June is officially here, and across Canada, our streets, storefronts, and social media feeds are lighting up in vibrant rainbows. Celebrating how far we’ve come as a country is an important part of Pride Month.

But if we pull back the colorful banners and look at the actual reality on the ground, a much more challenging story emerges.

Right now, Canada’s 2SLGBTQIA+ communities need more than just our visibility. They need our tangible support.

The Quiet Crisis Facing 2SLGBTQIA+ Charities

It’s no secret that the last few years have been tough on everyone’s wallets. Inflation and the rising cost of living have forced many households to tighten their belts. Unfortunately, Canada’s essential community organizations are feeling that squeeze directly.

Over the past few years, 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations across the country have lost nearly a third of their donors. At the same time, overall giving to this category has remained flat since 2022.

Think about that for a second.

While the cost of electricity, rent, and basic supplies has skyrocketed, the funding these organizations rely on has stayed frozen. This creates a gap with real consequences in our local communities. Consequences like:

  • Fewer crisis lines answered: Vulnerable youth looking for a safe person to talk to could be left waiting on hold.
  • Fewer people housed: Trans and queer individuals experiencing homelessness without enough access to safe beds.
  • Fewer lifelines available: Essential mental health, legal advocacy, and community spaces don’t have what they need.

 

Charities are doing the heavy lifting every single day behind the scenes, but they are being asked to do much more with far less.

Turning Celebration into Action

So, how do we fix this? As Canadians, looking out for our neighbors is in our DNA. This Pride, we have a massive opportunity to move beyond passive allyship to active participation.

To make it easy for Canadians to take action, CanadaHelps has partnered with prominent HIV/AIDS activist and 2SLGBTQIA+ community leader Myles Sexton (they/them). Myles has curated a CanadaHelps fundraising initiative highlighting five incredible organizations doing life-changing work across the country right now:

  1. CANFAR: Leads national strategies to increase prevention, testing, treatment and linkage to care, and to end HIV stigma. They invest in and foster effective research, build awareness, and cultivate partnerships to share expertise and encourage joint action. 
  2. Egale: Standing on the front lines to push for legal protections and critical national advocacy.
  3. Rainbow Railroad: An international human rights organization that creates pathways to safety for at-risk 2SLGBTQIA+ people and strengthens policies and systems that support their protection and integration, and addresses global queer forced displacement.  
  4. Skipping Stone Foundation: Offering crucial, affirming care and community support for trans and gender-diverse youth and families.
  5. 2 Spirited People of the 1st Nations: Providing vital support, resources, and spiritual advocacy for Two-Spirit individuals living with HIV/AIDS.

Every Dollar Counts 

This Pride Month, let’s keep the celebrations going, but let’s also make sure we’re backing up those rainbows with real, measurable action.

👉 Ready to show up? Head over to Myles’ CanadaHelps Pride Fundraiser to give directly to these curated causes, or explore more charities supporting the LQTBQ+ community.