About

The Pride Network's Social Impact Grant program is designed to help create solutions and sustainably empower vulnerable communities through strategically investing resources and inspiring confidence in passionate LGBTQ+ youth leaders.

LGBTQ+ students selected for the Transformational Leadership Initiative will receive up to $2,000 of impact investment, access to our EMERGE+ leadership training, and a professional mentor to facilitate the success of their meaningful and sustainable local-impact project over the course of one year.

The launch of TPN’s Social Impact Grants signals a paradigm shift in social justice work: It is our vision that young, LGBTQ+ leaders are empowered to address complex social challenges without having to rely on multi-million dollar organizations to create change at the grassroots. It is our vision to build a framework of holistic investment in emerging LGBTQ+ leadership, as a way to raise up brilliant minds and hearts as a sustainable solution to persistent societal dilemmas such as racism, transphobia, and inequity.

Program Objectives

Over the course of their experiences as a grant recipient, everyone can expect to increase their understanding of how to:

  • Develop a practical, discipline-oriented approach to problem solving

  • Develop a robust project mission and budget

  • Develop a strategic plan of action

  • Develop quantitative and qualitative metrics to measure the project’s impact

  • Develop a sustainability strategy to ensure that impact continues into the future

  • Develop new competencies that will serve their professional growth

Each project is to be completed within a one-year time frame to ensure its success. TLI participants will be assigned a mentor with whom they can meet one-on-one during the planning and implementation process.  

Funding Guidelines:

1. To access funds, recipients must submit invoices and receipts for reimbursement

2. Requests for reimbursement will only be accepted within a calendar year of award

3. Items are only eligible for reimbursement if they are included on the budget in your application

4. Grant funds cannot be redeemed for direct compensation/wages

5a. The first 50% of grant funding ($1000) will become available after three completed sessions of EMERGE+

5b. The remaining 50% ($1,000) of grant funding will become available after eight completed sessions of EMERGE+

6. All funding is conditional to adherence to the Transformational Leadership Initiative Program Participant Agreement

 

Post-Program:

The Pride Network will continue to offer other tools, support, and opportunities for alumni to continue to learn, grow, and network after they have completed the program.

Leadership in Action

Thanks to The Pride Network's support, RJ Quirk (TLI 2023) was able to fund and organize a transgender-focused community building event in Denver that featured an art exhibit, a fundraiser for gender affirming care, and over 100 attendees.

Their event was so successful, RJ has been invited to present it to several social service organizations and hospitals in Northern Colorado. Attendees of the original art exhibition expressed learning about the nuances of trans lives, which they never would have considered before. Many expressed that the exhibition helped make them more confident LGBTQ+ allies in the workplace.

In addition to their event having a positive impact on community workers and service providers, the trans and GNC participants expressed that the program helped them to explore emotionally difficult topics in a safe and healthy environment. Several of the participants said that the project helped them to learn new coping skills through art, which they will carry with them through life.

These are all skills that RJ honed in our EMERGE+ leadership training, which they are now sharing with their broader community! RJ is an excellent example of the ripple effect that we achieve by investing our resources in emerging leaders.