Funding from the Lesbian Fund supports issues critical to our community, such as partner rights, access to resources, health and wellness activities, and reproductive justice.
Although there are a few existing funds and foundations that have a strong history of funding LGBT issues, there are none that focus solely on lesbian issues. To meet this need, the Lesbian Fund was established in 2006 as a community resource built and advised by lesbians. Today, it is a resource dedicated to meeting the unique needs of lesbians at all stages of their lives. It serves as a catalyst for raising community awareness and commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all lesbians and their families.
A gift to the Lesbian Fund is an investment in a future that values lesbians as respected and important members of the community. It is used in two ways: a) for direct grants to programs that benefit lesbians and support lesbian leadership; and b) to grow the Lesbian Fund’s invested assets.
Consider Joyce, a lesbian who raised two children on her own, working at a small nonprofit with no health benefits. She is still working hard to make sure her adult children are thriving in the world. Over the past 20 years she has had little time for herself or had the time to be involved in her community. Two years ago, she joined the Diverse and Resilient Lesbian Health Leadership Initiative, funded by the Lesbian Fund at the Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee. With leadership training and support she is paying attention to her own development. She is now committed to regular checkups and screenings and is passionate about advocating for breast cancer prevention. She has recruited lesbian and bisexual women to participate in outreach, health and leadership projects that benefit lesbians, and she works hard to connect lesbians and their family members to needed community resources. Recently, Joyce was appointed to the Advisory Board of the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the cure Southeast Wisconsin and serves on the Diverse and Resilient Lesbian Leadership Advisory Council.
A gift to the Lesbian Fund is used in two ways: for direct grants to programs that benefit lesbians and support lesbian leadership and to grow the Lesbian Fund’s invested assets. In the words of Lesbian Fund Steering Committee members, “Our donors support programs that move us toward a more fair and just society for lesbians. The support of allies and other lesbians increases our confidence and willingness to become visible and active leaders on issues of importance to lesbians in our community.”
Our Current Grant Partners
The Alliance School
$3,000 | Health Services for Lesbian Youth
Funds a part-time nurse practitioner for lesbian youth to avail of confidential and accepting nursing services in the school environment.
Diverse & Resilient
$4,000 | Lesbian & Bisexual Women’s Health Leadership Initiative
Increases the engagement of lesbian and bisexual women in health and reproductive justice leadership and advocacy.
Equality WI Fund
$1,000 | Lesbian Latina Organizing Project
A grassroots project led by Latinas organizing for LGBT rights and immigration reform that works to increase the visibility of Latina lesbians as leaders in the LGBT community.
Fair Wisconsin Education Fund
$1,000 | Fair Wisconsin Leadership Conference
A conference to build a skilled well-connected community of LGBT and allied leaders in Wisconsin who feel empowered to advance the movement for equality in Wisconsin.
Reproductive Justice Collective
$3,000 | Unrestricted Support
Organizes women and girls to change structural power and inequities by engaging women who experience the greatest reproductive health disparities, including women of color, low-income, young, rural, immigrant, incarcerated, and lesbian/bisexual women.
Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee
$1,000 | Reproductive Justice Project
Meets a matching grant from Groundswell’s Catalyst Fund of the Tides Foundation to support Milwaukee’s reproductive justice movement.
Lesbian Fund Steering Committee
Velvet Moore, Co-Chair
Chris Doerfler, Co-Chair
Tanya Atkinson
Dalila Cardona
Cynthia Jasper
Kathy Prodoehl
Lesley Salas
Note: The Women’s Fund retains a percentage of all restricted gifts.