The Gift of Connection: Honoring Grief, Sustaining Joy

In these times of change and challenge, Joy as Resistance stands as a vital source of support and affirmation for LGBTQ+ youth across Metro Denver, Aurora, and rural Colorado. We will not be daunted by the system - who funds us? We fund us. With your help, we can continue centering young people, supporting them to grow, connect, and thrive—no matter what the world throws their way. 

This season, we’re asking you to join us in honoring both grief and joy. As the attacks and threats of violence on queer youth grow more frequent and severe, LGBTQ+ nonprofits across the nation are struggling to stay afloat, with many forced to close their doors. Despite the progress in LGBTQ+ visibility, funding for this community remains devastatingly low. Did you know that only $0.25 of every $100 awarded by U.S. foundations goes to LGBTQ+ causes? And for transgender-focused initiatives, the funding is even less: just $0.04 per $100. With LGBTQ+ identification reaching new highs, especially among Gen Z, these gaps in funding put vital programs at risk when they’re needed most.

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If Joy as Resistance is going to continue this work into the next four years, we need your financial support to bridge us into 2025. 

Currently, our mentorship program, Big Queer Little Queer, costs us $7,500 a month - $11,000 a month, if we are able to scale up to the level we need to support the Denver metro area youth through our personalized matching process that pairs Mentors and Mentees with similar identities and interests. 

In an ideal state, Joyful Spaces - our program committed to providing youth-serving professionals with the support and tools they need to create and sustain radically inclusive spaces for queer, trans, and gender expansive youth - would be delivered to every staff member in every Denver Public School, and beyond.

For only $9,500 a month, your impact could revolutionize the 207 total schools in DPS, a total of 15,000 educators that work directly with students, impacting more than 90,000 DPS youth.

Our clinical therapy services span family therapy, couple’s therapy, family groups, youth groups, and individual therapy for youth. In the last three months, we saw 182 appointments! This costs us $18,000 a month - allowing us to provide free and sliding scale therapy services so that no queer youth is ever turned away due to lack of funds. 

What Your Support Means

Joy as Resistance is more than a nonprofit; we are a lifeline and a community. Through clinical mental health services, the Big Queer Little Queer mentorship program, and professional Joyful Spaces trainings tailored to adults providing for LGBTQ+ youth, we provide spaces for connection, resilience, and authentic self-expression. Thanks to our supporters, we’ve made significant strides, reaching countless young people who may otherwise feel isolated or overlooked. However, the current political environment - with more anti-LGBTQ+ legislation proposed in 2024 than any year before it - and the election means that all of these supports will be strained without additional reinforcements. 

Big Queer Little Queer expansion would focus on youth building social capital, especially through increased leadership opportunities we are able to offer and facilitate for Mentees, whether that be facilitating a Community Event or showcasing, developing, or learning skills alongside their Mentor or Joy as Resistance staff. One Mentee shared that they are excited for an upcoming prospect, as “We’ve been writing poems in hopes to perform at a spoken poetry place we go to!” 

Long-term impacts include youth feeling that their lives are valuable, meaningful, and essential, that their senses of self and wellbeing have increased, and that they feel supported, affirmed, celebrated, and more connected to the queer community as a result of their experiences in BQLQ. One Mentee expressed this about their connection as, “We have so many things in common. It means a lot when I'm given space to express myself in the way I want to be understood.”

Help Us Sustain Joy and Connection

This campaign is a call to action: help us close the funding gap and sustain programs that uplift and amplify LGBTQ+ youth. Every dollar you give is a step toward a more inclusive, supportive world where young people can feel seen, safe, and celebrated.

Our therapists asked our youth how joy shows up in their lives after working with clinicians at Joy as Resistance. Imagine how our hearts filled to hear them say it shows through:

  - Improved Connection with Loved Ones

  - Enjoying Hobbies and Personal Interests

  -  Appreciation of the Present Moment and Simple Pleasures

  -  Witnessing their own Self-Improvement and Growth

  -  Time in Nature and Environment

  -  Creativity and Artistic Expression

  -  Playfulness and Humor

By joining The Gift of Connection campaign, you’re contributing directly to each program making a lasting impact. Whether it’s offering mental health support, building confidence through mentorship, or fostering resilience, your gift brings us closer to a future where LGBTQ+ youth thrive.

Make a Difference Today

Together, we can honor the struggles and celebrate the triumphs of our community. Join us in sustaining joy, supporting resilience, and building lasting connections. Click the button above to make your monthly or one-time donation.

Thank you for helping us nurture a world where LGBTQ+ youth have the support they deserve.