LGBT Community Endowment

Advancing Equity and Opportunity for the LGBTQ+ Community

Who We Are 

The LGBT Community Endowment is at the heart of the LGBT Fund of The Erie Community Foundation. Guided by a volunteer advisory board, the Fund is the only resource of its kind in the Erie region to support initiatives that advance the local LGBTQ+ community.

Through mission-aligned grantmaking, scholarships, and community conversations, we work toward a united, vibrant, and thriving LGBTQ+ community in the greater Erie region.

Our Work

Your Erie Gives gift supports:

• Grants to nonprofits serving LGBTQ+ individuals 
• Community programs that promote equity, inclusion, and safety 
• Efforts to address disparities in health, housing, education, and opportunity

Our 2025 grants were issued to the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul and Journey to a Trauma Informed Life. The Episcopal Cathedral's Radiant Faith program offers a monthly LGBTQ+ Support Ministry, creating safe, trauma-informed spiritual spaces for LGBTQ+ individuals and allies. Our grant to Journey to a Trauma Informed Life invests in their efforts to better understand community needs.

These grants are made possible through the LGBT Community Endowment. Your Erie Gives gift helps ensure this support continues.

Other past grantees include Compton's Table, the Greater Erie Alliance for Equality, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the Crime Victim Center. To learn more about these programs and how we make an impact, please visit our website by clicking here.

Erie Gives Impact

Last year, supporters helped us raise more than $25,000 on Erie Gives.

Together, we are building a stronger foundation for the LGBTQ+ community in Erie.

If you are interested in becoming a part of the LGBT Fund by joining one of our various committees or becoming a board member, please reach out to Olivia Burgess at OBurgess@ErieCommunityFoundation.org. 

Please Note: As a Field of Interest Fund of The Erie Community Foundation, the LGBT Fund operates under the Foundation’s charitable designation (EIN #25-6032032) and receives fiscal, administrative and investment oversight from The Erie Community Foundation.