The LGBTQ+ community is part of the foundation of New York City – from Stonewall to marriage equality, New York is a hub for queer and trans organizing, advocacy, and preservation. The Fund is proud to be home to a multitude of organizations serving the LGBTQ+ community, providing resources, access, and connection to organizations that are central to the wellbeing and livelihood of countless individuals in New York and across the United States.
The American LGBTQ+ Museum has been a Partner Project with the Fund since 2018. The first of its kind, the American LGBTQ+ Museum will be opening a physical space on the grounds of the New York Historical Society in 2026 to preserve, research, and share LGBTQ+ history and culture. The museum’s participation in the Fund’s Partner Project Program has enabled the foundation to reach several milestones including an official state charter, the ability to hire full-time staff members, and the launch of public education programs to reach a nationwide audience. As a Partner Project, the museum can focus on “mission-critical work” while the Fund oversees financial and administrative responsibilities.
One of few statewide LGBTQ+ nonprofit organizations, the NEW Pride Agenda is a recent addition to the Fund’s Partner Project program. The NEW Pride Agenda has an explicit focus on supporting the most marginalized members of the LGBTQ+ community, including queer and trans youth of color. Their work is conducted through public policy advocacy and programs focusing on civic engagement, sexual health, financial literacy, and professional development. As a Partner Project with the Fund, the NEW Pride Agenda has been able to advance its mission, flourish as an organization, and scale its important work without concerns about cash flow or administrative hurdles – “none of which would have been possible without the Fund.”
The NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project is dedicated to preserving and sharing physical spaces in New York City that have played a role in the history of the queer and trans community. As an historic preservationist, the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project identifies ways to make “invisible history visible” to preserve and promote LGBTQ site-based history from the 1600s to 2000. The project uses the city’s unique landscape to tell this history – providing intangible benefits like “pride, continuity, and a sense of connection.” The NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project joined the Fund’s Partner Project Program in 2016, and has benefited from the Fund’s partnership in a way that has allowed the project to “stabilize and sustain” itself over the course of many years. The project has also connected other historical-based organizations to the Fund, such as OutHistory.
Seeking to create safe and affordable housing for LGBTQ+ older adults in New York City, the Stonewall Community Development Corporation organized for the first time in 2013. Honoring activist Eleanor Cooper, Stonewall CDC shines an important light on an issue rarely discussed by the nonprofit or government sectors: aging in place at the intersection of age and LGBTQ+ identity. Affordable housing is important for all individuals, and this intersection creates a unique set of challenges to identifying and engaging with the affordable housing system. Stonewall CDC became a partner project with the Fund in July of 2022, and “immediately landed a $1.2M contract,” which would not have been possible to accept without joining the Partner Project Program.
Through a unique combination of organizations, campaigns, and initiatives, the Fund for the City of New York is a foundational resource for LGBTQ-focused projects to thrive and succeed in the nonprofit space.
The Fund is proud to be a source of support for these organizations focused on equity and justice for queer and trans individuals in New York and across the nation.