LGBTQ FUND PROVIDES GRANTS TO LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS

 

The LGBTQ Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham announced 11 grants totaling $45,000 awarded to area nonprofits. Since 2016, the LGBTQ Fund has provided more than $145,000 to support programs in Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Blount, and Walker counties which:

  • Strengthen the infrastructure of organizations led by or serving LGBTQ persons
  • Support the provision of services to LGBTQ youth, individuals and families
  • Provide educational opportunities that highlight the needs of the LGBTQ community
  • Advance collaboration between LGBTQ organizations and other community organizations
  • Support nonprofit partners advocating on public policy and social justice issues that intersect with LGBTQ concerns

In the wake of the pandemic, the LGBTQ Fund opened the 2020 grant cycle early in order to quickly provide funding for programs that address the needs of the most underserved LGBTQ communities, including communities of color, youth, seniors, transgender individuals, gender non-conforming persons, and people in rural communities. The fund also gave priority to intersectional programs that address economic justice, immigrant advocacy, faith and acceptance.

Organizations receiving funds this year:

  • AIDS Alabama: $5,000 to provide funding for an LGBTQ Latinx Peer Support Fellowship. The Fellow will work with AIDS Alabama and Alabama Latino AIDS Coalition (ALAC) to improve health services access and advocacy efforts for the LGBTQ Latinx community by assisting with HIV / STI prevention programs, free and confidential testing and community outreach.
  • Birmingham Aids Outreach (BAO) – Magic City Acceptance Center (MCAC): $5,000 to coordinate and facilitate in-person programs during drop-in hours at MCAC and virtual programs for Queer and Trans Youth and Trans people of color (QTPOC) of all ages.
  • Birmingham Aids Outreach (BAO) Trans Needs Assessment: $4,500 to analyze the Trans Needs Assessment data collected by BAO in partnership with UAB and the LGBTQ Fund. Qualitative and mixed methods analysis will be used to evaluate information from the trans focus groups and trans on-line needs assessment, with the goal of creating a publication outlining its findings.
  • Birmingham Black Repertory Theatre: $5,300 for the presentation of the southeastern premiere of “WIG OUT,” a Broadway musical by Tarell Alvin McCraney. The play explores a Black queer youth’s coming of age story, a mesmerizing trip into the heart of African-American drag ballroom culture.
  • Birmingham Holocaust Education Center: $3,000 to bring public awareness to the largely untold plight of LGTBQ people during the Holocaust. The project includes a collaboration with Sidewalk for a public viewing of a movie, and the creation of a new story based on a firsthand account of an LGBTQ Holocaust survivor, to be performed by a professional storyteller and shared as part of BHEC’s Guardians of Remembrance program.
  • Birmingham-Southern College (BSC): $3,300 to update BSC’s LGBTQ awareness and “Safe Zone” training program for faculty and staff. Also, implement “Sustained Dialogue” training for student leaders on BSC’s Cross-Cultural Committee. These programs will provide a foundation in how to relate to, serve, and represent BSC students from all backgrounds, gender identities, sexual orientations, races, and ethnicities.
  • Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama: $5,000 to provide Emergency Assistance Funds to low-income Hispanic families in crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ¡HICA! will seek referrals from community partners serving LGBTQ Hispanic and Latinx individuals who have lost jobs due to shelter in place orders and business closures. Advocates will provide access to Emergency Assistance Funds, peer support, and connection to resources, including valuable healthcare information.
  • Invisible Histories Project: $4,000 for the display “The Magic City Memories: An LGBTQ History of Birmingham,” a temporary, interactive timeline of the Birmingham, AL metropolitan area LGBTQ history. The timeline will be created from the archival collections of the Invisible Histories Project and a community centered research project.
  • Jefferson State Community College: $1,400 for the partnership with Magic City Acceptance Center (MCAC) to provide Safe Zone training to high school faculty and staff. The goal is to have knowledgeable, trained, and visible LGBTQ advocates at multiple high schools in the region.
  • Teach for America Alabama: $4,500 to equip teachers with resources and strategies to support individuals in schools who identify as LGBTQ+, creating inclusive classrooms, assisting schools/communities/families in supporting students, and building a cadre of allies.
  • YWCA Central Alabama: $4,000 for programs for middle and high school students that increase their leadership skills, provide tools to recognize and address discrimination at their schools, get to know peers from different backgrounds, and learn to see through stereotypes. The Youth Development Program takes the concepts of inclusion and equality and provides students with real life context to discuss racism, sexism, heterosexism, dating abuse, socio-economic divides, and bullying.

About the LGBTQ Fund: The LGBTQ Fund is a component fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. The mission of the Fund is to cultivate one community that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning individuals and families with the belief that all people should be treated with equal respect and dignity in a welcoming and affirming community.