I feel incredibly honored that one of my first emails to you in this new role is to announce our Community Grant recipients for 2021 and 2022—an incredible group of organizations whose work is advancing justice and liberation for LGBTQ+ communities across the Northwest.
I’m thrilled to share that we are awarding $1,834,000 to 105 incredible organizations over the next two years. This is the first time in our history that we are awarding multi-year grants through this program. We know this is a critical step in making sure groups have reliable and sustainable funding, so they can focus their energy on doing their work instead of applying for grants.
All 105 of these groups are living out our values of anti-racism and intersectionality in their work every single day, working toward liberation, and getting us closer to a world where all of us can live safely and openly as our whole selves in the communities we call home. We have highlighted just a few of these incredible groups below who are making critical change in their communities, and you can see the full list of groups and what they’re working on here.
This year, we made significant changes to our Community Grants Program, all of which were intentional shifts to center racial justice in our work, improve the experience and eliminate barriers to funding for our grantee partners, and align our grantmaking with our organizational priorities to move resources to LGBTQ+ communities most impacted by injustice. We hope that our trust and belief in communities shines through in these grants.
Pride Foundation is the only foundation in the Northwest specifically focused on resourcing LGBTQ+ groups and organizations. Because of this, the questions we are continually asking ourselves are: What more can we be doing to support these groups? How can we build more resourcing for LGBTQ+ organizations to grow and support our communities across the Northwest?
What vision of liberation will these brilliant groups bring into fruition if we—all of us, together—continue to fund their work more and more deeply?
We are humbled and honored to be able to support this work through our Community Grants Program—and so grateful for our community of supporters who help make these grants possible.
Just a few of our Community Grant Recipients!
Black & Beyond the Binary Collective (Portland, OR) builds the leadership, healing, and safety for Black-African transgender, queer, nonbinary, and intersex Oregonians, they envision a future that gives power back to communities, celebrates self-expression, and preserves the dignity, joy, and the future of Black queer and Trans communities living fully liberated lives.
Centro de Comunidad y Justicia (Boise, ID) works to improve the lives of Latinx and immigrant families in Idaho through health, education, housing, employment and other social services. Their programming ranges from immigration support, to know-your-rights trainings, to STI and HIV/AIDS mobile testing and leadership development work with BIPOC LGBTQ+ folks in rural areas.
FEEST (Seattle, WA) is a youth-led organization working to improve health in schools. FEEST works toward a liberated world where young LGBTQ+ people, people of color, immigrants, low-income and other marginalized folks can determine their own lives and futures.
Glacier Queer Alliance (Kalispell, MT) provides positive and safe community resources, events, and spaces for people of all gender identities and sexual orientations across the Flathead-Glacier valley.
Native Movement (Fairbanks, AK) provides leadership and support for grassroots-led projects that ensure Indigenous Peoples’ rights, the rights of Mother Earth, and the building of healthy and sustainable communities for all. Their Gender Justice and Healing program holds community dialogues and space regarding culture and gender, centers supporting LGBTQ2S+ leadership, and builds liberation rooted in interconnectedness.
Kim Sogge is Pride Foundation Director of Programs.