The Center is Permanently Closing
press release: May 29, 2025
After many years of serving Racine and Kenosha Counties, The LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin has begun the process of closing its doors. This decision was not made lightly. It follows a thorough evaluation of our ability to sustain services in a changing landscape.
Throughout our work, we’ve witnessed the resilience, strength, and humanity of the people we serve. We’re proud of what’s been accomplished together—lives supported, crises averted, and futures stabilized. However, like many community-based nonprofits, maintaining operations over time has required tough choices. While we’ve explored partnerships, internal adjustments, and alternative solutions, ongoing challenges have made continued service delivery unsustainable.
We recognize that remaining unified in our shared values with our community is based on accountability and that transparency is crucial. To provide more context, our organization is currently in dire financial straits. We currently have less than one month of unrestricted funds to pay our bills, with no significant funding promised to sustain the Center. We’ve been successful in securing grants to support specific programs. However, these funds cannot be used to support general operating costs such as utilities, building upkeep, property taxes, and staff salaries. Additionally, past fundraising efforts have not been sustainable at the level required to maintain operations for the future.
We understand this news has been difficult. The heart of our mission has always been the well-being of this community. We are deeply grateful to our staff, volunteers, supporters, and, most of all, the people who trusted us in their time of need. It has been an honor to serve. We are collaborating with local organizations and established, proven leaders to develop solutions that will continue to support our LGBTQIA+ community in SE Wisconsin and transition services to trusted partners. Additional resources and details will be shared on our website as they are obtained/become available.