The Community Fund
Expand Impact
Our Impact is Your Impact
25+ local groups, organizations, and businesses received grants of $500 - $5,000 in 2024
The Project Rainbow Community Fund is a reflection of the organization’s mission to empower and uplift LGBTQ+ individuals throughout Utah. It serves as a vital source of support, providing financial resources to individuals, community groups, and businesses that align with the organization's goals of fostering visibility, promoting inclusivity, and increasing access to resources for the LGBTQ+ community.
The roots of the Community Fund are intertwined with Project Rainbow's flagship initiative: the flag campaigns. These campaigns—focused on Trans Day of Visibility, Pride Month, Southern Utah Pride, and Trans Awareness Week—generate earned revenue from community members who sign up to receive and display pride flags in their neighborhoods. These campaigns not only promote visibility but also generate the revenue that fuels the Community Fund.
Since its 2018 inception, the Community Fund has reinvested over $300,000 into local LGBTQ+ initiatives
Small Awards
4 Grantees: $500 - $1,499
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Queer Poetry Night
Grant Use: Visual/Performing Arts
Queer Poetry Night at Under the Umbrella is a free, all-ages open mic event celebrating queer poets and fostering community through shared experiences.
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Queer Youth Art Night
Grant Use: Visual/Performing Arts
Queer Youth Art Nights offer free, creative spaces in Ogden and SLC for queer youth and their families to connect and express themselves.
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Rainbow Club
Grant Use: Programs
Rainbow Club provides a safe, supportive space for LGBTQ+ kids and allies at Bonneville Elementary, fostering learning and celebrating diversity.
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Transgender Day of Visibility
The Glitter Foundation
Grant Use: Visual/Performing Arts
Transgender Day of Visibility in Utah fosters recognition and support for the transgender community through public engagement and storytelling.
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A Night for All Families
Provo City School District LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee
Grant Use: Programs
A Night for All Families fosters understanding and celebrates LGBTQ+ students and families through free, community-building activities in Provo.
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Always Queer Summer Art Markets
Grant Use: Visual/Performing Arts
Always Queer Art Markets showcase local queer artists and performers, offering free, accessible community events and supporting BIPOC talent.
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Gender Inclusive Underwear Making Workshop Series
Aqua Underwear
Grant Use: Programs
Aqua Underwear offers gender-inclusive sewing workshops, empowering participants to create their own boxer briefs, packing, or tucking underwear
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Queer and Sober
Grant Use: Programs
Queer and Sober SLC provides safe, sober spaces for LGBTQIA+ individuals, fostering connection, empowerment, and recovery through inclusive events.
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We Luv Freely
Grant Use: Visual/Performing Arts
WeLuvFreely empowers Black Queer artists to explore identity and healing through group art exhibits, fostering community
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SISTER
Grant Use: Visual/Performing Arts
SISTER increases visibility for women, femmes, queer, and GNC artists, curating brave spaces and collaborative mural events in Utah.
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Pandemic Political Education Book Club
Grant Use: Programs
The Pandemic Political Education Book Club explores HIV/AIDS, disability justice, and health activism, centering queer experiences in monthly discussions.
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Learn at UTU
Under the Umbrella Bookstore
Grant Use: Programs
Learn at UTU offers accessible workshops for the queer community, empowering participants through education, crafts, and skill-building.
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Cheer Salt Lake
Grant Use: Visual/Performing Arts
Cheer Salt Lake raises funds for LGBTQIA+ causes through charitable cheerleading, supporting local nonprofits and transgender book donations.
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The LQ Zine
Grant Use: Visual/Performing Arts
The LQ Zine uplifts Ogden’s queer community by showcasing local talent and paying contributors for their creative work.
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Queer Spectra Arts Festival
Grant Use: Visual/Performing Arts
Queer Spectra Arts Festival showcases LGBTQIA2S+ art, fostering community and dialogue around queer identity through interdisciplinary works and performances.
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Two Brothas Counseling:TransPARENT Doula Training
Grant Use: Inclusive Program Support
Two Brothas Counseling provides specialized training to support transmasculine individuals seeking pregnancy, improving access to gender-affirming care.
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Rock Camp SLC 2024 Summer Camp
Grant Use: Visual/Performing Arts
Rock Camp SLC empowers LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive individuals through music education, fostering confidence, creativity, and inclusivity.
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Fat Fest
Grant Use: Visual/Performing Arts
Fat Fest celebrates fatness and queerness with local vendors, inclusive workshops, and community-focused events that empower all bodies.
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Allies and Community Drag Show
Grant Use: Visual/Performing Arts
The Allies and Community Drag Show fosters LGBTQ+ visibility and resistance in St. George, offering workshops, vendors, and HIV testing.
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Mosaics Community Bookstore
Grant Use: Inclusive Program Support
Mosaics hosts free events for queer youth and young adults, providing a safe space and combating political attacks through education and community.
Website
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Just Bring It Ball
Grant Use: Event
The Just Bring It Ball empowers queer youth in St. George through a QBIPOC-centered event focused on community, education, and HIV awareness.
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Sankofa This Journey, Go Back and Get It
Grant Use: Visual/Performing Arts
Sankofa This Journey is a theatrical production that explores Black artists' stories, inviting community healing through interactive performance
Event Page
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Tracing
Grant Use: Visual/Performing Arts
Description Tracing is a queer-led film project exploring asexuality in relationships, fostering dialogue and empowering young queer filmmakers in Salt Lake City.
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Saturday Sept 28 - 10 am - 6 pm
Location:
Willow Park , 450 W 700 South
We are thrilled to be a Gold Sponsor for Logan Pride, taking place on September 28, at Willow Park in Logan, Utah! Logan Pride Festival is a joyous celebration of love, diversity, and the LGBTQ+ community in northern Utah. The event will feature live performances, local vendors, delicious food, and activities for all ages, offering a welcoming space for everyone to connect and celebrate together.
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Saturday Sept 28: 11 am - 5 pm
Location: St. George
Crosby Confluence Park,
2099 S. Convention Center Drive
We are proud to sponsor Pride of Southern Utah, taking place September 28, in St. George! Pride of Southern Utah is a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community in one of the state’s most beautiful regions, offering two days of fun, connection, and empowerment. This year’s events will include the vibrant Festival at Town Square Park, a lively parade, and a powerful rally, all aimed at fostering inclusivity, visibility, and solidarity.
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Fashion Fluid
Fashion Fluid is a pop-up boutique that provides stylish, free, gender-affirming clothing to LGBTQ+ and other members of the community. Hosted by Project Rainbow Utah, with the generous support of Vestar Gateway and Salt Lake City Arts, Culture and Events. Event is free and open to the public.
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Burning Sissy Valley
Location: Salt Lake City
We are proud to sponsor Burning Sissy Valley (BSV) for the second year in a row! BSV is a 1-day Pride event specifically for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color who are LGBTQ+.
Community Fund Grant (CFG) Details
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Any individual, group, or organization can apply for grants. Applications typically open in December for the following year. The Project Rainbow Utah board of directors generally chooses and announces the recipients in March of each year. Any individual, group, or organization can apply for grants.
The application for the 2025 cycle is now open. Please review the application instructions here.
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The Project Rainbow Community Fund started as an unexpected but powerful byproduct of the organization’s original mission. In the beginning, Project Rainbow Utah (PRU) focused solely on visibility. The idea was simple: provide community members with rainbow flags to stake in their yards during events like Utah Pride. This gesture of solidarity aimed to create safe, supportive spaces for the LGBTQ+ community in Utah, showing that love and inclusion existed in every neighborhood.
As the flag campaigns grew, so did their impact. More people wanted to participate, and the funds raised through flag sales began to exceed the operational needs of PRU. At first, these extra funds were donated directly to the Utah Pride Center, a vital hub for LGBTQ+ support and advocacy in the state. But as time went on, it became clear that many smaller organizations and groups also needed financial support. These grassroots organizations were doing essential work in their communities, from providing mental health services to offering safe spaces for queer youth, and PRU saw an opportunity to help them thrive.
This realization led to the birth of the Project Rainbow Community Fund. What started as an organic redistribution of surplus funds became a formalized program, where money raised through the flag campaigns could be used to support a wide variety of LGBTQ+ organizations across Utah. It wasn’t just about visibility anymore; it was about sustainability and helping these organizations grow. PRU formalized the Community Fund Grant, creating a clear structure for applying, reviewing, and distributing grants to ensure that funds were used where they could make the most impact.
Now, the Community Fund is one of PRU’s central initiatives, continuing to provide financial support to organizations that share its mission of empowerment, visibility, and inclusion. The fund has grown to become a beacon of hope and resources, enriching the social fabric of Utah’s LGBTQ+ community by supporting those on the front lines of change. It has grown to include support of organization’s like pride festivals and sponsoring key events, while continuing to support dozens of organizations and projects through the Community Fund Grant specifically.
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The Application Instructions which lays out the high level objectives and specific details of this grant
This short recorded webinar provides an overview of the grant program and application process
A live/synchronous in-person & virtual Q&A session will be held Wednesday, December 11th, 2024 from 11:30-1PM at our office in Murray and online - register here if you would like to attend.
Please submit questions via this form (whether or not you plan to attend the session above). Questions may be asked until December 24th, 2024; questions will be answered in the document and/or via email. The FAQ at the bottom of the application instructions document will be updated as questions are reviewed.
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The 2025 Fund Application is open for programs occurring between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025.
Application Opens: November 25, 2024
Application Closes: December 31, 2024 at 11:59PM MT
Award and Distribution Notifications: No later than February 15, 2025
What People Are Saying
“Our event was a GIANT success!! Thank you, thank you, thank you. It was "A Night for All Families" hosted by the LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee for the Provo City School District. We had 275 attendees and many more that wished they could attend, but had conflicts. It was hours of fun, with so many families, and so many district employees who were pleasantly surprised at the turnout.”
— LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee,
Provo City School District
“Climbing has historically been an exclusive sport due to cultural barriers, lack of access, and high cost levels for marginalized climbers. For example, climbing shoes and harnesses can range from $75 to $100 dollars (sometimes upwards of $200 for more expensive shoes and harnesses), and a climbing membership can range from $60 to $100 monthly, depending upon the facilities. The PRU grant allowed SLAQC to purchase multiple day passes for queer+bipoc members of our climbing community who are unable to afford gym memberships, day passes (generally in the realm of $20 for one day pass), and/or climbing gear.”
— Salt Lake Area Queer Climbers