2021 Community Reinvestment
The main purpose of the Atlanta Pride Committee, a 501(c)(3) organization, is to advance unity, visibility and self-esteem among lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender and queer persons and to promote a positive image in the Atlanta area and throughout the Southeastern United States through community activities and services. We value social justice, culture, self-esteem, history, health, and wellness as tools for building community and resilience - and we know that this work cannot be done without the partnership of other LGBTQ+ serving organizations. Our ongoing Community Reinvestment Grant Fund and our new Pride in Action Fund help us to identify organizations that are programming and providing services that carry forth our mission. These organizations define the very term 'grass roots' - they need support, funding, and resources to help elevate the work they provide for the community.
As the oldest LGBTQ+ organization in Georgia and the largest Pride organization in the Southeast, our goal was to increase our Community Reinvestment from less than two percent (2%) of our budget in 2015 to seven percent (7%) of the organization's annual budget by 2020. We met the goal of over seven percent (7%) in 2019, but the Community Reinvestment Fund went into hiatus in 2020 as we navigated the COVID-19 pandemic and turned our support to ongoing partners. For 2021, APC will return to our community funding priorities with two (2) types of grants for 2021:
Pride in Action Fund
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Atlanta Pride Festival and Parade provided a place for hundreds of thousands of people to connect with one another and with necessary services from LGBTQ+ serving organizations. This year's cancellation of the in-person Atlanta Pride Festival and Parade means that community organizations will need to rethink how they reach community members who need their services, and the Pride in Action Fund endeavors to financially support community organizations in that work. Examples of successful Pride in Action fund applications may include creating ways for elders, youth, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, or families to build community in COVID-19 safer formats; promoting LGBTQ arts or sports events; or providing wellness couseling or testing that would normally take place at the Atlanta Pride Festival. These will be rapid turnaround funds. Applications are due September 15, 2021 and successful applications will be funded on September 18, 2021.
Community Reinvestment Grants
Atlanta Pride's Community Reinvestment Grants are our on-going program that makes small grants to organizations that align with our mission and strategic goals. These funds can be general operating support and/or event sponsorships. For 2021, CRG applications will take into consideration how an organization's funding has been impacted by COVID-19 and how the demand for the organization's services has been impacted by the ongoing pandemic. Ongoing CRG funding priorities include:
What We Will Fund
APC Community Grants fund a variety of organizations and projects, but we prioritize community-led, grassroots organizations and projects that do not generally have access to mainstream funding or a variety of funding opportunities who can benefit from general operating support to develop and maintain an organization as it pursues its mission. This type of grant is flexible and gives the grant recipient the ability to use the funds where they are most appropriate.
What We Won't Fund
Grants are not awarded to: