By Roger Doughty
As LGBTQ people, we find ourselves at a moment in history when we all need to stand up and be counted. That means resisting. That means saying “no” to injustice in every form.
Standing up—especially in times like these—also means giving. Giving is one of the most radical ways to resist, because it means fueling the grassroots organizations that fight for our rights day in and day out.
Every LGBTQ person and ally can take this simple but radical step—together—on Give OUT Day (giveoutday.org), which takes place on April 19. That’s when tens of thousands of LGBTQ people, from every part of our community, will give to power our movement and our communities.
Give OUT Day happens only once a year: it’s the only 24-hour day of giving benefitting LGBTQ nonprofits and programs. More than 600 organizations from every state in the Union and Washington, D.C., are taking part. Collectively, these nonprofits represent the vast diversity of work being done to safeguard our rights, meet our community’s needs, and celebrate the lives of LGBTQ people and culture.
Across the country and in the Bay Area, Give OUT Day organizations drive impact and empower members of our community to create positive change. Locally, dozens of organizations are participating that serve the needs and celebrate the life of our community. You can help the Q Foundation raise money to combat LGBTQ homelessness, or El/La Para TransLatinas provide health services in the Mission, or Old Lesbians Organizing for Change to build lesbian community. You can make it possible for New Conservatory Theatre to bring plays about homophobia and bullying to deep-red areas of the Central Valley, or the Pacific Center to meet mental health needs, or LGBTQ Connection in Napa to create a welcoming space for teens.
Here’s what’s great about Give OUT Day: it’s not just that a breathtaking range of LGBTQ groups participate, but also that every LGBTQ person (or ally) can be part of it. Every gift matters. That means $10 gifts as well as $1,000 gifts. Put together, they add up to a one-day total of nearly a million dollars of support for LGBTQ causes.
And our community needs every one of those gifts, bigger ones, smaller ones, and all in-between. Because the task we face now isn’t just about resistance, it’s about re-building as well.
In these troubled times, more than ever, we’re called to resource the hope and passion that are so alive in our community. The tide of resistance is having impact. It’s building stronger solidarity across LGBTQ groups active in the fight for social justice, as well as those taking care of our community in towns, cities, and states across the country. We know that there is power in numbers and that by working together, we are stronger. We know that no one group can achieve the equity they seek if other people fall behind. We know that what matters for one of us must matter for all of us.
You can be part of the tide by supporting an LGBTQ nonprofit on Give OUT Day on April 19. Give early. Give today. Give often. Give big. Give small. Just Give OUT.
Roger Doughty is the President of Horizons Foundation (https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/).
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