Friends –

Ever since the pandemic emerged and began to rapidly spread in the South, the Campaign for Southern Equality team has been working on overdrive. A core part of our work in the past two months has been quickly shifting the focus of our Southern Equality Fund so that we could rapidly move financial resources to LGBTQ Southerners impacted by COVID-19. 

Thus far we’ve disbursed $85,000 in hundreds of grants to individuals, families, grassroots organizers, and frontline direct service providers. And on Thursday, May 21, we’ll open the application process for COVID-19 Rapid Response Grants again – giving out an additional $125,000 in grants over the next month. 

We’re so grateful to community partners and foundations, including We Are Family, the Amy Mandel Fund, and Families and Workers Fund, a funders collaborative that includes the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundation. And we’re also so grateful for hundreds of donors like YOU who have dug deep and pitched in. So many CSE supporters have really stepped up and helped out their LGBTQ neighbors across the South by making a donation. 

If you’re in a position to help out, will you keep fueling the COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant Round? Your gift of $5, $25, or $50 or whatever you can give will go a long way.

We’ve given out more than 425 Emergency Assistance Grants – checks of $100 to help people who have been impacted by the pandemic. We’ve received thank you notes from people all across the South who have received these grants. Folks are using money for groceries, prescriptions, rent, and pet food. But they’re also sharing something else: Getting this check is letting them know that there’s a community that cares about them and is ready to support them. 

On Thursday we’ll start accepting applications for the next round of grants. With your help, we can make even more grants and assist more people. If you can, please consider making a donation by clicking here.

Thank you,
Jasmine Beach-Ferrara
Campaign for Southern Equality