Every June, Pride Month calls us to celebrate how far the LGBTQ+ rights movement has come and to reckon honestly with how far there is still to go. What began as an act of resistance at NYC’s Stonewall Inn in the early hours of June 28, 1969, has grown into a global movement that continues to fight for the safety, dignity and full humanity of LGBTQ+ people everywhere.

This year, that fight feels especially urgent. Federal protections are being rolled back, trans youth are being targeted by legislation in statehouses across the country and the funding that sustains many of the organizations doing this work is under direct threat. Pride remains more than a backdrop for celebration. It is a reminder that visibility and joy are political acts, and that the people and organizations holding the line deserve our sustained attention and support.

Nonprofit professionals: a moment for you

If you work in or near the LGBTQ+ nonprofit space, this thought is for you. The work you do is not incidental to the movement. It is the movement, from crisis intervention to advocacy to grant writing to showing up at a community meeting after a long day.

The particular weight of this work

LGBTQ+-focused nonprofits do something extraordinarily difficult: hold space for communities navigating fear, grief, discrimination and survival, often with lean teams and precarious funding, and often while members of those same communities are on staff. The personal and the professional are rarely separate here. That is a source of enormous strength and can be a source of real strain.

Burnout, compassion fatigue and secondary trauma are not weaknesses. They are predictable consequences of caring deeply in an underresourced sector during a genuinely hard moment. If you have been running on fumes, that is not a personal failing. It is a structural one.

We want to take a moment, before you read any further, to say: We see you and we urge you to take a moment’s rest. You are allowed to feel the weight of this and still set it down for a while. The community you serve needs you well, and so do the people who love you. 

This article is part of our Breakthrough Nonprofits series, an extension of our monthly newsletter for nonprofit professionals. The series shines a light on organizations that refuse to accept the status quo, finding new ways to clear the path for the people they serve. Supporting any of the nonprofits below means contributing to a future where LGBTQ+ people can live safely, openly and fully as themselves, no matter where they are or who they are.

The nonprofits

The Give Lively member nonprofits featured below are leading examples of breakthrough work in LGBTQ+ rights, community care and queer liberation: from Sacramento LGBT Community Center, providing housing, mental health services and economic empowerment to one of California's largest LGBTQ+ communities, to Lambda Literary, nurturing the next generation of queer storytellers and fighting book bans with literature; from Dallas Hope Charities, running Dallas's first LGBTQ+-focused homeless youth shelter, to The OUT Foundation, removing the barriers that keep queer people out of fitness and wellness spaces. They are joined by community foundations, Pride organizers, youth programs and advocacy networks, each doing the work that makes it possible for LGBTQ+ people to not just survive but thrive.

Sacramento LGBT Community Center 

The Sacramento LGBT Community Center has been a cornerstone of Northern California's LGBTQ+ community for decades, offering everything from emergency housing and mental health services to legal advocacy and economic empowerment. Its Q-Spot Youth Center, senior programming and community events like Sacramento Pride and Q-Prom make it a true hub for connection and care.

The OUT Foundation 

The OUT Foundation is on a mission to break down the barriers keeping LGBTQ+ people out of fitness and wellness spaces. Through programs like OUTAthlete, OUTHealth and OUTAIM, it works to certify inclusive gyms, empower queer athletes and ensure that everybody, in every body, can thrive.

Pride Foundation

Pride Foundation has been building a better, safer and more equitable Northwest for LGBTQ+ people since 1985. Rooted in a racial equity framework, it funds grassroots organizations, awards scholarships to emerging student leaders and engages community partners across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Lambda Literary 

Lambda Literary has championed LGBTQ+ storytelling for more than 35 years, nurturing writers through a celebrated summer retreat and connecting queer literature with students through the Writers in Schools program. The annual Lammy Awards recognize the best in LGBTQ+ publishing, while the online review keeps readers discovering new voices year-round.

WAYOUT LGBTQ Foundation 

wayOUT is a fully volunteer-run nonprofit that finds, vets and funds LGBTQ+ youth centers across the country. With chapters in cities including New York, Los Angeles and Seattle, it channels community fundraising energy directly into the local organizations doing hands-on work with queer youth.

Center for Black Equity 

The Center for Black Equity works to improve the lives of Black LGBTQ+ people globally by advancing economic, health and social equity. From hosting DC Black Pride and convening a multinational network of Pride organizers to leading policy advocacy and the Ron Simmons Leadership Institute, CBE operates at the intersection of racial and queer liberation.

Stonewall Community Foundation 

Stonewall Community Foundation is a community foundation built by and for LGBTQ+ people, providing strategic grants, scholarships and philanthropic services to organizations and individuals across the country. Among the top funders of LGBTQ+ housing and homelessness work in the US, it invests heavily in youth programs and has housed the country's largest scholarship for immigrant and newcomer LGBTQ+ students since 2014.

Chapter 510 

Chapter 510 is an Oakland-based youth writing, bookmaking and publishing center that creates safe, joyful spaces for Black, brown and queer young people ages 8 to 19. In just over a decade, its teaching artists and mentors have supported more than 6,500 young authors and published over 100 youth-penned books across the California city.

Capital Pride Alliance 

Capital Pride Alliance is the year-round steward of the LGBTQ+ Pride celebration in Washington, DC, producing flagship events like the annual Capital Pride Parade and Festival, as well as a rich calendar of community programming through the Pride365 initiative. Its work centers the visibility, history and ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the heart of the nation's capital.

Dallas Hope Charities 

Dallas Hope Charities runs the Dallas Hope Center, the Texas city's first LGBTQ+-focused homeless youth shelter, which provides housing, meals, case management and pathways to independent living for young adults facing homelessness. Beyond the shelter, it leads suicide prevention efforts through the Collective Hope Coalition and runs Hopeful Discussions, a community education program on LGBTQ+ identities and inclusion.

PFund Foundation

PFund Foundation builds equity with LGBTQ+ communities across the upper Midwest through grants, scholarships and leadership development. Its portfolio of funds, including a dedicated Bisexual+ Fund and TRANSCEND Fund for trans individuals, reflects a genuine commitment to reaching the communities most often overlooked in philanthropy.

REACH LA 

REACH LA engages, empowers and celebrates LGBTQ+ people of color and their communities in Los Angeles through four interconnected pillars: health and wellness, arts innovation, workforce development and social justice. Its services include HIV and STI testing, PrEP access and a robust calendar of programming designed to help LGBTQ+ youth of color live authentically and thrive independently.

The Woodlands Pride 

Founded in 2018, The Woodlands Pride is a 100% volunteer-run organization bringing LGBTQ+ community, connection and celebration to The Woodlands, Texas and surrounding areas. In addition to its beloved annual Pride Festival at Town Green Park, it operates TROT youth programming and a free community library stocked with LGBTQ+ books and resources.

Rainbow Center 

Rainbow Center expands resources and safe spaces for the LGBTQ2SA community in Tacoma, Washington, through education, advocacy and celebration. It produces Tacoma Pride and offers year-round programming that keeps the community connected, informed and supported across Pierce County.

Fiesta Youth 

Fiesta Youth is the most comprehensive LGBTQ+ youth support organization in San Antonio, Texas, providing affirming spaces and programs for young people from elementary school through young adulthood and their families. From weekly meetings and an LGBTQ+ Prom to sexual health education and a competitive robotics team, it offers something for every young person ready to show up as their full self.

Our Spot KC 

Our Spot KC is a Kansas City-based hub providing housing and wraparound resources designed to support, advance and empower LGBTQ+ individuals in the region. With 91% of program participants reporting successful outcomes and 76% remaining independently housed, the results speak for themselves.

Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative 

The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative (SIGBI) is the official nonprofit of the historic Stonewall Inn in New York City, carrying forward the legacy of the 1969 uprising through grants, educational programming and advocacy. It works with LGBTQ+ organizations at home and abroad, with a particular focus on communities where progress toward equality has been slower and discrimination remains a daily reality.

Normal Anomaly Initiative 

The Normal Anomaly Initiative is an organization in Houston, Texas, centering Black, queer people across the Southern United States, working to eliminate barriers, end stigma and create new norms. From HIV testing and social enterprise development to transportation assistance and the Transgender Allyship Collective, it addresses the full spectrum of challenges facing Black LGBTQ+ communities in the South.