Orlando’s LGBT+ Center kicks off new fundraising campaign to offset federal funding cuts

In an effort to offset funding cuts sweeping the federal government under the Trump administration, the LGBT+ Center in Orlando — a health and social service nonprofit — has relaunched a fundraising campaign to help keep their doors open.

The Center, which first opened back in 1978, serves as an important resource hub for LGBTQ+ individuals in the Orlando area. They offer mental health counseling, support groups, care coordination, and food assistance through a food pantry — all for free. The nonprofit also offers free HIV testing, a service available for anyone, regardless of whether they identify as LGBTQ+ or not.

“It was really important for us to launch a campaign to sustain our programs,” Nikole Parker, chief operating officer of The Center, told Orlando Weekly in a phone call Tuesday. With three locations across Central Florida — and a flagship location on Mills Ave. near downtown Orlando — the Center offers a variety of programs funded in large part by grants, private contributions, and funds received through the state and federal government.

According to Parker, however, they’ve seen a notable shift in government spending under President Trump, who was re-elected to the White House last fall and returned to the Oval Office in January. Parker was unable to specify which federal agencies or programs have cut funds that they’ve relied on for their programming, but maintained that since Trump took office, they’ve “started to get emails about things not being renewed,” “have seen some of our grants being cut,” and “just kind of started to see things dwindle away.”

“Everyone’s kind of going through a tough time right now. Everything’s super expensive, and everyone’s just trying to navigate on how to best maneuver this,” she shared. “At the end of the day, our community is so used to fighting, and we have been for so long, and now we’re just seeing very important programs risking not being there just because we’re seeing politics play out. So that’s something that we want to avoid, and we want to continue to provide free services for our community.”

The nonprofit first raised the alarm bell last month — but they’re not the only ones.

According to NBC News, more than 270 health-related grants from the National Institutes of Health, totaling $125 million of unspent federal funds, have been eliminated. This includes grants for research into health concerns among LGBTQ+ youth and adults, grants to help health professionals effectively address issues such as youth suicide, substance use disorders, HIV/AIDS, and grants to help provide culturally competent care.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the NIH, is facing a reduction of 10,000 staff under the Trump administration’s federal downsizing initiative, streamlined by Trump’s ad hoc Department of Government Efficiency project.

“Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants,” claimed Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick for U.S. HHS Secretary, in a statement. “This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves. That’s the entire American public, because our goal is to Make America Healthy Again.”

But the Center here in Orlando doesn’t see it as a “win-win.” The nonprofit has launched a “Journey Forward” fundraising campaign with a goal of raising $250,000 to “fund our future,” according to a news release. The campaign includes a Donor Wall that will display the names of individuals or organizations who contribute to their continued sustainability.

According to a 2024 tax filing, the most recent one publicly available through ProPublica, the Center reported $1.72 million in revenue in 2023 — roughly half of which came from government grants and contributions — and $1.71 million in total expenses, meaning they’re making use of the money that comes in.

Slightly more than half of their reported expenses went toward staff compensation (they have 23 staffers total), while the rest was attributed to “other expenses,” including facility expenses, advocacy programs, counseling and health services, and contributions to QLatinx, an organization serving Orlando’s Latinx community that was first established following the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse nightclub.

According to the Center, their nonprofit provided over 2,000 free mental health counseling appointments and 6,500 free HIV tests, and provided free group support to over 10,000 individuals, including youth and family programming and LGBTQ+ seniors in 2024 alone.

Parker is concerned that, if they aren’t able to keep up their programming, there will be many who will be unable to access the services they provide otherwise. “I think, if people had to pay to get, let’s say, their HIV testing, it would reduce the amount that people are getting tested,” she said.

“So the fact that folks can kind of come into a safe space and not be judged, whether you are LGBTQ or not, and they are able to come in and just get tested for free, I think that really incentivizes them to be like, ‘OK, well, you know, if I’m unsure about something, I can come here and get tested and get those results.”

It’s not just the Trump administration that’s created challenges for Orlando’s LGBTQ community. LGBTQ+ communities, particularly transgender individuals, have faced a barrage of politically-motivated attacks on the state level in recent years.

In Florida, state leaders have restricted access to treatment for gender dysphoria, also known as gender-affirming medical care. They have also made it easier for right-wing activists with anti-LGBTQ+ views to force schools to pull books from their libraries that contain LGBTQ-themed content, and have restricted educators’ ability to discuss topics of gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom.

A teacher in Brevard County was recently let go from her job after she referred to a student by their preferred name, different from their legal name, without their parents’ consent — a violation of a 2023 Florida law. The Trump administration, following in the footsteps of Florida, has signaled support for similar anti-LGBTQ+ policies, aiming to eradicate “radical indoctrination” in schools.

In a recent executive order, the White House claimed that in “some” instances, “young men and women are made to question whether they were born in the wrong body and whether to view their parents and their reality as enemies to be blamed.”

Advocates for queer and transgender youth in Florida, including in Brevard County, have clapped back in the face of both federal and state attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, staging rallies and showing up to Tallahassee to protest bills they oppose that are moving through the state Legislature. They’re now dealing with a more challenging political terrain, under state and federal administrations that see diversity and inclusion as “discrimination” and a threat.

“Despite all the rhetoric out there, I think it’s really important that people understand that LGBTQ people are human beings as well, and we just want to live happily and authentically as anyone else,” said Parker. “Every human being should be able to access the resources that they need to live a full and healthy life.”

You can learn more about the LGBT+ Center and their Journey Forward fundraising campaign at https://thecenterorlando.org/.

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This article appears in Apr 23-29, 2025.