This is David Vance (they/them), The Center’s Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement, and I’m excited to share about our recent participation in the first-ever LGBTQ+ Community Center Advocacy Day in Sacramento to request funding in California’s 2026-27 budget.
As the federal administration continues to target the LGBTQ+ community, cutting or threatening to cut federal funds from LGBTQ-serving organizations, securing other sources of government funding has become critical.
For the past several months, The Center has been working in partnership with the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, and a coalition of LGBTQ+ centers and organizations throughout California to push legislators to fund budget priorities that would support the LGBTQ+ community. One key priority ask is the establishment of an LGBTQ Community Center Fund of $35 million in California to provide sustainable state resources that LGBTQ+ community centers can draw down for eligible activities supporting health, equity, and well-being, helping to sustain continuity of care for the LGBTQ+ community.
Last month, I had the great joy of joining our coalition partners for LGBTQ+ Center Advocacy Day in Sacramento, where representatives from over 40 LGBTQ+ organizations throughout our state directly met with and lobbied state legislators on the importance of the LGBTQ Community Center Fund and other key budget asks supporting the LGBTQ+ community. This included the $26 million Gender-Affirming Care Fund, which would create a mechanism in California to establish a state-funded billing system that both protects clinics and providers of gender-affirming care from potential federal funding bans and ensures they can continue to bill for services, with an accompanying financial appropriation to sustain access.
The California LGBTQ Caucus has added both the LGBTQ Community Center Fund and the Gender-Affirming Care Fund to their budget priorities for the year, and we look forward to continuing to work with them and our coalition partners to see these asks reflected in the governor’s final budget that will be released next month.
LGBTQ+ community centers are lifelines across California, providing safety, care, and belonging for people too often pushed to the margins. We are where our community turns in moments of crisis and where lives are stabilized, protected, and saved.
As our rights, safety, and dignity face coordinated attacks and critical services are threatened by the federal government, this budget advocacy sends a strong message that our community is choosing action over fear. It’s proof that we still have the power to make a difference.
California must continue to lead with action, with courage, and with real investment in our communities. The state’s budget is finalized in June, so there is still time to contact your California assemblymember to urge their support for the LGBTQ+ community and ask them to allocate funds for the life-saving services community centers provide.
Get involved by visiting our website, and stay engaged with us by signing up to our FACE (Fierce Advocacy and Civic Engagement) Newsletter.
In community,
David Vance (they/them)
Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement