LGBTQ+ Project’s Post

The essence of the Christmas season lies not just in the twinkling lights and festive decorations, but in the warmth we share with one another and the acts of kindness that define the true meaning of Christmas. This season, we invite each of you to embrace 'The Gift of Giving.' In a world that is constantly evolving, it is crucial that we ask ourselves what we can do to contribute positively to the lives of those around us, especially our LGBTQ+ siblings who may face unique challenges. Our proposal is simple yet profound: let us make a difference by directing our Christmas spirit towards the support of local grassroots LGBTQ+ organisations. These grassroots entities operate tirelessly, addressing critical issues such as homelessness, providing a listening ear and emotional support, uplifting the Black Trans Community, guiding our young people, and offering solace to asylum seekers. By supporting them, we are not only contributing to the betterment of individual lives but also fostering a sense of community and acceptance that resonates far beyond the holiday season. This year, we encourage you to consider a gift that goes beyond the tangible – a donation to these organisations that form the backbone of support for London's LGBTQ+ community. Your contribution sends a powerful and meaningful message of care, compassion, and inclusion during a time when togetherness matters the most. It is a way of saying, "You are seen, you are valued, and you are not alone." Donation Pots: Switchboard - National LGBTQ+ Helpline - https://lnkd.in/gSAUWu6a African Rainbow Family - https://lnkd.in/eZ8Q-ND3 Mosaic - https://lnkd.in/exDJ3TnS Black Trans Alliance - https://lnkd.in/eTbtMgN @The Outside Project - https://lnkd.in/dXxv4Gi #donations #LGBTQ #Christmas #givingback

As allies, advocates, philanthropists and corporations celebrate #Pride 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ month, it’s important to lift up the intersectional nature of the #LGBTQ community. Queer people are not only Black, brown, white, AANHPI, Gen Z, old, wealthy, or under resourced. Millions of LGBTQ people also live with disabilities (both visible and invisible) — and instead of overlooking disabled people, let’s make an effort to elevate and equalize by: 1) Donating to organizations that work within the community 2) Intentionally including disabled people in your Pride marketing campaigns 3) Centering disabled queer voices in your messaging this month…and all year long. #DEI / #ESG / #Media / #ERG / #Marketing folks: If you are looking for a great grassroots organization to support and partner with, check out Arkansas Support Network (ASN). It’s an amazing non-profit in the mid-South empowering close to a thousand people in the disabled community with the ability to make decisions and direct their lives — including those who are LGBTQ 🏳️🌈. Their work is making a difference on a local, regional, and national level. If you want more info on the org, would like to become a partner, or make a Pride donation that will truly make a difference, connect with ASN CEO, Dr. Syard Evans. (Also an acclaimed speaker on disability inclusion…you’ll be glad you invited her to your corporate or policy event).

Coming off a fruitful, but challenging #givingtuesday2023, I'm sharing this article published today in Philanthropy News Digest. According to the Giving USA Foundation, charitable giving in the USA was a nearly $500 BILLION market in 2022. However, LGBTQ+ organizations are getting less than 1% of available charitable dollars. This last year was one for the record books with anti-LGBTQ+ hate and legislation on the rise. It's hard to reconcile the dissonance of this hate with the outpouring of radical generosity so many organizations experienced through their participation in GivingTuesday, but it remains real despite perceptions. To echo my dear colleague Michael Mendillo, I see every day how vital suicide prevention and mental health services are in the LGBTQ+ community and how much more we could achieve with increased support. This isn't just about keeping the proverbial doors open and lights on, this is about meeting the increasing needs of the LGBTQ+ community. We served more than 500,000 young people through our crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs last year--TWICE as many as the previous year. We expect to continue to see increased need as the 2024 election approaches and LGBTQ+ identity takes center stage in political debates. It will take all of us, #allies and LGBTQ+ community members showing up meaningfully with our dollars to move the needle on #inclusion and to deliver on our vision for a safe and loving world for all people.

🌈 I am queer. And I don’t like Pride Month 😮💨 I’ll be honest — I have complicated feelings about Pride right now. We have an entire month to celebrate our existence thanks to Black and Brown, Queer and Trans people who riot made it possible for us to get our rights — rights that are still being challenged today everywhere in the world. Pride started as a riot, it should be about resistance and community. But instead, I/we need to work so much harder than any other month because this is the only month our voices get tolerated — and on top of that, corporations use them to make a (huge) profit. 💔 It is draining. This is why at Lutalica, I’m not pushing our comms team to make as much noise as we could during Pride Month. We work for the LGBTQ+ community all year round, and I don’t want my colleagues to feel overwhelmed because this is the only time of the year when straight people acknowledge us. 💪 We want to keep working for the community, providing free support to non-profits who struggle to raise funds for an inclusive brand or an accessible website. These things are not only important, they are crucial, and I will keep shouting this to whoever will listen. I wish we could have started our crowdfunding earlier than Pride Month. We could have done it later, but July and August are holiday months, in September people have no money post-holiday, and then it’s basically Christmas. So here we are — and honestly, it’s not going as well as we hoped because we’re being drowned out by voices that only speak up in the month of June. But we still need your support. 👉 Please watch the video in this post where I explain why this is important. Check out the testimonials we’ve been posting — they are proof that our work is necessary. And then, please reshare and donate to our crowdfunding campaign here 👉 https://lnkd.in/ekREhQ3U ✨ Help us design a brighter future for women and queer communities. #QueerAndProud #LGBTQSupport #PurposeOverProfit #Crowdfunding #InclusiveDesign #CommunitySupport #DesignForChange #HappyPride #PrideMonth I'm curious about what other trans and queer entrepreneurs/professionals think. Do you feel the same? Ruth Faulkner Susie Cuthill Matt Dabrowski Patrick Dickinson Ceysa McKechnie Thea Bardot Araxie Boyadjian Lu 🍋 Castello Cat Halsan Hugh O'Keeffe Lou Beardsmore Jaron Soh Taylor 🌹 Gobar Aby Hawker Kirsty Lunn Francesca Allen

Happy Pride Month! We are allies. 🌈 Here are 5 ways to celebrate Pride Month: 1. Educate yourself Learn all about the history of the LGBTQIA+ community, its history, and its challenges.    2. Donate Give back to the LGBTQIA+ community by donating to an affiliated nonprofit in your area.   3. Increase LGBTQ+ inclusivity in the workplace If your workplace does not have a culture that promotes LGBTQIA+ inclusivity, speak to your manager about ways the company can be more inclusive to this community.    4. Watch a documentary on the Stonewall Riots Learn how it all began by watching an informative documentary on the Stonewall Riots and the events that preceded and followed them, like “Stonewall Forever” or “Stonewall Uprising”.   5. Be supportive If someone you know is LGBTQIA+, be supportive as they pursue their journey. #pridemonth #LGBTQIA+ #loveislove #metabolichealth #obesitymedicine #obesity #ally Courtney Younglove, M.D., FOMA, FACOG, DABOM Maribeth Orr, D.O., DABFM, DABOM Maren Ozier Here is more about Pride Month from The National Council for Mental Well Being 👇 https://lnkd.in/eNmtJ-4M

It's #GivingTuesday and we need your support to make GLAAD's mission of 100% acceptance of LGBTQ people become a reality. In the past year, we've seen 500+ anti-LGBTQ bills introduced and 700+ acts of anti-LGBTQ extremism. With the 2024 elections coming up and the increase in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric on social media and the legislature, we anticipate those numbers increasing and need your support in amplifying our work. Your donation supports: The GLAAD Storytelling Initiative where we use evidence-based media strategies to mobilize even more people around LGBTQ #equality, especially transgender rights and safety. The GLAAD News & Rapid Response Team as it offers real-time crisis communications, trains #LGBTQ people and allies to be effective voices for equality, and works with journalists to cover LGBTQ stories with richness and compassion. The GLAAD Media Guides, which let LGBTQ people lead the conversation, whether it's about growing HIV awareness in the U.S.' Deep South or tracking LGBTQ characters in major motion pictures. The GLAAD Media Institute's Advocacy, Education, and Training team create representation firsts like the GLAAD Gaming Index for LGBTQ #representation in gaming, and the inaugural Black Queer Creative Summit in Los Angeles — and ensure that those firsts aren't the last. Consider donating here: https://lnkd.in/gTcjcs5n

LGBTQ+ organizations are disproportionately underfunded—that needs to change. Amidst an increasingly hostile political climate, the Human Rights Campaign has declared a national state of emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans. The impact of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has directly correlated to a decrease in support for organizations that serve the LGBTQ+ community. Support for LGBTQ+ organizations makes up less than 1% of all philanthropic giving in the United States. At the same time, data from GLAAD tells us that a supermajority of non-LGBTQ+ Americans support equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community. It’s time to turn that support into direct action. Make no mistake, LGBTQ+ nonprofits deserve our investment. When we invest in organizations that serve LGBTQ+ folks, we are directly contributing to the vitality of our community. The stakes have never been higher. In this compelling op-ed, Tina M. Barber, MPA, (she/her) Director of Community Philanthropy, unpacks the “perfect storm” that situates LGBTQ+ organizations during this unique and unprecedented moment in charitable giving—and how LGBTQ+ allies can help navigate the waves of change. Read the full Op-Ed Below ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gXNN_Khq

Happy Pride Month! Did you know we celebrate Pride month in June as June 28th marks the date in history when the first pride march was held in New York City in 1970. As a local business which supports equality in our local business community, we thought of some easy ways in which you can celebrate #pridemonth at your workplace: 1. Create a collaborative Pride playlist. Celebrate Pride by encouraging employees to create a collaborative playlist. This Pride playlist should feature music from LGBTQ+ artists, songs about self-love, self-acceptance, and celebrating diversity. Coming together through music can be a fun way to celebrate pop culture, honor artistic expression, and find a new favorite song. 2. Raise funds for a charitable cause. Even today, members of the LGBT+ community face discrimination. Raising funds for local LGBT+ charities is a fantastic way to help combat this and work to a society which is founded upon equality. 3. Coordinate a Pride Month book club Reading a book written by a queer author, featuring LGBTQ+ characters, or topics, can be a fun way to expand perspectives. Not only is this an educational opportunity, it’s also a bonding opportunity as it gives coworkers a chance to interact with each other outside of their established roles. #cloudtelephony #telecommunications #telecoms #PridePlaylist #CelebrateDiversity #LGBTQ+Artists #SelfLove #SelfAcceptance #CharitableCause #Equality #LGBT+Charities #PrideMonthBookClub #ReadForEquality #EducationandEmpowerment #PrideCelebration #InclusivityatWork #WorkplaceEquality #LoveisLove #PrideParade #RainbowFlags #SupportLGBTQ+Community #AcceptanceandTolerance #LGBTQ+HistoryMonth #ProudAllYearRound #Equalityforall

KICKED OUT FOR COMING OUT At Stonewall Housing we help LGBTQ+ people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness find somewhere safe to call home. We work with all age groups. The oldest so far is 83 and the youngest just 9. Last year we helped more than 3,200 people, each of them with unique experiences that led to them not being safe in their home. One of the main groups of people we work with are those aged under 25 and they tell us that the most common reason for them becoming homeless is because they have been kicked out of home because they are LGBTQ+. When I first joined Stonewall Housing I couldn't quite believe that this still happened, surely not now. But I was wrong, I was naïve - the truth is it happens every single day. LGBTQ+ young people are MORE likely to become homeless. LGBTQ+ young people are MORE likely to experience family breakdown. LGBTQ+ young people are MORE likely to be victim of a hate crime. LGBTQ+ young people are MORE likely to be kicked out for coming out. This incredible campaign, developed by Claire Linacre-Hilton and Mr. President and designed to grab your attention won first prize in the charity category of Ocean Outdoor's Digital Creative Competition. It can currently be seen on billboards in London, Birmingham and Manchester in the hope of raising awareness of this absolute scandal of LGBTQ+ youth homelessness. #stonewallhousing #lgbtqia+ #youthhomelessness #attentiongrabbing #homelessness #queer #charity #digital #campaign #awarenessraising #kickedoutforcomingout