From the Archives: 1992 – Center on Halsted & The LGBTQ Community Fund

LGBTQ-serving organizations in Chicago have long been at the forefront of advocating for and addressing the ever-evolving needs of the city’s LGBTQ community. In 1985, Horizons Community Services, the Midwest’s largest social service agency serving the needs of Chicago’s gay and lesbian community at the time, created its Anti-Violence Project. It was the first gay and lesbian anti-violence project in the country to be funded by the federal government, and the only program in the Chicago area focused on education about hate crimes, advocacy in the criminal and civil courts, and legal support to the city’s 300,000 gay and lesbian residents. The Trust awarded Horizons Community Services $120,000 in 1992 to support the expansion of this project.

In 2003, Horizons Community Services changed its name to Center on Halsted and the Trust would later contribute to the organization’s first headquarters with a capital grant in 2006. As a result of this effort, the Trust realized the need to marshal more resources for LGBTQ Chicagoans. Over the next four years, Terry Mazany, the Trust’s former president and CEO; Prue Beidler, former Trust executive committee chair; James L. Alexander; and Dr. Patrick M. Sheahan worked together to develop a fund that would help organizations serving LGBTQ Chicagoans access more diverse sources of philanthropic funding.

The LGBTQ Community Fund (the Fund) was established in 2010 to support nonprofit organizations providing essential services to Chicago’s LGBTQ community. The Fund was the first of its kind founded by a community foundation in a major metropolitan area in the U.S. The Trust committed $500,000 toward establishing the Fund, with the goal of distributing $1 million in grants over the following three years to community-based organizations. The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust also played a leading role by providing a $200,000 operating grant. On May 26, 2010, nearly 100 people attended the official launch of the LGBTQ Community Fund at the Joffrey Ballet.

The LGBTQ Community Fund has continued to grow as an affinity fund of the Trust. In addition to supporting dozens of community-led nonprofits, the Fund has been at the forefront of activism and research to illuminate the needs of Chicago’s diverse LGBTQ community. In 2012 and 2019, the Fund launched grassroots research projects studying the most pressing needs facing LGBTQ Chicagoans. The resulting reports identified housing, health, mental health, community safety, and employment as the most critical issues. The Fund’s grant making has and continues to be informed by the assessment of needs outlined in the two reports.

Since its founding, the Fund has provided close to $3 million in grant support to over 50 organizations. This support has been pivotal for many of the organizations—enabling them to scale in size and impact and serve more community members. Over the years, the focus of grant funding has expanded to include employment and safety in 2022 and health, mental health, and housing in 2023. The fund has also placed emphasis on funding organizations with operating budgets of less than $2 million, including arts organizations and a special focus on seniors and youth. 

Recently, the Fund switched from its unique venture philanthropy model to a more traditional annual grant–making cycle to provide greater predictability and sustainability for its grantee partners. In 2024, the LGBTQ community in Chicago continues to experience elevated health and economic risk. The Fund remains a resource for this community in perpetuity and plays a crucial role in keeping our city a safe, equitable, and supportive environment for LGBTQ Chicagoans.