In Colorado, the Gill Foundation’s funding strengthens the ability of LGBT organizations to meet the varied needs of community centers, youth organizations, and anti-violence programs. A common goal among our grantees is to ensure that Colorado is a place where all LGBT people feel safe, respected, and included.
Community Centers
Offering programs and services for all ages, LGBT community centers throughout Colorado offer a hub for health programming, educational services, social gatherings, community activism, and advocacy.
Community centers such as Boulder Pride, Lambda Community Center in Fort Collins, The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Center (The Center) in Denver, and Western Equality in Grand Junction provide services to tens of thousands of LGBT individuals and their families in every region of our state.
Rights 5 Education Initiative
The Center ran a public education campaign designed to inform Coloradans about five laws that protect and enrich the lives of LGBT individuals in the state. Take a look at the campaign and learn more about the five laws.
Youth Programs
Youth programs with an LGBT cultural competence help mitigate the risks associated with youth homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, criminal activity and reduce the school dropout rate.
Between Rainbow Alley in Denver, OASOS Youth Program in Boulder, Lambda Community Center in Fort Collins, and Inside/Out Youth Services in Colorado Springs, the lives of thousands of LGBT youth have been improved.
“If I hadn’t been at Inside/Out, I never would have gotten the self-confidence to stand up not just for me but for every trans person. I feel more optimistic about my future and the future of Colorado Springs.”
Eighteen year-old Blake Williams, a transgender youth in Colorado Springs. Fellow students and administrators in his high school discriminated against him for simply being himself. He took a stand to educate the community. Read Blake’s story here.
Anti-Violence Programs
Ending or reducing the violence against LGBT individuals and their families is a core focus of Gill’s work in Colorado.
The Colorado Anti-Violence Program (CAVP) in Denver and Colorado Springs is dedicated to this work. With services designed to both prevent violence and support victims of violence, CAVP is at the forefront of addressing hate crimes motivated by homophobia.
CAVP’s impact is best illustrated by their work on the Angie Zapata murder trial:
Following the brutal murder of a young transgender Latina in Greeley in 2008, CAVP was instrumental in helping legislators and the Weld County District Attorney designate Angie Zapata’s murder as a hate crime. CAVP educated the police and the media about transgender topics, educated the District Attorney on hate crimes law and its relevance to this case, and provided daily support to the victim’s family. In early 2009, CAVP organized a vigil to honor the victim and later provided support and testimony during the murder trial, which resulted in a guilty verdict for the perpetrator. In a historic landmark case, he was charged with first-degree murder and a hate crime motivated by bias. Read more about the Angie Zapata case.
