For the Girls, Gays & Theys: 7 LGBTQ+ Brooklyn Nonprofits

This Pride Month, Brooklyn Org is spotlighting 7 nonprofits dedicated to local LGBTQ+ communities. These organizations not only provide crucial services but also advocate for and celebrate the diversity of the queer community, which is as vast as our borough itself.  Did you know that charitable giving to LGBTQ+ organizations more than doubled from 2012-2021, but still, less than $1 per every $500 donated to charity goes to support LGBTQ+ organizations?

This Pride and beyond, explore organizations in your own backyard who are led by and serve queer communities:

1. The Brooklyn Ghost Project

The Brooklyn Ghost Project focuses on G.H.O.S.T. — which stands for Guiding and Helping Others Survive Transition. As a Black, trans-led organization, they provide awareness, support, empowerment, and visibility to trans and non-binary people of color throughout their transitions.

2. Brooklyn Community Pride Center (BKO Partner)

Brooklyn Community Pride Center advances lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer liberation by celebrating, commemorating, and convening LGBTQ+ Brooklynites through socially conscious and culturally responsive events, programs, partnerships, and advocacy.

3. Queer Anga

Queer Anga is a multi-racial, multi-gender queer and trans wellness collective based in Brooklyn. They host a monthly event series featuring yoga, food, and a guided conversation about what it means to live in our queer, trans, contested, unique, and wonderful bodies.

4. The Ali Forney Center (BKO Partner)

Founded in memory of Ali Forney, a homeless gender-nonconforming youth, peer counselor and advocate who was tragically killed while living on the streets, the center provides holistic resources and support for LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness. Their programs include a 24-hour drop-in center, job readiness support, education, health services, an emergency housing program, and more.

5. G.L.I.T.S (Gays and Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society)

G.L.I.T.S is a Black trans-led advocacy and direct services organization dedicated to addressing systemic and economic oppressions faced by trans and sex worker communities. They provide immediate crisis support, advocate for healthcare access, and tackle housing instability, with a lens of empowerment, human rights, and racial justice.

6. GRIOT Circle (BKO Partner)

GRIOT Circle provides LGBTQ+ elders of color a welcoming space, culturally sensitive services, and member-centered programming including health, mental health, and life-affirming caregiving assistance. They are the only local organization exclusively dedicated to serving the needs of LGBTQ+ elders of color.

7. The Okra Project

The Okra Project is a mutual aid collective is focused on supporting Black trans people through initiatives around food security, housing security, safe transportation, and mental health support.

Honorable Mention: Queer Soup Night (QSN)

A Brooklyn-born party with soup and community at its core, Queer Soup Night was founded by chef and cookbook author, Liz Alpern. Although not a nonprofit itself, QSN has expanded to create a network of chapters nationwide that raise funds for community-based organizations and highlight local queer chefs through their events.