Affinity serves nearly 1,000 African-American lesbian and bisexual women and youth annually. It does so through a combination of educational, social, and community collaborations. As we implement our strategic plan, Affinity is becoming a resource for the broader LGBTQ community as well as our straight allies through our social justice work, leadership development, and community building initiatives. As we grow into the mission and the strategic goals that have recently been established, donations from our supporters are more critical than ever. Here are some examples of why your tax deductible contributions are so important:
- $25 allows us to purchase bus cards so that our scholars and other youth program participants can get home after programs and attend trainings and meetings.
- $50 covers the expenses for one community building program (Forty Plus, Lesbian & Bisexual Moms Roundtable, Lez Chat, Singles Mingle) for one month.
- $250 pays one week's salary for our part-time Youth Programs Coordinator, allowing her to oversee the Youth Leadership Institute, plan, lead the weekly youth drop-in program, attend relevant meetings and programs, and eventually transition to full time.
- $400 pays the stipend of one Youth Leadership Institute scholar for one month to support her while she receives training in social justice work and non-profit management and participates in leadership development activities.
- $600 allows us to pay another month's rent so that we can continue to have a space for Affinity programming, host summits and workshops, and serve as a resource for the many other community based organizations on the south side that do not have a home of their own.
- Your contributions allow Affinity to maintain a full-time staff person and support the recruitment of part-time paid staff for new initiatives.
So many programs that serve LGBTQ communities of color across the country have been forced to severely scale back their programs or completely shut their doors. Because Affinity has been able to add staff during these difficult times, we have served more people and brought greater awareness to the needs of our constituents while helping our brother and sister organizations do more with less by allowing them to use our space and collaborating on programs and initiatives. We couldn't do that without the past and ongoing support of our donors. We thank you for your continued support and look forward to celebrating our 15th year with you in 2010!
To make a donation today, download a donation form and mail it to the address below. For a quick and convenient way to give, click here to donate online.
Affinity Community Services
5650 South Woodlawn Avenue, Garden Level
Chicago, IL 60637
Call us at 773-324-0377 for more information.
