Announcing the Out in the South: Central Appalachia Gathering Series

The STAY Project, Appalachian Community Fund, & Funders for LGBTQ Issues Present:

Register for all events here!

What Are these events?

The gatherings are designed to develop broader networks, that will support and sustain LGBTQIA+ organizations and individuals in our region. To achieve this goal, gatherings will be held in East Tennessee, East Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, and West Virginia. In late June, a regional gathering will bring participants together to hear our findings and plan next steps.

All gatherings are free and open to the public, including a catered meal (be sure to indicate dietary restrictions and other access needs when you register). Each gathering will last from 5:30pm-9pm.

For those who cannot attend in person, we will also hold video conference calls following each state gathering, and a series of donor -hosted gatherings to be announced.

For specific questions, please feel free to contact our Project Director, Kendall Bilbrey, at stayproject@gmail.com.

How do I learn more about this event?

• Join the Out in the South: Central Appalachia Facebook Group!
• Once you're a member, you can gain access to the facebook events.
  • We'll also try to keep consistent updates on STAY & ACF's Facebook pages, websites, as well as other social media platforms.
• Learn about the Funders for LGBTQ Issues's Out in the South Initiative to ensure sustainable access to funds for LGBTQIA communities across the south.
• More info to come!

Who should I invite?

We are hosting several state-based & regional in-person & digital gatherings! One reason we are hosting them in different states is so as many people from that state have the opportunity to attend. While this event is open to allies, we want to prioritize attendance of LGBTQIA individuals and those directly supporting them (donors, organizations, youth).

What were the dates again? Are there flyers for the state events? (yup!)

Contact stayproject@gmail.com for better quality flyers and social media blurbs!

or:

more about the project

The Appalachian Community Fund will be collaborating with The STAY Project for this planning grant (Out in the South Initiative) . With this grant, we seek to serve LGBTQ communities and individuals in the Central Appalachian region, with an emphasis on those that are living in rural and disenfranchised communities. 

Learning Opportunities: As it relates to organizations in our region who are doing LGBTQ work, we have identified the following four learning opportunities to build on the assessment that was presented last year:

• Discovering who is silent and unseen.
  
  
• Making connections between those doing the work.
  
  
• Identifying intersectionality in the work being done.
  
  
• Building the capacity and increasing connections between all of the above.

Methods

• 5 face-to-face gatherings, one in each state & 1 regional. As part of each gathering we will ensure there is some kind of social event that will add a cultural/community-building element. We hope to identify potential partners and donors in each state.
  
• State-based & regional video calls for folks who couldn't make it (and recordings available for y'all who still couldn't)
  
• Online surveys
• Donor hosted events
• Face-to-face meetings and phone calls
  
• Mapping regional foundations and organizations that support LGBTQ work

Goals
It is our hope through this process we can more deeply engage our existing donors to these funds with the goal that our current donors will:

• identify others that would be interested in contributing to the current LGBTQ Imitative Fund
• invite interested donors to be a part of the grantmaking process
• identify others that would be interested in joining the current giving circle or interested in forming giving circles throughout the region
• look for ways of improving and expanding the reach and capacity of the current LGBTQ Initiative Fund
  
  

Register Here!