Milwaukee LGBT Community Center fundraising after federal funding cuts

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee center that serves as a vital support system to the LGBTQ+ community is facing a crisis.

Loss of funding

What we know:

The Milwaukee LGBT Community Center lost approximately $900,000 in federal funding over the last year, and they are relying on the community for help.

Some of its funding comes from the Office on Violence Against Women, which previously awarded grants to LGBTQ+ organizations. In May, President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, preventing the center from receiving that money.

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The Milwaukee LGBT Community Center is described as "a support system" by its director of operations, Ricardo Galaviz.

"Oftentimes we get cut off from our support networks. Sometimes families are kind of the first ones to cut us off," Galaviz said. "[It] leaves many people in our community to their own devices to find community."

The community center has been around for nearly three decades.

"Thinking about the fact that we got over 500 people that go through our doors every month. And to lose this center – means that many, many people will go without those types of services," Galaviz said. "Because of [the lack of funding], which is a total of somewhere around $900,000, it puts us in a really scary position for what our future could look like."

Support for others

Dig deeper:

Galaviz said the center supports the entire state, if not region, as there are so few centers left in the area.

He said the center offers food, clothes and mental health services, among other things, to beyond just the LGBTQ+ community in Milwaukee.

"We just lost the LGBT Center of Southeast Wisconsin, we just lost This is It!, so these queer spaces, these LGBT spaces are disappearing," Galaviz said. "We can’t always count on grants – but can count on community."

The center also took a major hit from the Victims of Crime Act as well. 

These funds supported the center in serving more clients with mental health services and other supportive programs.

So now, the center is turning to the community for support.

A fundraiser has been started, hoping that support from the community can fill the gaps. The center said the $900,000 shortfall poses a threat to existence, programming, and legacy.

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"We want to just be there for people," he said. "That they don’t have to come to yet another closed door in their face."

Helping hands

What you can do:

The fundraiser – Sustain. Stabilize. Thrive. – has a $540,000 goal. Support would go to retaining staff, expanding access to lifesaving sources, contributing sustainability and more.

For more, visit the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center’s website.

"We must explore new paths"

What they're saying:

Milwaukee LGBT Community Center Executive Director Ritchie T. Martin, Jr. provided the following statement: 

"The Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, like many others across Wisconsin, has been impacted by the loss of federal VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) funding. While these grants once supported critical services for survivors and those in crisis, we are pressing forward.

Despite this setback, our commitment to the community remains unwavering. We continue to provide vital services, and we will not stop.

To move forward, we must explore new paths. That’s why we have launched Sustain. Stability. Thrive. Fundraiser. A campaign focused on sustaining current programs, stabilizing our operations, and securing long-term support through private foundations and community partnerships. Now, more than ever, we need Milwaukee to stand with us. Together, we will sustain. We will stabilize. And we will thrive."

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