Emergency Grants to Bay Area LGBTQ Organizations Total Over $640,000

By Roger Doughty | May 19, 2020

This week, Horizons announced a second round of $200,500 in emergency grants to 30 Bay Area LGBTQ organizations through our LGBTQ COVID-19 Response Emergency Fund. In total, Horizons has awarded $641,500 through the Fund, which supports COVID-19 responsive programming and provides immediate financial relief to critical community institutions.

The current need in the LGBTQ community is at an enormous scale, but so is the compassion, so is the ingenuity. I invite you to view our full list of grantee partners, which includes:

LYRIC. With this emergency grant, LGBTQ youth who are sheltered in place with abusive family members will receive temporary housing so they can shelter in a safe environment, and 1:1 case management with wraparound supports.
Billy DeFrank LGBTQ Community Center. Facing a massive uptick in requests for resources, the Center will use this emergency grant to develop a resource hotline for the LGBTQ community in Santa Clara County, especially LGBTQ seniors in the South Bay.
Curry Senior Center. This grant will enable the development of a virtual health interview on-site, where at-risk LGBTQ seniors without home internet access will be able to meet virtually with behavioral health specialists.
Colectivo Acción Latina de Ambiente. This grant will provide emergency stipends to LGBTQ Latinx community members in the South Bay.
LGBTQ Connection Napa & Sonoma. This grant will make it possible for LGBTQ youth in Napa and Sonoma counties to participate in online youth support groups and access critical mental health support.

We could just as easily list any of the other 50-plus grantees from the Emergency Fund, as every grant is making a difference to members of our community in great need.

These grants are the result of remarkable generosity. We are so deeply grateful to the donors and donor advisors who together contributed nearly $200,000, as well as the Blue Shield of California Foundation, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the Stuart Foundation, and Sutter Health/CPMC. We also thank the Hewlett Foundation and California Wellness Foundation, which allowed the repurposing of funds from previous grants.

As the demonstrated need continues to far exceed available funds, Horizons continues to accept donations for the Fund; 100% will go directly to the community. The LGBTQ community has always been at its best – at its extraordinary, magnificent, passionate best – when crisis breaks upon us. This is such a moment, and Horizons’ board, my colleagues, and I could not be more grateful.