resident physicians provide medical care for many LGBTQ Alaskans, particularly the most poor and vulnerable members of our community. Due to the lack of affordable, affirming health care in Anchorage, many LGBTQ individuals become patients of PFMC. Funding will be used for the development of a curriculum in LGBTQ health, to be included in the medical training of family medicine resident physicians. The grant will cover staff time to develop the curriculum, consultation with experts to ensure content fidelity, review and adaptation of existing LGBTQ health care guidelines (such as those established by the Cedar Rivers Clinic and Fenway Health Care), and the initial design and development of educational aids.
American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho
Location: Boise, ID
Area Served: Idaho (Statewide)
Project Name: ACLU of Idaho’s Activist Training
Population Served: General, Rural/Remote
The ACLU of Idaho is a non-partisan organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of civil liberties and civil rights. Funds will support the ACLU of Idaho’s Activist Training program, which provides education, hands-on experience, materials, and skills-building to teach LGBTQ community members and allies their rights at the Capitol and beyond. This training focuses on policy and advocacy issues affecting Idaho’s LGBTQ community with a focus on increasing participation from rural residents to create a larger, and more diverse, network of equality advocates. Funds will also be used to help strengthen the Transgender Idaho Network, and for work toward a statewide policy change regarding gender marker changes on birth certificates.
Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest
Location: Spokane, WA
Area Served: Spokane, Northern Idaho
Project Name: LGBTQ Training as part of Mentoring Safe Zone Program
Population Served: Youth, Urban, Rural/Remote
Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest helps people build independence within the communities they serve. Their GoodGuides Youth Mentoring Safe Zone program is designed to empower youth who are at risk for delinquency through positive relationships and community support. The goals of the program are to ensure that LGBTQ youth develop the capability to make informed, responsible decisions and to maximize their potential as involved members of their community. These funds will be used to provide four 2-hour LGBTQ training sessions, ongoing technical assistance, snacks, supplies, and transportation. They plan to serve 100 youth during the 2016-17 year, primarily in the Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls, Idaho school districts.
Idaho Gender Network
Location: Boise, ID
Area Served: Idaho (Statewide)
Project Name: Trans Healthcare Resource Guide, General Operating Support
Population Served: Trans, Urban, Rural/Remote
The Idaho Gender Network supports transgender youth and adults in Idaho by increasing their emotional and social well-being through resource building, education, and advocacy. Goals include empowering transgender individuals and fostering community support in Idaho’s urban and rural areas. The Network assists state and private health care groups, education and governmental institutions, and the general public, aiming to provide insight and competency around transgender issues. Funds will be used in part to compile and publish an online list of screened healthcare providers in Idaho who are competent and willing to work with trans people and trainings for Idaho health and human services organizations to build cultural competencies in trans client/patient care.
Idaho State University Gender Resource Center
Location: Pocatello, ID
Area Served: Pocatello, Southeastern Idaho
Project Name: Inland Oasis General Operating Support
Population Served: Youth, Rural/Remote
The Idaho State University (ISU) Gender Resource Center strives to develop a supportive and inclusive community that understands the intersections of gender and sexuality with race, ethnicity, class, ability, age, culture, nationality, and immigration status. The mission of the Center includes providing education and programming to students, staff, and faculty, and a space to collaboratively discuss the ways gender and sexuality impact lives, interactions with others, and the greater community. Funds will be used to help the Center develop and strengthen programming and education to assist LGBTQ students in the following ways: compiling a mentoring list, developing resources guides, and hosting a series of student and community workshops, panels, film screenings, and trainings centered around LGBTQ issues.
North Idaho AIDS Coalition (NIAC)
Location: Coeur d’Alene, ID
Area Served: Northern Idaho
Project Name: Mobile HIV testing unit
Population Served: HIV, General, Rural/Remote
North Idaho AIDS Coalition (NIAC) provides education, free testing, care, and advocacy for those infected and affected by HIV & AIDS in North Idaho. Funding will go toward purchasing items needed to create a mobile HIV testing unit including: a pop-up tent, tables and chairs, marketing materials, testing equipment, and printed informational materials. The mobile unit will enable NIAC to expand their HIV & AIDS testing services in rural northern Idaho areas that currently do not have access to this resource. With the new unit, NIAC hopes to increase its testing by 50% each year.
Safe Passage
Location: Coeur d’Alene, ID
Area Served: Northern Idaho
Project Name: LGBTQ Teen & Young Adult program, Youth Summit
Population Served: Youth, Rural/Remote
Safe Passage aims to provide safety, education, and empowerment to victims of violence and to the community at large. In collaboration with North Idaho Pride Alliance, Safe Passage will use grant funds for the development and implementation of a youth-based program for LGBTQ teens and young adults in the North Idaho community, culminating in a Youth Summit conference in Coeur d’Alene. In addition to the conference, funds will also be used for organizing monthly north Idaho LGBTQ youth social events focused on safety, resource sharing, and peer connection, as well as general operating expenses for Safe Passage staff to oversee the planning and implementation of the program and conference.
Wassmuth Center for Human Rights
Location: Boise, ID
Area Served: Idaho (Statewide)
Project Name: Human Dignity Project
Population Served: General, Urban, Rural/Remote
The work of the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights is to promote respect for human dignity and diversity through education, fostering individual responsibility to work for justice and peace. Grant funds will be used to support the center’s Human Dignity Project, which is designed to unpack systemic discrimination against the LGBTQ community. The Center also provides tools for K-12 educators in Idaho and the general public to stop acts of discrimination and create cultures of inclusion. Human Dignity Project materials will be shared with 166 Idaho high schools representing 115 school districts across the state. At least five educator and community training workshops will take place with these materials statewide through August 2017.
Bridgercare
Location: Bozeman, Montana
Area Served: Bozeman, Central and Eastern Montana
Project Name: Expanding Current Services and Outreach Efforts
Population Served: Trans, Rural/Remote
Bridgercare provides affordable reproductive and sexual healthcare and education in a safe, supportive, empowering atmosphere. The Affordable Hormone Therapy for Transgender Patients project supports free and low cost hormone therapy for transgender patients. This works to ensure access to this essential medical service, regardless of economic circumstances and insurance coverage status of the patient. This project addresses the lack of health services for transgender Montanans living in central and eastern Montana. Funding will be used to expand current services as well as outreach efforts.
Empower MT
Location: Missoula, MT
Area Served: Montana (Statewide)
Project Name: Youth Forward; LGBTQ/Allied leaders training camp
Population Served: Youth, Rural/Remote, Reservation
Empower MT (formerly National Coalition Building Institute Missoula) creates a more just and inclusive society by developing youth and adult leaders who work to end mistreatment, correct systemic inequalities, and strengthen communities across Montana. The Queer Youth Support and Empowerment Programs encourage LGBTQ and allied youth to be role models and change agents in schools and communities through Youth Forward, a weekly confidential support group. Empower MT also serves as Montana’s GSA Network. Funding will be used for the expansion of Youth Forward from Missoula to three new cities including Billings, Helena, and Kalispell; facilitation of the annual LGBTQ and allied youth leaders 3-day training camp which provides violence prevention and anti-bullying/prejudice reduction workshops; staff time to conduct LGBTQ 101 trainings for educators, law enforcement, and advocacy groups; and development of policy work focused on youth, such as comprehensive, fully inclusive non-discrimination and anti-bullying policies in schools.
Great Falls LGBTQ Community Center
Location: Great Falls, Montana
Area Served: Central, Northern, and Eastern Montana, Rural and Reservation Areas
Project Name: General Operating Costs
Population Served: General, Rural/Remote, Reservation
The Great Falls LGBTQ Community Center’s mission is to enhance and sustain the health and well-being of the LGBTQ community of Great Falls by providing activities, programs, and services that will empower the community to embrace and support their cultural diversity. Staffed by volunteers trained in cultural proficiency through ongoing education, the Center serves Great Falls as well as the rural and reservation areas of Central and Eastern Montana. Funding will support their general operating costs so that The Center can expand its services and develop outreach and education programs to further deepen the LGBTQ presence and visibility in Montana.
Montana Human Rights Network in collaboration with Forward Montana Foundation & Montana Women Vote
Location: Helena and Missoula, MT
Area Served: Montana (Statewide)
Project Name: Montana LGBTQ Executive Action Project
Population Served: General Population
Montana Human Rights Network (MHRN), Forward Montana Foundation (FMF), and Montana Women Vote (MWV) are collaborating for a second year, building on their work over the last nine months. The collaboration is aligned through each of their civic engagement and grassroots mobilization efforts, educating their existing bases and expanding support through voter registration and petitioning efforts. Together, they have been working toward executive and administrative actions that have secured new protections for the LGBTQ community, which has eliminated bias and discrimination in Montana’s policies and rules. Funding will be used to further build capacity to continue this advocacy work in 2017 with a focus on the policies that have been most effectively secured to date, primarily through advocacy within the Department of Administration and the Department of Public Health. The grant will also help this coalition prepare for defensive advocacy and engagement during the 2017 Montana Legislative Session.
MSUN Multicultural Center
Location: Havre, Montana
Area Served: Havre, Montana
Project Name: LGBTQ Programming and Curriculum
Populations Served: General, Rural/Remote
The Montana State University-Northern (MSUN) Multicultural Center mission is to promote appreciation for cultural diversity by fostering positive human relations for all students, faculty, and staff. The Center focuses particularly on the needs of student populations historically underrepresented or underserved based upon race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, and learning and physical exceptionalities. MSUN is developing new programming to provide mental health and emotional well-being services for LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff at the MSUN campus. This project will also provide LGBTQ related education for students who do not identify as LGBTQ at the MSUN campus as well as throughout the Havre community. Funding will be used for new community-wide/campus-specific programming, materials, and curriculum.
Rainbow Coffee House
Location: Billings, Montana
Area Served: Billings, Montana
Project Name: General Operating Support for drop-in center
Populations Served: General, Urban/City
The mission of the Rainbow Coffee House is to build resilience in LGBT+ youth through healthy peer relationships, empowerment, leadership development, education, community outreach, and advocacy. Operating as a weekly drop-in center for queer, trans, intersex, two-spirit, and questioning youth, it is also a space for supportive youth allies. They work cooperatively with two college LGBTQ student organizations, two high school Queer Straight Alliances (QSA), six local churches, and numerous community organizations. Funding will be used to support Rainbow Coffee House’s drop-in center including programming, outreach, advertising, and community building events.
Western Montana LGBTIQ Community Center
Location: Missoula, Montana
Area Served: Missoula, Western Montana
Project Name: General Operating Support
Populations Served: General, Rural/Remote
The Western Montana LGBTIQ Community Center is an open, affirming environment for community members of all sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions. The Center empowers the community through education, advocacy, and collaborative networking, and strives to be Western Montana’s voice for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/two spirit, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) community. Funding will be directed towards capacity building efforts.
Yellowstone AIDS Project
Location: Billings, Montana
Area Served: Billings, Eastern Montana
Project Name: General Operating Support
Populations Served: HIV, Urban/City, Rural/Remote
The Yellowstone AIDS Project (YAP) is a community based organization committed to increasing HIV awareness, providing prevention education, and offering client services throughout Eastern Montana. YAP has engaged the community for nearly 25 years with their vision to prevent, educate, empower, and stop the spread of HIV. YAP is the only HIV service agency in Eastern Montana, covering 39 counties, a region that accounts for 30% of Montana’s population of those living with HIV. Funding will be used for general operating support including client services, community based education, and prevention services, with a particular focus on men who have sex with men.
Beyond These Walls
Location: Portland, OR
Area Served: Portland Metro Area
Project Name: for Oregon Trans-Prisoner Re-Entry Guide
Populations Served: Incarcerated, Transgender, People of Color
Beyond These Walls (BTW) is dedicated to connecting with and empowering LGBTQ prisoners across the United States with a specific emphasis in the state of Oregon. Beyond These Walls works within existing systems of incarceration to ensure that LGBTQ people receive equal treatment. The program is led by trans people and is informed by participants who are incarcerated. This new, innovative, all volunteer-run organization facilitates an LGBTQ prisoner pen-pal program, provides training to Oregon Department of Corrections clinical staff, and is in the process of creating the first-ever Trans Prisoner Re-Entry Guide for the state of Oregon. Funding will be used for the creation and dissemination in Oregon of the Re-Entry Guide to ensure that transgender prisoners are aware of their post-release options, social supports, and will be better able to secure food, housing, and medical support.
Bradley Angle
Location: Portland, OR
Area Served: Portland Metro Area
Project Name: LGBTQ Program for Survivors
Populations Served: General, Survivors
Bradley Angle serves all people affected by domestic violence, providing support for safety, education, empowerment, healing, and hope. This grant will specifically continue to fund Bradley Angle’s LGBTQ program. As the only Portland provider of services to survivors of domestic violence who identify as LGBTQ, Bradley Angle is called upon to provide a wide range of supportive services. It also specializes in outreach and education about the prevalence of domestic violence in LGBTQ intimate relationships to other organizations that are trying to build their capacity in this area. The grant will be used for a second year of seed funding for the LGBTQ program as Bradley Angle seeks and secures permanent funding from government partners.
Cascade AIDS Project
Location: Portland, OR
Area Served: Portland Metro Area
Project Name: LGBTQ Clinic
Populations Served: General, HIV, Trans, People of Color
Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) is the oldest and largest AIDS Service Organization serving Oregon and Southwest Washington. CAP’s mission is to prevent HIV infections, support and empower people living with or affected by HIV, and eliminate HIV-related stigma and health disparities. Funding will support the renovation phase of CAP’s primary care medical clinic focusing on engaging Portland’s LGBTQ community. The LGBTQ clinic, set to open in March of 2017, has plans to engage and sustain a diverse client base, ensuring that all members of Portland’s LGBTQ community are able to access competent and compassionate health care services.
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
Location: Portland, OR
Area Served: Portland Metro Area
Project Name: General Operating Support – Day Center
Populations Served: HIV, People of Color
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) brings together diverse communities of faith to learn, serve, and advocate for justice, peace, and integrity of creation. Funding will support The Day Center, EMO’s HIV drop-in center, the first community-based center of its kind in the country. The Day Center provides a safe haven and support base for those who remain most invisible and vulnerable in Portland’s LGBTQ community—people who are HIV positive and are at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. Additionally, 48% of clients at The Day Center self-identify as African American, Hispanic/Latino, or multi-racial. Funding will be used to support the Day Center’s broad range of preventative, medical, and social support services to clients to meet their basic needs for improved health and well-being, including a community space, a place to take a shower, do laundry, and get a haircut.
HIV Alliance
Location: Eugene, OR
Area Served: Lane County, Central and Southwestern OR
Project Name: MSM HIV Prevention
Populations Served: HIV, Rural/Remote, General
HIV Alliance provides care coordination to people living with HIV/AIDS in eleven counties in Oregon. Lack of HIV prevention services particularly impacts rural counties, where individuals experience discrimination not only because they are gay or because they have HIV, but also because they live in an area where access to culturally appropriate health services/providers is non-existent or diminishing. This project will conduct outreach and provide testing to gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) in Lane, Douglas, Josephine, and Curry Counties in Oregon. The goal of this program is to increase access to testing and counseling for MSM and encourage them to know their status. Funding will be used for programming to engage MSM in HIV prevention through testing programs in Lane, Douglas, and Josephine Counties and to expand their testing program targeting specific gay men’s networks in rural Douglas and Curry counties, as well as the piloting of a new mail-in testing kit program.
Human Dignity Coalition
Location: Bend, OR
Area Served: Central Oregon – Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook Counties
Projecy Name: Outreach
Populations Served: Youth & Families, Transgender, Rural/Remote
Human Dignity Coalition (HDC) works in Central Oregon to advance and safeguard human rights for the LGBTQ community, specifically advocating for and protecting LGBTQ families, youth, and individuals. While the LGBTQ community in Central Oregon continues to thrive, LGBTQ youth, individuals, and families located in more rural areas still experience discrimination and a lack of support and services. In the past year, HDC was able to bring on a part-time staff member to help provide community support and collaboration with other area organizations. Funding will support outreach to surrounding rural and remote communities and expand programs which include a transgender support group, facilitation of Safe Space and Gay-Straight Alliances in schools, and educational and social events.
Immigration Counseling Services
Location: Portland, OR
Area Served: Portland Metro Area
Project Name: Legal fees for LGBTQ immigrants and refugees
Populations Served: Immigrants/Refugees, People of Color
Immigration Counseling Services (ICS) works to eliminate barriers to justice by providing low-cost legal services and free informational forums for immigrants in Oregon and SW Washington. In recent years, ICS has seen an increased need for legal services for LGBTQ refugees who have been victims of crime or persecution. ICS has begun an initial phase of outreach and connection with the LGBTQ community in Portland to ensure that the community is aware of services provided by ICS. Funds will be used to subsidize some or all of the legal services and coordination fees for LGBTQ immigrants and refugees and who cannot afford to pay for legal representation.
Lotus Rising Project
Location: Medford, OR
Area Served: Southwestern Oregon
Project Name: Not Straight Not Sure
Populations Served: Youth & Families, Rural/Remote, Transgender
Lotus Rising Project is a youth-initiated, compassion-based service organization that embraces diversity and creates community and social change through respect, education, and responsible action. Lotus Rising Project has been serving LBGTQ youth and adults in Southern Oregon since 2008. Its flagship program is Not Straight Not Sure (NSNS), a youth support and social group. Funding will be to build upon the NSNS program to be more inclusive of transgender individuals by expanding services to transgender youth and young adults, including addressing clothing and binder needs, organizational cultural competency, support group expansion into other counties, website resourcing, and one-on-one advocacy.
Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force
Location: Keizer, OR
Area Served: Statewide
Project Name: Curriculum Development, Scholarships
Populations Served: Rural/Remote
The Oregon Sexual Assault Task Force (SATF) promotes the effective prevention of and response to sexual violence through collaborative, comprehensive, survivor-centered strategies. This collaborative project works to improve healthcare services for transgender youth in Oregon’s school-based health centers. In collaboration with the Oregon School-Based Health Alliance, the SATF will adapt existing curriculum for a training on providing trauma-informed, trans-affirming aid to trans youth. The curriculum will be informed by previous trainings conducted by the SATF as well as recent recommendations from the Oregon Department of Education. Funds will directly support curriculum development, as well as scholarships for participants to ensure statewide reach.
Oregon Safe Schools and Communities Coalition
Location: Portland, OR
Area Served: Statewide
Project Name: Regional Convenings
Populations Served: Youth & Families, Rural/Remote
The Oregon Safe Schools and Communities Coalition (OSSCC) works to make all Oregon schools safe for all students, teachers, and families. This past year, OSSCC conducted a statewide survey about the needs of LGBTQ students in their communities and, as a result, has created the Safe Schools Task Force. The goal of the Task Force is to connect individuals and organizations regionally that conduct LGBTQ competency/safe space trainings to create common goals and resources. The convening of these individuals in each area will both prepare advocates for how to respond to incidences of bullying, as well as the opportunity to create community-specific action plans to better meet the needs of queer youth in each community. Funding will support upcoming regional convenings in Bend, Pendleton, Medford, and La Grande.
PFLAG Oregon Central Coast
Location: Newport, OR
Area Served: Oregon Central Coast
Project Name: General Programming
Populations Served: Youth & Families, Rural/Remote
PFLAG Oregon Central Coast’s (OCC) main focus is to provide education, advocacy, and support to LGBTQ youth, adults, and elders in rural Lincoln County, an area where the LGBTQ community can often feel isolated. PFLAG OCC provides support to youth by setting up Gay-Straight Alliances, attending GSA Conferences and leadership summits, conducting LGBTQ competency training within the local community for schools, churches, and medical providers, and advocating for LGBTQ people within the local community. Funding will support the continuation of PFLAG OCC’s programs, which are of vital importance as the organization is entirely volunteer-run and the only of its kind in the area.
Safe Harbors
Location: Enterprise, OR
Area Served: Northeastern Oregon – Wallowa County
Project Name: Safe Space Youth Program (S2YP)
Populations Served: Youth & Families, Rural/Remote
Safe Harbors provides safe options and ongoing support for those experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking, while promoting the establishment of a safe community through education and awareness. Safe Harbors is developing the establishment of a Safe Space Youth Program (S2YP) in Wallowa County, a very rural county that lacks any formal or established resources for LGBTQ youth, like PFLAGs or Gay-Straight Alliances. S2YP aims to increase awareness, knowledge, and skills for teachers, administrators, staff members, and aides. S2YP will identify and train allied Safe Space teachers in each of the area school districts, facilitate a monthly Safe Space youth meeting, and provide opportunities for local LGBTQ youth to connect with LGBTQ youth and organizations from other areas. Funding will support start-up and programming costs.
SAGE Metro Portland, a program of Friendly House, Inc.
Location: Portland, OR
Area Served: Portland Metro Area
Project Name: General Operating Support
Populations Served: Elders
SAGE Metro Portland provides advocacy, care coordination, and civic engagement for LGBT older adults, and is the only program in the state of Oregon serving older LGBT adults—a population that is often marginalized by mainstream senior centers and service providers. SAGE connects this population to culturally appropriate resources and social, recreational, and fitness opportunities that are free from discrimination. In addition, SAGE has developed a nationally-recognized curriculum to train housing and social services organizations, government agencies, in-home care workers, the business community, and nursing and social work students on supporting the LGBT community in a respectful and affirming manner. Funding will support resource development, case management, social, recreational and fitness opportunities, and staff time to deliver provider training and education.
Sankofa Collective Northwest (formerly PFLAG Portland Black Chapter)
Location: Portland, OR
Area Served: Portland Metro Area
Project Name: Peer Educational Leadership Cohort
Populations Served: Youth & Families, People of Color
Sankofa Collective Northwest (formerly PFLAG Portland Black Chapter) promotes the health and well-being Black LGBTQ people, and their families and friends through support, education, organizing, and advocacy. The organization began as the first African American chapter of PFLAG in the nation, and relaunched as the Sankofa Collective Northwest in August 2016. Programs include membership support and monthly programming, Portland Black Pride, faith outreach, advocacy, youth outreach (specifically to LGBTQ youth of color throughout Portland), and mini-grants to Gay-Straight alliances. Funding will support Sankofa Collective Northwest youth programming as they continue to centralize the lives and experiences of Black LGBTQ people.
Trans*Ponder
Location: Eugene, OR
Area Served: Eugene/Lane County
Project Name: General Operating Support
Populations Served: Transgender, Rural/Remote
Trans*Ponder is a support, resource, and educational organization for the transgender and gender diverse community and its allies in Lane County. Trans*Ponder hosts monthly support groups, social outings, educational events, and partners regularly with area organizations and businesses to provide LGBTQ competency trainings and panels. As a new and emerging organization, Trans*Ponder is the only organization of its kind in the Willamette Valley. Though Eugene is seen as a progressive city within Lane County, challenges still remain for transgender folks in accessing support and services. Funding will support general operating expenses as they continue to build capacity and expand programming.
Unite Oregon (formerly Center for Intercultural Organizing)
Location: Portland, OR
Area Served: Statewide
Project Name: Resilient Connections program
Populations Served: People of Color, Immigrants
Unite Oregon (formerly Center for Intercultural Organizing) leads community-based efforts to protect and expand immigrant and refugee rights through education, civic engagement, policy advocacy, community mobilization, and intergenerational leadership development. Unite Oregon is building internal capacity to ensure their organizational structure emphasizes the needs of their LGBTQ members and that they are a key partner for LGBTQ justice. Funding will be used to continue expanding capacity of the Resilient Connections program, formed by LGBTQ immigrants, refugees, and people of color in the Portland Tri-County area, to support LGBTQ immigrants and refugees, including advocating for institutional and systemic change on the issues that impact their lives.
Blue Mountain Heart to Heart
Location: Walla Walla, WA
Area Served: Greater Walla Walla Region, Pasco, Pendleton, Lewiston, and Clarkston
Project Name: Outreach Education and HIV Prevention
Population Served: HIV, Latino/a, Native American, Rural/Remote, Reservation
Blue Mountain Heart to Heart (BMH2H) works to promote public health and increase wellness among community members through advocacy, education, harm reduction, and support for individuals across a spectrum of chronic conditions, with a special emphasis on HIV prevention and care. BMH2H is the sole HIV testing and outreach agency in southeast Washington and has a specific focus on Latino MSM/T, injection drug users, and Native American gay men. In 2015, WA Department of Health cut support for HIV testing and the Walla Walla Department of Community Health ended its primary care services, which had included HIV and STI testing, and STI treatment. There is still a need for HIV testing, education, and outreach in order to support the health and wellness of these at-risk communities and of the public in general. Funding will be used for prevention programs that will reach more than 2,500 people a year and testing more than 200 individuals from Walla Walla to the Tri-Cities, to Pendleton, OR, and to Dayton.
Camp Ten Trees
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: King County
Project Name: New LGBTQ Programming for youth
Population Served: Youth, Urban/City
Camp Ten Trees strives to create a socially-just, youth-empowered camp community for youth of LGBTQ and nontraditional families, LGBTQ youth, and their allies. For several years, the physical limitations of Camp Ten Trees camp site have kept them from being able to accommodate all youth who have applied to come to camp. Based on extensive research within both their current community and other communities in the area they plan to serve, it was determined that offering weekend camps and retreats for LGBTQA youth will expand the life-changing magic of camp to more youth. Funding will support the implementation of new programming for LGBTQA youth, specifically weekend camp programs, in the 2016-2017 fiscal year.
Cardea Services
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: Five-state region—AK, ID, MT, OR, WA
Project Name: Expanding Services
Population Served: Trans, Rural/Remote
Cardea works to improve organizations’ abilities to deliver accessible, high quality, culturally proficient, and compassionate services to their clients. Cardea plans to expand the model of the medical/mental health consult group at Ingersoll Gender Center, which has provided a space for King County area providers who work with transgender and gender nonconforming people and their families. Through this consult group, there has been an increase in culturally competent providers in the King County area that are using best practices in gender affirming care for youth and adults and addressing partner, family, and community issues. Funding will support the transition of the Ingersoll Provider Consult listserv to a Community of Practice (CoP) website. This shift will increase functionality for providers, will cultivate an interconnected movement of providers across the Northwest region, and advance gender affirming care by expanding this resource and network to providers into the five-state area of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.
Cedar River Clinics
Location: Tacoma, WA
Area Served: Pierce County
Project Name: LGBTQ Wellness Services Program
Population Served: Trans, General, Urban/City
The Cedar River Clinic provides medical care for those seeking abortion and reproductive health services, and believes strongly in self-determination, respect, and inclusivity. The clinics are in the process of revising their mission and strategic plan in an effort to be more gender inclusive. Funding will support their LGBTQ Wellness Services program in Tacoma, which provides quality, culturally responsive, affirming medical services, with a special focus on transgender patients.
Center for Children & Youth Justice
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: Washington (Statewide)
Project Name: Protocol for Safe & Affirming Care Program
Population Served: Youth
The Center’s mission is to advance justice for and enhance the lives of children and youth through juvenile justice, child welfare, and related systems reform. The eQuality Project, aims to improve the lives of LGBTQ youth in Washington’s child welfare and juvenile justice systems through the first comprehensive research effort of its kind in this state. Listening to Their Voices (LTTV) captured the experiences of LGBTQ youth who were involved in the aforementioned systems. This report then informed the development of a Protocol for Safe & Affirming Care (PSAC) to support LGBTQ youth in state systems. Funding will underwrite the pilot of the PSAC program from January through December of 2017 with King County Juvenile Court and Children’s Administration Region 2.
Children’s Home Society of WA
Location: Vancouver, WA
Area Served: Clark, Cowlitz, and Skamania Counties
Project Name: General Operating Support
Population Served: Youth, Urban/City, Suburban, Rural/Remote, Reservation
Children’s Home Society of Washington’s (CHSW) mission is to develop healthy children, create strong families, build engaged communities, and speak and advocate for children. The Triple Point program provides the only LGBTQ specific counseling, safe space, social skill building, and life skills training for middle and high school aged youth in Clark, Cowlitz, and Skamania counties. Additionally, Triple Point staff participate in the facilitation of Gay-Straight Alliances in the surrounding middle and high schools as well as providing safe-space and LGBTQ competency trainings for surrounding schools and service providers. Funding will be used to support the continuation of programming including individual counseling to promote health and emotional competency; support groups that offer education, safe space, social skill building, and life skills training; and community trainings, advocacy, and presentations around LGBTQ issues.
Communities In Schools of Federal Way
Location: Federal Way, WA
Area Served: King County
Project Name: Expansion of GSAs
Population Served: Youth, General, Urban/City
Communities in Schools (CIS) of Federal Way surrounds students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school, and achieve in life. After conversations among leadership and students, CIS found that supporting LGBTQ students strengthens their school community and culture. Currently, student-run GSAs are in two middle schools (funded by the Pride Foundation in 2016), and CIS plans to expand to two new schools. Funding will allow for the proposed expansion of the GSAs in Federal Way in conjunction with their School Outreach Coordinators who coordinate and advise the GSA clubs as well as provide support to students, recognizing that intersecting identities among LGBTQ youth present multiple layers of barriers to success and oppression.
Community Pride Walla Walla
Location: Walla Walla, WA
Area Served: Walla Walla, WA
Project Name: General Operating Support
Population Served: General, Rural/Remote
Community Pride Walla Walla (CPWW) aims to increase awareness through advocacy, dialogue, education, and social activities. Through their Visible, United, and Engayged (VUE) program CPWW strives to broaden the LGBTQI presence and visibility in the Walla Walla Valley. A 2015 community needs assessment uncovered concerns, primarily regarding health care and social presence. The VUE program plans to respond to the areas of concern in three ways by: 1) disseminating the results of the assessment to the LGBTQI and broader community; 2) providing educational information, training, and resources to local health care and other service providers; and 3) decreasing social isolation among LGBTQ community members and developing community cohesion and capacity through community programming, such as a Pride event in June 2017, monthly socials, and educational events. Funding will support VUE programming, outreach materials, and curriculum development to increase LGBTQI visibility and support throughout the community.
Elizabeth Gregory Home
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: King County
Project Name:
Population Served: General, Trans, Urban/City
Elizabeth Gregory Home (EGH) provides a welcoming and respectful space where all homeless and at-risk women can access compassionate care. EGH’s Day Program provides services for urgent needs such as food, clean clothing, hygiene products, internet access, counseling, and referrals for support services and shelters. With a mission to empower clients, EGH has a policy of inclusivity and specifically strives to serve LGBTQ identified women. EGH serves as a community advocate for inclusive, need-sensitive programs and services for at-risk and homeless transgender individuals. EGH is striving to be a model for other homeless service providers on integrating sensitive, respectful practices that address the needs of transgender people throughout the greater Seattle area. Funding will support research, curriculum design, implementing best practices, policies, procedures, and developing internal trainings for staff, volunteers, and guests, as well as external trainings for women and family homeless service providers.
Entre Hermanos
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: King County
Project Name: Translatinas Program
Population Served: Latino/a, Urban/City
Entre Hermanos seeks to promote the health and well-being of Latino/a/x LGBTQ individuals in a culturally appropriate environment. Entre Hermanos provides ongoing programming including unique and culturally responsive spaces for LBTQ Latinas for the last 11 years. In 2016, Entre Hermanos recognized a distinct need for specific culturally responsive programming to serve transgender Latina women, including advocacy, peer counseling, and a weekly support group. Funding will support staff time and materials for the new Translatinas program.
Gay City
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: King County
Project Name: Gay City Arts Program
Population Served: General, Urban/City, Arts
Gay City promotes wellness in LGBTQ communities by providing health services, connecting people to resources, fostering arts, and building community. Funding will support Gay City Arts Season 4: Uncontained, an installment of the Gay City Arts program, which provides a voice, spirit, and conscience for social change. Gay City mirrors historical voices that have used the arts as transformative social tools. The grant will help underwrite general operating costs for this program, which serve as a platform for LGBTQ people, especially Q/TPOC, and provides access to programs for all people, including disabled queer individuals.
Greater Spokane Progress
Location: Spokane, WA
Area Served: Spokane, WA
Project Name: BOLD Action Program
Population Served: Urban/City
Greater Spokane Progress (GSP) is a non-partisan network of over 30 organizations that unites diverse organizations to advance issues that improve the lives of underrepresented and marginalized people that live in the Spokane River Watershed. Funding will support the BOLD (Building, Organizing, and Leadership Development) Action program which aims to convene diverse non-profit and LGBTQ organizations to work collaboratively on timely social justice issues and build political strength to address the issues that are most impactful. Specifically, the grant will underwrite costs for training, tools, and technical assistance as the network develops. This will assist GSP as it implements its organizing plans, creates leadership that promotes civic engagement, and provides opportunities to collaborate throughout the greater Spokane area.
GSBA Nonprofit of the Year Award
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: King County/Puget Sound
Project Name: Nonprofit of the Year Award
Population Served: General
Pride Foundation, in partnership with the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA), will underwrite the GSBA Nonprofit of the Year Award presented each year at the Annual GSBA Business and Humanitarian Awards Dinner. Each year GSBA members and supporters nominate a local nonprofit, which exemplifies the highest standards of the profession; has assisted, advised, motivated, and inspired others; and has the most outstanding professional achievement and other civic involvements. Nominations will be due in October 2016 and this will be awarded in February 2017. Pride Foundation will be a part of the selection process and recognition ceremony.
JM Perry Institute of Trades Industries and Agriculture
Location: Yakima, WA
Area Served: Yakima, WA
Project Name: LGBTQ cultural competency resources
Population Served: General, Urban/City
Perry Technical Institute is a non-profit school that provides career oriented accredited training and education, offering 12 paths to successful careers. Through training and technical assistance, the Institute aims to expand their understanding of LGBTQ issues among students and staff while providing greater support for students who identify within the LGBTQ community. Perry Technical Institute’s overall goal is having a learning environment that is free from bias and discrimination. Funding will support the development of three items: a diversity panel, a resource card, and training for the Title IX investigators to support the well-being of LGBTQ students who will soon be pursuing careers in a world where industry and technology are rapidly evolving
Legal Voice
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: Washington and Alaska
Project Name: LGBTQ Rights Program
Population Served: Trans, Urban/City, Suburban, Rural/Remote, Reservation
Legal Voice pursues justice for all women and girls in the Northwest, through ground-breaking litigation, legislative advocacy, and legal rights education. The LGBTQ rights program serves a number of key activities including developing legal strategy and policy recommendations for emerging LGBTQ issues, advocating for the banning conversion therapy, building relationships between transgender organizations/communities and anti-violence advocates to promote a unified voice against transphobia, and expanding access to healthcare and insurance coverage for transgender people. Funding will be used for the LGBTQ rights program priorities, which will include legal, policy, and coalition advocacy to secure and enforce LGB and especially, transgender rights in Washington and Alaska.
LGBTQ Allyship
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: King County
Project Name: General Operating Support
Population: General, Urban/City
Located in the Central District of Seattle, LGBTQ Allyship believes that all oppressions are interconnected and works to seek solidarity with marginalized communities to understand interconnectedness in support of the systematic liberation of all people. Allyship provides education, leadership development, research, and advocacy. Through their LGBTQ Social Justice Leadership Institute program, Allyship aims to build LGBTQ grassroots leaders in Seattle and South King County through support and training to advocate on issues such as housing access and homelessness, economic equity, anti-racism, and supporting transgender and gender non-conforming communities, youth, and senior in Seattle and South King County. Funding will support general operating including staff time, programming, and curriculum development.
LifeWire
Location: Bellevue, WA
Area Served: King County
Project Name: Support for LGBTQ survivors
Population Served: General, Suburban
LifeWire’s mission is to end domestic violence by changing individual, institutional, and societal beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that perpetuate it. Given that thousands of LGBTQ individuals experience intimate partner violence every year, LifeWire’s Housing Stability Program (HSP) is partnering with The NW Network to ensure this critical service is available to LGBTQ individuals in crisis. Funding for this project will specifically be used to support LGBTQ survivors fleeing partner/family abuse, and underwrite the costs of motel vouchers, rental assistance, transportation, moving residences, and/or covering other basic needs in order to avoid homelessness due to domestic violence.
Northwest Youth Services
Location: Bellingham, WA
Area Served: Whatcom and Skagit Counties
Project Name: Queer Youth Project (QYP)
Population Served: Youth, Rural/Remote
Northwest Youth Services (NWYS) works collaboratively with homeless, runaway, and at-risk youth to foster self-reliance in Whatcom and Skagit counties. NWYS offers emergency housing for youth ages 13 to 17, transitional living programs for 16 to 24-year-old youth, and permanent housing for 18 to 24-year-olds. It also conducts street outreach, a youth run restorative justice diversion program, a youth informed LGBTQ advocacy and support program; and a Vocational Readiness Program. Funding will support the NWYS’s Queer Youth Project (QYP), a program that works to provide direct support, outreach, resources, and family reunification services to run-away and homeless LGBTQ youth, which has had a 75% success rate.
Oasis Youth Center
Location: Tacoma, WA
Area Served: Pierce County
Project Name: General Operating Costs
Population Served: Youth, Urban/City
Oasis Youth Center envisions a world in which queer youth are valued in the community as strong, creative leaders. OYC provides a drop-in space with advocacy, crime victim service, prevention, and youth leadership development programs, including a Youth Council, a Speakers Bureau, and a Peer Leaders mentorship training. Funding will help further their mission of transforming the lives of queer youth by creating a safe place to learn, connect, and thrive. The grant will support general operating including these services and programs that invest in queer youth.
Odyssey Youth Center
Location: Spokane, WA
Area Served: Spokane, WA
Project Name: General support for Health & Wellness programs
Population Served: Youth, Rural/Remote
Odyssey Youth Center is a youth-led, adult-supported organization committed to creating, sustaining, and advocating for safe and affirming programs, policies, and services for the LGBTQ youth community. The goal of OYC programs is to empower LGBTQ youth and build resiliency. Funding will be used to support the Health and Wellness programs, which include a youth drop-in center, case management program, and support groups.
PCAF (Pierce County AIDS Foundation)
Location: Tacoma, WA
Area Served: Pierce County
Project Name:
Population Served: HIV, Urban/City
Pierce County AIDS Foundation (PCAF), through education and service, prevents HIV infection, assists persons affected by HIV/AIDS, addresses related health problems, and combats associated stigma and discrimination. Evidence-based programs serve as the agency’s foundation, and they work closely with marginalized populations in order to combat homophobia, racism, and sexism—intersecting identities that increase risk of HIV infection. PCAF’s Social Engagement programs enables people at risk to take advantage of the HIV prevention tools available to them without fear of further prejudice, discrimination, or stigma by focusing on lifting up populations at greatest risk of HIV. Funding will be used for staff, time, materials, outreach, and resources for the Social Engagement programs.
Peace & Justice Action League of Spokane
Location: Spokane, WA
Area Served: Spokane, WA
Project Name: Young Activist Leaders Program
Population Served: Youth, Urban/City, Suburban
The Peace & Justice Action League of Spokane (PJALS) engages everyday people to build a just and nonviolent world through community organizing and grassroots leadership development for human rights, economic justice, and peace. As part of this work, PJALS’s runs the Young Activist Leaders Program (YALP), which is used to develop leadership, skills, analysis, and relationships of LGBTQ and ally youth activists and increase their capacity for future organizing endeavors. This program consists of an intensive nine-month program that builds on PJALS movement for justice and equality. Funding will go support YALP, including staff time, materials, and outreach.
Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: King County
Project Name: Lasting Employment Advancement Program
Population Served: Youth, General, Urban/City
Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets (PSKS) supports homeless and at-risk youth and young adults to become empowered to lead positive and self-sufficient lives. The organization’s philosophy is grounded in practice of inclusion which has allowed them to develop low access barriers to engage young people who are at risk of falling through gaps in community service. PSKS’s Lasting Employment Advancement Program (LEAP) is a paid, 16-week employment training internship that provides youth with the experience skills and support necessary to gain sustainable employment. Funding will support interns who are QYOC as they learn skills in community organizing while receiving support toward their personal and professional goals.
PFLAG Benton Franklin
Location: Richland, WA
Area Served: Benton and Franklin Counties
Project Name: LGBTQ support program
Population Served: General, Rural/Remote, Suburban
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) provides opportunities for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity. PFLAG of Benton and Franklin counties (PFLAGBF) provides support, education, and advocacy for the LGBTQ community in the Tri-Cities of Washington. Over the last year, dedicated LGBTQ youth programming in the region is no longer available due to the closure of a volunteer run, youth serving organization. PFLAGBF leaders have identified this significant gap as a critical need in the area, as isolation can lead to an increase in depression and suicidality for LGBTQ youth. Funding will be used for a new support program for LGBTQ youth, including a once a month drop in space that will provide social support, education, and skill building.
PFLAG of Skagit
Location: Burlington, WA
Area Served: Skagit County
Project Name: Expanding Speaker’s Bureau
Population Served: Rural/Remote
PFLAG Skagit’s mission is to promote the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals, their families, and friends through support, education and advocacy. PLFAG creates a space and opportunities for dialogue about sexual orientation, gender identity, and human diversity. Through the development of a Speaker’s Bureau, PFLAG Skagit has provided 14 trainings in the last year and demand for additional training continues to grow. To address this PFLAG Skagit plans to recruit additional volunteer trainers. Funding would support costs associated with expanding the Speaker’s Bureau such as additional materials, honorariums for the volunteer trainers, additional skill building for the trainers, and the purchase of a program dedicated laptop and a sound system.
Q Youth Resources
Location: Silverdale, WA
Area Served: Kitsap County
Project Name: General Operating Costs
Population Served: Youth, Suburban, Rural/Remote, Reservation
Q Youth Resources’ mission is to empower LGBTQ youth to make informed choices and lead healthy lives. Since the organization’s parent organization shut down a few years ago, Q Youth Resources has added capacity through new leadership. Since the youth accessing their programs and space has tripled in size over the last three years, a move to a larger and more centrally located space is necessary. Q Youth is striving to provide the most accessible programming and to extend their reach to those who would like to utilize their services but previously haven’t had access. Funding will support general operating costs, including the increase in programming that reflects the growth in attendance and the larger physical space.
Rainbow Center
Location: Tacoma, WA
Area Served: Pierce County
Project Name: General Operating Costs
Population Served: Urban/City, Suburban
The Rainbow Center (RC) works to eliminate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by providing education, outreach, resources, information, and opportunities for empowerment to individuals and organizations within the South Puget Sound region. RC is the primary lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) referral and resource agency in Pierce County and has provided services to 1,027 unduplicated community members in the past year. RC has also identified gaps in services for marginalized community members comprised of the elderly, transgender people, and people of color from within the LGBTQ community. Funding for general operations supports RC’s goal to facilitate opportunities for groups who face marginalization to instruct the RC in ways their communities can be best supported and which programming would be most relevant.
Recovery Cafe
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: King County
Project Name: LGBTQ Circle facilitators operating costs
Population Served: General, Urban/City
Recovery Cafe serves individuals who have suffered trauma, homelessness, addiction, and/or other mental health challenges. It is one of a very few programs that has specific service for LGBTQ homeless adults in King County. One of their primary programs is called Recovery Circles, which is a crucial facet of their service delivery model in attempting to prevent substance abuse relapse. Several of their ongoing Recovery Circles are for those who identify as LGBTQ. Funding will be used to cover part of the Mental Health Services Coordinator’s time to provide initial training, supervision, and ongoing support that Recovery Cafe’s LGBTQ Circle facilitators need, in order to employ current best practices in peer support facilitation.
Seattle Counseling Service
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: King County
Project Name: General Operating Costs
Population Served: General, Urban/City
Seattle Counseling Service (SCS) is a community resource that advocates, educates, and serves to advance the social well-being and mental health of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Seattle Counseling Service’s LGBTQ Immigrant, Refugee, and Undocumented Outreach Project aims to eliminate barriers to care and to provide accessible, culturally competent behavioral health services for LGBTQ-identified immigrants, refugees, and undocumented individuals. Funding will support SCS staff with training to enable them to provide competent services to these communities, in addition to supporting the costs associated with interpreters and outreach materials.
Seattle Young People’s Project
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: King County
Project Name: POC LGBTQ youth programming
Population Served: Youth, General, Urban/City
Seattle Young People’s Project (SYPP), is a youth-led, adult supported social justice organization that empowers youth (ages 13-18) to express themselves and to take action on the issues that affect their lives. This grassroots community-based organization creates space for anti-racist youth-led community organizing with an emphasis on Black queer and trans youth through its Queer & Trans Pan-African Exchange (QTPAX). SYPP fosters opportunities for youth to meet each other and adult mentors to form friendships, develop community organizing campaigns, and work in their community garden, Nurturing Roots. Funds will be used for hosting safe community-building spaces for black LGBTQ+ youth, allied youth, and adults including a weekly organizing group, a weekend retreat, and leadership skills training for QTPAX members.
Spokane AIDS Network
Location: Spokane, WA
Area Served: Eastern Washington
Project Name:
Population Served: HIV, Urban/City, Suburban, Rural/Remote
The Spokane AIDS Network (SAN) strives to provide stabilizing support services to individuals who identify with any gender or sexual orientation, particularly those in the LGBTQ community, that are affected by or at risk for HIV and/or diagnosed with multiple chronic conditions. SAN provides a range of services, including but not limited to: transportation, housing, nutrition/food, financial support services, medical case management or PrEP case management. Funding will be used for the delivery of these services to over 12 rural counties in Eastern Washington with specific focus on LGBTQ vulnerable adults.
Stonewall Youth
Location: Olympia, WA
Area Served: Thurston county
Project Name:
Population Served: Youth, Urban/City, Suburban, Rural/Remote
Stonewall Youth is an organization of youth, activists, and allies that empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and asexual youth to speak for themselves, educate their communities, and support each other. Their work is rooted in social justice and anti-oppression values and works to address the root causes of oppression while providing access to services and experiences that alleviate the stresses and struggles of marginalization. Funding will underwrite the costs of a range of programs from weekly peer support groups and a youth-led Speakers Bureau, to monthly events for youth, and the Queer Youth Change Agents program, which is a paid 12-week Fellowships for LGBTQ+ youth ages 15 to 21.
The Mockingbird Society
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: King County
Project Name: General Program Support
Population Served: Youth, Urban/City, Suburban
The mission of The Mockingbird Society is to improve foster care and end youth homelessness. The Mockingbird Society is Washington’s leading statewide agency serving young people who have experienced foster care and/or youth homelessness. The LGBTQ community is disproportionally represented in both the foster care and homeless youth populations, and specifically in the youth the agency directly serves. As The Mockingbird Society’s programs have evolved over the past five years, they have seen the need to enhance service to the LGBTQ community. Funds will be used to support LGBTQ youth who advocating for change in the systems affecting foster care and homeless youth.
Skagit Valley Family YMCA
Location: Mount Vernon, WA
Area Served: Skagit County
Project Name: LGBTQ Outreach/Programming
Population Served: General, Rural/Remote
The Skagit Valley Family YMCA’s mission is to build a healthy spirit, mind, and body for all. The YMCA’s Oasis Teen Shelter and Daylight Center is the only agency in Skagit County that currently provides a place for LGTBQ+ teens to congregate for fun, education, and support year-round. Due to an increase in demand for services by the LGBTQ youth community, the shelter and center are looking to expand their current program offerings. Funds will be used for a dedicated staff and outreach person for five hours per week to focus on LGBTQ+ programming, case management, and outreach to meet the needs of more youth and allies at this crucial juncture.
Thin Air Community Radio
Location: Spokane, WA
Area Served: Eastern Washington
Project Name: OUTSpoken
Population Serviced: Urban/City, Suburban, Rural/Remote, Reservation
Thin Air Radio provides a forum for unheard perspectives and discussions on important local, national and global issues, reflecting values of social, economic and environmental justice, peace, human rights, democracy, multiculturalism, freedom of expression and social change. OUTSpoken is an issues and interview radio program dedicated to educating and activating the public to work towards full equality. Thin Air reaches approximately 400,000 people in parts of six counties surrounding Spokane. By using the public airwaves as a tool, OUTSpoken amplifies the work of LGBTQ organizations and individuals on a large scale. Funding will support the 2017 production and broadcasting of OUTSpoken and the archiving of approximately 50 episodes.
UTOPIA Seattle
Location: Seattle, WA
Area Served: Seattle and South King County
Project Name: General Operating Costs
Population Served: People of Color, Urban/City
UTOPIA Seattle’s mission is to create a safe space for Pacific Islander LGBTQI communities in advocating for social justice, education, and overall wellness. UTOPIA is passionate about creating safe spaces where PI LGBTQI individuals can be their whole and authentic self. The primary mechanisms for their work are community engagement, support groups, identifying community resources, and providing support for PI individuals facing barriers due to socio-economic status, gender, racism, discrimination, or harassment. PI community members who have experienced discrimination in the United States have few trusted resources in this area to turn to for assistance. UTOPIA helps the greater community fight to overcome obstacles based on the complex issues arising from the intersection of sexual, language, racial/ethnic, gender, immigrant and economic minority statuses. Funding will support general operating costs, including board development, programming for support groups for LGBTQI PI folks living in South King County, and capacity building.
Yakima Neighborhood Health Services
Location: Yakima, WA
Area Served: Yakima, WA
Project Name: General Support for “The Space”
Population Served: Youth, Rural/Remote
The mission of Yakima Neighborhood Health Services (YNHS) is to provide affordable, accessible, quality health care, promote learning opportunities for students of health professions, end homelessness, and improve quality of life in local communities. YNHS has collaborated with members of Central Washington Pride over the past several years to develop a safe space for youth who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. Funding will be used to support “The Space,” their new LGBTQ Youth Resource Center in Yakima, offering culturally appropriate mentoring, leadership, health services, housing assistance and self-sufficiency support for LGBTQ young adults.
YWCA Clark County
Location: Vancouver, WA
Area Served: Clark County
Project Name: SafeChoice Program
Population Served: Urban/City, Suburban, Rural/Remote, Reservation
YWCA of Clark County works to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all people. The SafeChoice Domestic Violence program provides support groups, shelter, one-on-one advocacy, and a 24-hour hotline. Though close in proximity to Portland, the YWCA of Clark County is the only anti-violence organization working in the greater Vancouver area, providing much needed services for the LGBTQ and allied community. Funding will support the existing LGBTQ SafeChoice program which includes an LGBTQ advocate, outreach, translation of LGBTQ SafeChoice materials, and continued collaboration with local area organizations in providing LGBTQ competency trainings.