There's No Place Like Homo
Stonewall Youth is leading the Campaign to purchase and sustain Olympia’s LGBTQ+ and social justice community center!
We celebrate the people who have labored for many decades to make our community more welcoming for all LGBTQ+ people. Stonewall Youth is carrying on this legacy by securing a downtown building to serve as a multipurpose LGBTQ+ community center. It will be dedicated to the ongoing wellbeing and fabulousness of our region’s diverse and multigenerational LGBTQ+ community.Stonewall Youth has already raised more than $100,000 to purchase the lovely building that currently serves as our HQ, conveniently located in downtown Olympia at 112 State Ave. (It is near the corner of Capitol Way and State Ave NE, about a block from the Intercity Transit Station.) We are currently using the first floor of this two-story historic building built in 1910. Stonewall Youth has a Lease to Own agreement with the owner of the building. We’re on track to sign a Purchase & Sale Agreement by the end of 2017 with a purchase cost of $415,000.The necessity of dedicated and reliable space for LGBTQ+ youth inspired Stonewall Youth’s drive to purchase our current HQ. We want to collaborate with our community to ensure that the community center fulfills needs expressed by other local LGBTQ+ and social justice nonprofits, such as the need for office space, a community kitchen, a performance and event venue, and meeting and gathering space. In addition, the community center will provide leadership and entrepreneurial opportunities for our community. The community center will be a vibrant and beneficial investment in downtown Olympia.A bit of background: In 2016, the building that Stonewall Youth shared with several nonprofits for seven years was sold for development. As we investigated our options and talked with a wide range of community members, it became clear that purchasing property is best and most sustainable course of action for the youth we serve, our organization, our community, and other local LGBTQ+ and social justice organizations that need space for offices, meetings, and events.There’s loads of more information about the history and progress of our Capital Campaign at our Trans & Queer Generations website.
Join our Quest
There are so many ways YOU can participate in the Campaign to secure and sustain Olympia’s LGBTQ+ Community Center! There’s a brief overview below, and please go to our Campaign website for more info: Trans and Queer Generations
WE INVITE YOUR ASSISTANCE AND INPUT! WE’VE ALREADY RAISED MORE THAN $100,000 TOWARDS THE PURCHASE PRICE OF $415,000.
- DONATE: You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time for our Capital Campaign at Network for Good.You can make a donation of stock to our brokerage account. If you’re a current or retired Washington State public employee, please consider supporting Stonewall Youth through the Washington State Combined Fund Drive. (Our code is 0316285). You may also contact us about setting up a bequest or paycheck deduction.
- INVEST: A supportive investor has started a Limited Liability Company (Liberation, LLC) to make it easy for community members to invest in the building. Our goal is to build equity for Stonewall Youth as well as for other organizations and community members who partner with us. Contact Bryn Houghton at bryn@stonewallyouth.org for more information.
- ENGAGE: It takes a village to create an LGBTQ+ community center! We welcome the input and assistance of individuals and organizations that are interested in developing a LGBTQ+ and social justice community center in our region. Help us create a fabulous, useful, multicultural, multigenerational center that will benefit our communities for generations.
Along with investments and donations from supporters like you, we are also securing funds from other sources: grants from private and public sources; a small business loan; crowdfunding; and loans from community members, to be paid back with an attractive interest rate.Be sure to check out our Capital Campaign website: Trans & Queer Generations 