Hello John

I remember the day I first learned about the It Gets Better grant opportunity — it was like seeing a rainbow after a storm. I had been brainstorming ways our school could possibly hold onto our county-wide Rainbow Conference for a third year — with no funding in the bank. 

I had previously searched for LGBTQ+ grant funding, and the prospects were bleak. Finding an organization dedicated to funding LGBTQ+ inclusive projects was a dream come true. It was the hope I needed to encourage and inspire my students to try our hand at applying for grant funding. 

I had recently worked with Matthew, a high school junior, on accessing research articles about support for LGBTQ+ youth in schools. Since I knew they had an interest, I reached back out to them and together we worked on the grant to see if we could fund the conference. We were SO excited when we were chosen! 

All throughout Matthew's senior year, we plotted, planned, and spent our funds to put on a hybrid conference for our community. The financial support from this grant freed up our time to find sponsors and donors and allowed us to concentrate on making our conference the best it could possibly be — and that included compensating our LGBTQIA+ presenters for their time and expertise. We received tons of positive feedback from our event — most notably, that it provided a safe, affirming, educational experience for everyone who attended. 

(Howard County Public School System's Rainbow Conference)

The 50 States. 50 Grants. 5000 Voices program is an excellent opportunity for students and educators to work collaboratively to achieve a common goal. This grant funding allowed me to demonstrate my words of encouragement to my students through actions. 

Applications for the next series of It Gets Better grants are currently open for you and your students to apply! Talk with your students. What does your school need? What ideas do your students have? How can you make things better for LGBTQ+ students?

You have until April 1, so apply TODAY. Good luck!

Danielle DuPuis (she/her)
LGBTQIA+ Initiatives Specialist 
Howard County Public School System