LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund Grants - Community Foundation for Southern Arizona

Empowering An Inclusive LGBTQ+ Community

The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer (LGBTQ+) Alliance Fund works to foster charitable giving in support of innovative programs and initiatives that benefit the LGBTQ+ community in Southern Arizona.

The next applications will open in the spring of 2026!

Application Information

Applicant Criteria

Eligibility Requirements

The LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund will consider applications for programs that fall into at least one or more of the following areas of interest and relationships to the LGBTQ+ Community. Special consideration will be given to programs that: incorporate collaboration between two or more organizations, clearly articulate measurable outcomes, can provide a clear description of plans to sustain the project beyond the grant year.

Awards made by the foundation’s various grant panels support organizations that do not discriminate in their employment practices, volunteer opportunities or delivery of programs and services based on Race, Religion, Gender, or Gender Identity (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender individual), Gender Expression, Sexual orientation, Age, Ancestry, Citizenship, Ethnicity, Familial Status, Socioeconomic Status (economic circumstances), Color, Creed, Sex (including pregnancy), Phases of Parenthood, National Origin, Marital Status, Veteran Status (past, current or prospective service in the armed forces), Genetic Information, Physical Characteristics or Appearance, Mental or Physical Disability, Any other status prohibited by applicable law.
The applicant must be a 501(c)(3) in good standing, conducting charitable work in Southern Arizona. Grassroots groups that have identified a 501(c)(3) that will act as the fiscal agent may be eligible to apply.
The applicant must have local leadership in the form of a board of directors or advisory committee, local financial support, and local program management and accountability. In the case of nationally sponsored organizations, no portion of the grant can be used to support the national, state, or regional entity.
The proposed program must directly benefit LGBTQ+ people living in Southern Arizona.
Grants are not made to individuals, for-profit organizations, government entities, capital fund drives, agency endowments, individual schools, medical research, or for sectarian purposes.
The maximum grant request is $10,000. Requests made for more than this amount will not be considered.
Organizations may request up to $10,000 in funding for the first year of the award cycle. The Grants Committee makes recommendations regarding second-year funding based on satisfactory progress toward grant goals, receipt of required reports, and availability of funds.
Although the LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund does not guarantee repeat funding to organizations, the LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund Advisory Board values continued partnership with trusted LGBTQ+ service organizations as a key strategy to sustaining the LGBTQ+ community in Southern Arizona and does not negatively evaluate grant applications solely based on having received prior grant awards from the LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund.
The LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund does not establish a preference or evaluate grant requests but utilizes a community review panel.

The LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund recognizes there are a multitude of ways to serve the LGBTQ+ Community. To further assist organizations, we are expanding our understanding of the type of organizations we serve. This year, we are asking that organizations indicate their relationship to the LGBTQ+ Community. These distinctions are voluntary and do not affect applications positively or negatively.

LGBTQ+ Serving – Organizations’ primary mission is to serve the LGBTQ+ community. Organizations fit this description when they expressly offer the vast majority of their services specifically to individuals in the LGBTQ+ community and are primarily LGBTQ+-led.
LGBTQ+ Allied – Organizations have a strong history of supporting the LGBTQ+ Community through programming, leadership, and the addressing of issues related to the LGBTQ+ Community. The organization may not have a mission focus on LGBTQ+ issues. However, there is a strong focus on organizational culture that is dedicated to support, representation, understanding, and service to the LGBTQ+ Community.
Aspiring Ally – Organizations have a desire to support or enhance their work with the LGBTQ+ community and are steadily working to serve or ally with the LGBTQ+ Community. These organizations may be in their discovery or early implementation phases of work with the LGBTQ+ Community and looking for support to examine their ability to serve the community authentically, and competently.
Other – We recognize that there are many alignments with the community that we may not have aptly portrayed. If your organization falls outside of the descriptions we have outlined above, please inform us.

Grantmaking Priority

The LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund is committed to advancing social justice and equity for all persons. The LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund acknowledges the complex intersections of race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, socio-economic status, national origin, language, disability, and other social identities as experienced by LGBTQ+ persons and commits to grantmaking with an equity lens in pursuit of liberation for all Southern Arizonans. To advance this aim, the LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund proactively seeks to provide funding to organizations led by and/or centering the voices, needs, and values of BIPOC, disabled, non-citizen, transgender, and gender non-conforming Southern Arizonans. The LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund prioritizes funding for projects that embed anti-racist values and practices in inclusive community and program environments.

Only one application per agency will be accepted. However, if you are a fiscal agent for an organization, these applications will be considered separately. The following are current Alliance Fund priority areas.

LGBTQ+ Community Building, Advocacy, and Collaborations – Projects that bring the LGBTQ+ community together and enhance it as a whole. Programs that work in collaboration with each other to benefit the LGBTQ+ community in Southern Arizona. The Alliance Fund is interested in work that creates equity and solidarity, increases the well-being of LGBTQ+ communities, and advances gender, racial, and economic justice.
Transgender Issues– We seek to support projects that provide information and assistance to help transgender individuals gain access to informed medical professionals and improve their agency, quality of life, and sense of belonging. This may include projects that provide personal development, economic empowerment, education, and training programs.
Elder Issues – We support projects and organizations that aid LGBTQ+ elders in finding satisfactory basic support (housing, nutrition, health), in establishing good social networks, and planning for the future (estate and end-of-life issues.)
Youth Issues – Our support of projects and organizations that aid LGBTQ+ youth include programs that focus on youth who are particularly disenfranchised, e.g., youth of color, rural youth, low-income youth, gender non-conforming or questioning youth, young women, and other youth in need of assistance in the areas of homelessness, education, human service, and safety.
General Operating Support– We recognize that general operating support provides vital support to organizations whose mission/work is to primarily support the LGBTQ+ Community in Southern Arizona may apply for general operating support.

Documents Required

501(c)(3) Determination Letter
Project Budget – Download Template
Agency Board Roster – Download Template
Agency Staff roster – Download Template
Organization Diversity statement or policy– one-page maximum or text with a link to the policy on organization’s website

Important Dates

The next applications will open in the spring of 2026!

To Apply

All applications must be submitted through an online process with Common Grant Application. We strongly encourage you to review the tutorial video, which contains important information on how to register/log in and submit an application. To view the video: click here.

First-time users of the Common Grant Application, click here to register for an account.
If you have already applied for a grant using the Common Grant Application, you should have an account. Returning users click here.

Previous Alliance Fund Grant Recipients

Year-to-Date Impact

Since 1999, the LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund has awarded $1,312,957 to 80 organizations in support of Southern Arizona’s LGBTQ+ programs and initiatives.

2024: Eight grants were awarded for a total of $80,000.
2023-2024: Twelve grants were awarded for a total of $103,500.
2023: Twelve grants were awarded for a total of $103,500.
2022: Fourteen grants were awarded for a total of $82,500.
2020: Thirteen grants were awarded for a total of $72,060.
2019: Sixteen grants were awarded for a total of $63,800.
2018: Sixteen grants were awarded for a total of $63,000.
2017: Thirteen grants were awarded for a total of $52,835
2016: Fifteen grants will be awarded for a total of $53,200.
2015: Fifteen grants will be awarded for a total of $52,500.
2014: Fifteen grants will be awarded for a total of $56,000.
2013: Sixteen grants, including eight Queer Youth Initiative Grants, for a total of $48,500.**
2012: Fifteen grants including six Queer Youth Initiative Grants for a total of $42,000.**
2011: Fifteen grants including six Queer Youth Initiative Grants for a total of $43,300.
2010: Seven grants were awarded for a total of $28,600.
2009: Eleven grants were awarded for a total of $30,000.
2008: Fifteen grants were awarded for a total of $41,308.
2007: Eight grants were awarded for a total of $25,725.
2006: Seven grants were awarded for a total of $24,265.
2005: Eight grants were awarded for a total of $24,040.
2004: No grants were awarded.
2003: Ten grants were awarded for a total of $50,000.*
2002: Twelve grants were awarded for a total of $81,500.*
2001: Twelve grants were awarded for a total of $99,525.

*Included $50,000 in matching funds from the National Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership
**Co-funded by matching dollars from the Funders for LGBTQ Issues

2024-2025

2022-2023

2020-2021

191 Toole
BICAS
El Rio Health Center Foundation
- Support provided by Bobbie & Don Vandegriff
Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project
- Support provided by Doug Noffsinger & Roger Funk
Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson
- Support provided by Janey Katz & Suzi Calhoun
Old Pueblo Community Services
Our Family Services
- Support provided by Vicente Talanquer & Kent Burbank
Pima Council on Aging
Remedy House Tucson
Reveille Men’s Chorus
- Support provided by Mick Devore & Marge Sloan
Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation
- Support provided by Noel Matkin & Jim Sincox
Southern Arizona Gender Alliance
- Support provided by Sylvia Mulka
Southern Arizona Senior Pride
University of Arizona Foundation for the benefit of the UA Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic

2019-2020

Bicycle Inter-Community Art & Salvage (BICAS): Women, Trans and Femme Workshop
Camp Born This Way: Camp Born This Way (SAAF Fiscal Agent)
Cozamayotl (“Rainbow”) Wellness Program: Chicanos Por La Causa
Community Education on the Needs of Latinx LGBTQ Youth to Create Support Spaces for Families: Coalición de Derechos Humanos (Arizona Border Rights Foundation Fiscal Agent)
Therapeutic Foster Care Recruitment for LGBTQ+: Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health AZ
El Rio SIA PrEP Telehealth HIV Outreach Pilot Project: El Rio Health Center Foundation
Stay Gold: An Intergenerational LGBTQIA+ Community Art Program: Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson
Emergency Housing for LGBTQ+ Youth: Our Family Services
2019 Scholarship Program: PFLAG through a Special Allocation by LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund
Cultural Competency Training Using Project Visibility: Pima Council on Aging
THEM – LGBTQ Youth Chorus: Reveille Men’s Chorus
Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA): Southern Arizona Gender Alliance
Southern Arizona Senior Pride: Southern Arizona Senior Pride (SAAF Fiscal Agent)
Transwomen Communicating with Confidence (TRACC): University of Arizona Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic
Mapping Q: An Arts-Based Suicide-Prevention Program for LGBTQ+ Youth: University of Arizona Museum of Art