LGBTQ Community Fund Releases 2026 Stakeholder Conversations Report

The LGBTQ Community Fund, an initiative of The Chicago Community Trust, is proud to announce the release of its latest report, We Are Each Other’s Neighbors: LGBTQ Community Fund Stakeholder Conversations.

The report builds on the Fund’s longstanding commitment to community-based research, including the 2012 and 2019 Community Needs Assessments conducted by the Morten Group. The findings affirm the priorities identified in previous assessments while offering new insights and context that reflect the current realities facing LGBTQ+ communities.

The report outlines ten key recommendations that will shape the Fund’s grantmaking, partnerships, and strategic priorities in the years ahead.

1. Continue to prioritize general operating support
2. Invest in LGBTQ+ history and archiving
3. Deepen investment in vulnerable youth
4. Integrate alternative funding approaches
5. Support mental health and wellness
6. Sustain investment in advocacy and civil rights
7. Assess the feasibility of sponsorships
8. Incentivize and model collaboration
9. Address medical access, food and housing instability
10. Strengthen future assessments

The Fund extends its sincere gratitude to the many community members, grant partners, and stakeholders who participated in this process by sharing their expertise and experiences. Their insights and thoughtful feedback were instrumental in informing the report’s findings and recommendations.

The report’s findings were previewed at the Fund’s grant partner breakfast in May and will serve as a roadmap for the Fund’s continued investment in a thriving, equitable, and resilient LGBTQ+ community across the Chicago region.

The Fund has already begun acting on the report’s recommendations through the launch of rapid-response microgrants designed to support new and existing collaborations among LGBTQ+-serving organizations (Recommendation #8: Incentivize and Model Collaboration).

Recognizing that meaningful collaboration requires time, relationship-building, and dedicated resources, the Fund awarded eight microgrants to help organizations strengthen partnerships and explore innovative ways of working together. Grant recipients and their partners include:

• Arcus Behavioral Health and Wellness, for a collaboration with Lake County LGBT+ Center
• Center for Disability and Elder Law, for a collaboration with Center on Addison
• Children First Fund, for a collaboration with the University of Illinois Policy, Practice, and Prevention Research Center
• Gender Fucked Productions, for a collaboration with Black Alphabet
• playout!, for a collaboration with Trans Upfront IL
• Pride Action Tank (AIDS Foundation of Chicago), for a collaboration with Center on Halsted and Equality IL
• Tapestry 360 health, for a collaboration with Raices Chicago Story Coalition
• The Harbour, for a collaboration with School of Opulence

These partnerships will support new and existing programs that address a range of community-identified needs, including supporting LGBTQ+ artists, expanding access to affirming mental health services, resources for LGBTQ+ older adults, job training for housing-insecure youth.