Pride Month is celebrated annually in June to honor the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, two-spirit + leaders, celebrate the progress toward equality, and call attention to the experiences of the LGBTQIA2S+ community.

The LGBTQIA2S+ community is all about support. Organizations like GLAAD, OutRight Action International, and the Center for Black Equity work collaboratively with the community to create safe spaces for all. In media, in politics, in legislation and more, the fight for LGBTQIA2S rights and empowerment is far from over, and grassroots and LGBTQ+ and BIPOC-led organizations are on the frontlines yet the most underfunded by traditional philanthropy.

In the same vein, giving circles provide a sense of community for their members, regardless of sexual orientation. Many giving circles focus on specific issues surrounding the LGBTQ+ community: for example, the Red Envelope Giving Circle for the API LGBTQ Community, the LGBTQ Community Fund for Northeast Florida, and the Astraea Foundation’s Funding Queerly Giving Circle are all community-supported funds pledged to the LGBT community.

This community model works for more targeted giving circles as well. Black Trans Lives Thrive supports nonprofits run by and for Black Trans Women. The Jewish Pride Fund, Lacuna Giving Circle, and LGBTQ+ Latinx Giving Circle supports members of the Jewish, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Latinx LGBT communities, respectively.

As you and your giving circle members search for organizations to support in honor of Pride Month and beyond, take a look at this curated list of organizations leading the way toward an inclusive future for all. Each of these nonprofits are led by LGBTQIA2S+ staff with programming that is directly aligned with the organization’s mission and an operating budget of less than $1 million. You can also find hundreds of LGBTQIA2S+ nonprofits to support through Give OUT Day.

Affinity

Affinity is a social justice organization serving the needs of the Black LGBTQ+ community in Chicago’s Southside with a particular focus on Black women. Their programming is peer and volunteer-led — created by and for particular demographics in the community. Learn more

Brave Space Alliance

As the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ+ org in the midwest, Brave Space Alliance is dedicated to creating and providing affirming, culturally competent, for-us by-us resources, programming, and services for LGBTQ+ individuals on the South and West sides of Chicago, Illinois. The organization strives to empower, embolden, and educate members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community through mutual aid, knowledge-sharing, and the creation of community-sourced resources to build toward the liberation of all oppressed peoples. Learn more

Campus Pride

Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Campus Pride serves LGBTQ and ally student leaders and campus organizations in the areas of leadership development, support programs and services to create safer, more inclusive LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities. It exists to develop, support and give “voice and action” in building future LGBTQ and ally student leaders across the United States. Learn more

Dreams of Hope

Dreams of Hope is Pittsburgh’s only arts-focused organization for queer and allied youth.Through the power of the arts, Dreams of Hope provides the region’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, asexual, and allied (LGBTQA+) youth a welcoming environment to grow in confidence, express themselves, and develop as leaders. Learn more

For the Gworls

For the Gworls is a Black, trans-led collective that curates parties to fundraise money to help Black transgender people pay for their rent, gender-affirming surgeries, smaller co-pays for medicines/doctor’s visits, and travel assistance. The first For The Gworls party occurred on the 4th of July on a hot roof in Brooklyn, NY after the founder decided to throw a party to fundraise for two friends that were facing eviction. For the Gworls has been hosting monthly parties ever since with the end goal of raising money to help Black, trans people pay for their rent and gender-affirming surgeries. Learn more

Inside Out Youth Services (IOYS)

IOYS builds power, access and equity for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults (ages 13-24) from the Pikes Peak Region in Southern Colorado through education, advocacy, community building, peer support, and leadership. Learn more

Kaleidoscope Youth Center

Founded in 1994, the Kaleidoscope Youth Center (KYC) is the largest and longest-standing organization in Ohio solely dedicated to serving and supporting queer youth. At Kaleidoscope, belonging means being. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit works to provide a safer place, programming, and leadership opportunities so that queer youth can be free to explore who they are — and empowered to become their confident, truest self. Learn more

Lesbian Health Fund

Lesbian Health Fund (LHF) centers and uplifts communities whose lived experiences and health are impacted by sexism, misogyny, transmisogyny, and/or misogynoir using an anti-oppressive approach in pursuit of health justice. LHF is a project of GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality, a national nonprofit organization committed to ensuring health equity for LGBTQ individuals and equality for LGBTQ health professionals through advocacy, education, and research. Learn more

Lower Columbia Q Center

Lower Columbia Q Center provides safe spaces, community building and empowerment for the positive transformation of LGBTQ2SIA+ communities and allies in the Pacific Northwest. All support and activity groups are community-based and peer-led with programming serving youth, adults and senior citizens. Learn more

Maven Leadership Collective

Comprised of 100% BIPOC staff, Maven Leadership Collective consistently invests in creative social impact leaders who are queer and trans people of color and allies to build communities that thrive even in the face of crisis, transition, and tragedy. Learn more

New Alternatives

New Alternatives increases the self-sufficiency of LGBTQ+ homeless youth by enabling them to transition out of the shelter system to stable adult lives. The organization does this by providing long-term support, weekly case management, education services, life skills training, community-building recreational activities, opportunities for self-expression, and programs for HIV+ youth. New Alternatives’ guiding principles are those of harm reduction, youth development, and empowerment. Learn more

New Jersey Equality

New Jersey Equality (also known as Garden State Equality) lifts up the diverse voices of LGBTQ+ communities through education and advocacy to advance the movement for equality in New Jersey and nationally. The organization works tirelessly to ensure the communities they serve experience lived equality. Learn more

One Colorado

Through public education efforts devoted to telling the stories of the barriers LGBTQ Coloradans face every day, One Colorado has started to change public opinion about LGBTQ families in the state. One Colorado continues to advocate for the LGBTQ community and make an impact across the state. Learn more

One Orlando Alliance

One Orlando Alliance is a vital support network for LGBTQ+ organizations in Central Florida. Staff members and volunteers lower barriers, provide critical communication, and promote effective, influential, and sustainable opportunities for transforming the culture of the region. One Orlando Alliance formed as a result of the Pulse Nightclub tragedy on June 12, 2016. . Learn more

Pride at Work

Pride At Work is a nonprofit organization that represents LGBTQ union members and their allies. As an officially recognized constituency group of the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations), Pride At Work organizes mutual support between the organized Labor Movement and the LGBTQ Community to further social and economic justice. From their national office in Washington, DC, the organization coordinates and supports more than 20 Chapters across the country. Learn more

Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project

Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project (QWOCMAP) uses film to shatter stereotypes and bias, reveal the lived truth of inequality, address the vital, intersecting issues that concern multiple populations, and build understanding and community around art and social justice. QWOCMAP creates, exhibits, and distributes high-impact films that authentically reflect the lives of queer women of color (cisgender & transgender), and gender non-binary/nonconforming/variant and transgender people of color (of any orientation), and address the vital, intersecting social justice issues that concern our multiple communities. QWOCMAP’s vision nurtures filmmakers as artist-activist leaders for social change. Learn more

Rainbow Families

Rainbow Families supports, educates and connects lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) families, parents and prospective parents by offering a wide variety of education programs, support groups, opportunities to connect and more. Rainbow Families is a volunteer-led non-profit organization supported by members, community sponsors, private and public grants and foundations. Learn more.

Side by Side

Side by Side is dedicated to creating supportive communities where Virginia’s LGBTQ+ youth can define themselves, belong, and flourish. Side by Side’s strategic priorities focus on a commitment to Black LGBTQ+ youth, diversity and inclusion, voice amplification, and a longstanding tradition of community support. Learn more

Somos Familia Valle

As a local San Fernando Valley community organization led by trans queer people of color, Somos Familia Valle is dedicated to support, empower, train, and mobilize families and allies for racial, gender, environmental, and economic justice. Somos Familia Valle advances LGBTQ education, empowerment, and wellness in the San Fernando Valley. Learn more

The Transgender District

The Transgender District, the world’s first transgender district, is an effort to celebrate the lives, resilience, and presence of transgender people in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. The organization also works to educate the world on the rich history and power of transgender people. Learn more

Time Out Youth

Time Out Youth Center is a place where LGBT youth can experience a sense of belonging and community. As the organization puts it, “Whether you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, a straight ally – or just don’t want to be labeled, you will be welcomed here… While at Time Out Youth, you are not expected to be anyone or anything except who you are.” Learn more