San Mateo County Pride Center

🌈 Help us RAINBOW-fy San Mateo County to allow us to say, “We’re here, we’re LGBTQ+, and we are LOVED!” 🌈

Why donate to the San Mateo County Pride Center this GiveOutDay? 🏳️‍🌈

Did you know that in the LGBTQ+ community, people are 3x more likely to experience general anxiety and/or depression? From our LGBTQ+ COVID Impact Report, we found that 85% of respondents reported negative impacts on their mental and emotional health. The study also found that LGBTQ+ individuals in San Mateo County are also 6.7x more likely to become unemployed.  

As the first and only county-wide LGBTQ+ Community Center, we were created to support our community around mental health and substance use issues. Your contributions, of any amount, can directly support our education and training program, clinical therapy program, peer support groups, community events, and more. Our programs and services are effective and created with the intention to serve thousands of community members every year. Our evaluations demonstrate they increase mental health and decrease social isolation and stigma. Each year we continue to expand our services and our reach. To see what we’ve been able to accomplish last fiscal year alone, here is a summary of the impact we’ve made.  

Below are Real Examples of the Real Difference You Can Make:

Just $10 makes a tremendous difference! 💖 

This year the GiveOUT campaign is giving smaller LGBTQ+ Community Centers like ours a better chance to raise more essential funding. The more unique donations of only $10 or more we receive the better our chances are of winning an additional award of up to $10,000! $10 for $10k! Can you help us make this dream a reality? 

$15 | Help stock our library with LGBTQ+ books!  📚

By donating $15 or more, you can help add to our library of books by LGBTQ+ authors and covering topics about our rich histories. Reading is knowledge, keeps us informed, can help us dream, and can help us escape. Where other states are banning our books, we want to buy them and support LGBTQ+ authors!  

$25 | Gift a gender-affirming garment to a community member in need. 👚    

With a contribution of $25, you will help us purchase a gender-affirming garment, such as a chest binder or tucking device, for a community member who needs one. Being able to be seen as you are critical for our self-image and mental health. The cost of these items can be prohibitive. With some of the current legislation targeting our beloved Trans and Gender Expansive community, supporting their mental and physical health is a vital issue and is one of our central priorities.  

Clinical Support

$50 | Increase accessibility to gender identity documentation. 📝

Our case management program proudly offers a FREE Legal and Name Gender Change workshop to help Trans and Gender Diverse folks align their documents with their current identity. A donation of $50 can help clients pay for additional certified copies of their name and gender change. Having these documents aligned with your identity creates access to housing, jobs, and financial security. The positive ripple effects are life-changing. 

$100 | Help sponsor a community member’s clinical session or supplement the cost of their therapy. 💚

LGBTQ+ folks are already predisposed to mental health issues and the world continues to challenge us. We strive to keep our clinical services accessible to our community, especially those most disproportionally impacted by inequitable systems. We offer sliding scale and pro bono, when possible, but help is needed to continue this level of accommodation.  

LGBTQ+ Affirming Trainings 

$150 | Fund education throughout our county. 👩‍🏫 

With a contribution of $150, you are supplementing one organization’s training in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) topics or one of our many other popular trainings such as our Trans 101, or Pronouns 101. Help us continue to educate San Mateo County and increase the number of safer and affirming places for the LGBTQ+ community! 

Increasing Visibility

$500 | Amplify LGBTQ+ visibility and access to resources and supportive services. 📣

A donation of $500 or more will significantly help the Pride Center with printing costs to produce more of the brochures, pamphlets, and guides we’ve created while virtual. Resources like our Roadmap Brochures, which detail affirming service providers within the county who can also support our community, are costly to print. You can help us restock our visibility products, like our buttons such as “Proud to Be Me” and “Ally to Advocate.” 

Your donation reinforces our shared belief that: 

✨ Representation and visibility matter.  

✨ Access to resources and information matters. 

✨ We, as a beautiful and diverse LGBTQ+ community, matter. 

Whether your contribution is large or small this GiveOUT, we extend our gratitude for contributing to our community. 

With thanks and with pride,

Francisco "Frankie" Sapp (he/him/his), Program Director, and the entire San Mateo County Pride Center team