LGBTQIA+ QTBIMPOC communities are under attack. The current administration is perpetrating sweeping attacks against our most vulnerable: youth, elders, transgender people across the age spectrum, immigrants, and people of color. Essential funding for Queer nonprofits everywhere has been drying up since the inauguration, leaving our communities, once again, to fend for ourselves.

Amidst the turmoil and against the odds, we are making history; Berkeley Pride 2025, a program of Pacific Center, will be the first-ever outdoor Pride street festival in the city–and it’s long overdue. For five decades, Pacific Center has been a beacon for Queer liberation in the East Bay, and now we’re taking that legacy to the streets. But let’s be clear: while essential to community pride and morale, putting on Pride isn’t easy–especially now. Corporate DEI budgets are disappearing, and sponsorships that used to support LGBTQIA+ causes are drying up across the country. While others are scaling back, we’re moving forward–because Berkeley leads. So does Pacific Center.

And the funding rollback is not just happening at the national level. Even here in California, LGBTQIA+ funding is on the chopping block. We’re already facing a $50,000 shortfall next fiscal year due to cuts from at the state level. That means fewer dollars for mental health programs, cultural work, and essential community services. The truth is: it’s not just about surviving–it’s about continuing to lead with pride, purpose, and power right here in Berkeley, as we have done for over 50 years.

At Pacific Center for Human Growth, we must meet the moment – regardless of the challenges and danger–to fight back and support our own with everything we have. As the only LGBTQIA+ community center in Berkeley, we are the only protection between these attacks and our communities. And so, we PROMISE to uplift, honor, and serve our community with radical resistance and life-changing care to support a thriving life for LGBTQIA+ and QTIMPOC communities of Berkeley and Alameda County.

Only with your support, can we continue offering the services our communities need and fulfill our promises:

We promise to continue offering accessible, affirming mental health services for LGBTQIA+ QTBIMPOC individuals onan affordable sliding scale, ensuring low to no-cost care.
We promise to expand our LGBTQIA+ QTBIMPOC-focused cultural competency trainings to better serve and educate providers, allies, and institutions.
We promise to continue to host MHTI, a free annual conference centered on the mental health needs of the LGBTQIA+ QTBIMPOC community, amplifying voices and solutions from within.
We promise to provide scholarships for BIMPOC clinicians in our traineeship programs to invest in the future of culturally responsive care.
We promise to maintain and grow our 20+ peer support groups that speak to the diverse lived experiences within the LGBTQIA+ BIPOC community.
We promise to continue to celebrate and uplift local, East Bay, Queer and Trans voices by hosting an annual Berkeley Pride.
We promise to meet our community where they are–with humility, flexibility, and respect–because healing should never be out of reach.

Our promises are rooted in love, equity, and justice–but we cannot fulfill them alone.

Your support is essential in helping us fulfill our promises. We need to raise $55,000 by June 30 in order to continue resisting, providing, and thriving. The good news? We have a match challenge of an additional $55,000! That means your donation is doubled, dollar for dollar, and your impact is doubled immediately. With your support, by the end of Pride Month, we’ll have a transformational $110,000 to continue our work! This will help to fund our Pride Efforts, and to continue closing the gaps left behind by the impact of lost funding.

With your partnership, we can continue to make mental health care more inclusive, accessible, and affirming for all.

With gratitude for your generosity,

Lasara Firefox Allen, MSW (they/them/Mx.)
Center Executive Officer

Summer Campaign: Promise 2025

Team Members