An eventful, impactful summer

Over the summer, Stonewall leaned into joy as an integral aspect of queer liberation. By producing our own incredible events, and providing funding for fabulous partner organization events, we got a glimpse of the joyous queer future our community deserves - the future we fight for every day here at Stonewall. Read on to learn about a few events we put on on this summer (not including the Vision Awards) that turned joy into action for our community.

A brunch to be proud of

Mx. Juneteenth Fire Island 2023, La’Nece Versace, performs at Stonewall Quarter Share’s 2023 Pool Party in Fire Island

Later in June, the emerging LGBTQ leaders of Stonewall Quarter Share (SQS) gathered high above Times Square for their annual Pride weekend brunch. Welcoming nearly 100 guests on the rooftop of the Hard Rock Hotel in Manhattan, the brunch was an opportunity for members of SQS and their friends to connect, learn more about Stonewall, and celebrate the work that SQS has made possible over the past year. Since 2007, SQS has raised well over $1 Million to support Stonewall’s work and that of over a dozen vital LGBTQ organizations in NYC. Proceeds from the brunch went directly into SQS’ grantmaking fund, and members are preparing to award a generous $24,000 in October (at Revel 2023) to a local group working to provide safe harbor for LGBTQ immigrants, refugees, and internally displaced people.

A pool party with purpose

Prior to the pandemic, the young leaders of Stonewall Quarter Share wrapped up each summer with an annual pool party in the Fire Island Pines. This year, we revived the event, but with a twist: recognizing the economic barriers to accessing Fire Island and the historic exclusion of queer and trans people of color in the Pines, we partnered with the Black & Brown Equity Coalition of Fire Island (BaBEC) to co-host an event in support of their important work. BaBEC works to break down those barriers, and build equity for trans folks and people of color in the queer Fire Island communities of Cherry Grove and the Pines. In partnership with BaBEC, we built a welcoming, gold-themed event that highlighted Black and trans talent, featuring music by DJ DANIRO and a performance by Mx. Juneteenth Fire Island 2023, La’Nece Versace. Together, we built awareness of the SQS program, and raised over $5,000 for BaBEC. Now that’s a party with purpose!

A drag show on a mission

Produced by drag artist Julie J and nightlife producer Aaron S. Hock, Stand Up: NYC is a recurring benefit drag show that raises funds for trans and queer organizations and issues across the country. Since March 2023, Stand Up: NYC has raised over $75,000 for causes ranging from national transgender organizations to memorial costs for murdered Black queer men O’Shea Sibley and DeAndre Matthews. The benefit shows feature dozens of NYC drag performers and allow New Yorkers to dance and celebrate while raising money for important causes. In the face of trans identities and drag performers being criminalized in legislation across the country, Stand Up: NYC is a defiant way to show support and raise funds for our trans and queer siblings. The ethos is right up Stonewall’s alley.

Stonewall fund partners Christopher and David Murray approached us in May of 2023 with a request. They wanted to make a grant through their donor-advised fund to three organizations that the Stand Up: NYC drag benefit was supporting and wanted to know if Stonewall could join them in matching their grants. The Stonewall team was so inspired by this idea that we used discretionary funds to make $5,000 grants to each of those organizations.

“With the help of your inspired matching support, Stand Up NYC: Pride raised $38,011.01 for trans and queer lives in NYC and across the country,” wrote Julie and Aaron.

The organizations supported by the June event were: Black Trans Femmes in the Arts (BTFA), Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, and Campaign for Southern Equality's Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project, a new regional effort which provides rapid response support directly to the families of youth who are impacted by anti-transgender healthcare bans in the South. We’re proud to amplify the work for Stand Up: NYC and can’t wait for the next show.

A historic queer festival

On June 20, the Williamsburg, Brooklyn waterfront played host to NYC’s first-ever all-trans music festival, TRANSMISSION. Fittingly located in Brooklyn’s beautiful new Marsha P. Johnson State Park, TRANSMISSION was produced by Stonewall board member Cecilia Gentili and her consulting firm Trans Equity Consulting, Inc.

TRANSMISSION featured an iconic all-trans lineup of singers, rappers, musicians, and drag performers. The festival was free, accessible, and open to the public, and featured interactive installations, nonprofit pop-ups, and food vendors. Hundreds of attendees packed the park to dance, eat, and watch performances from POSE’s Maya Margarita, rapper Rah Rah Gabor, composer STEFA*, NYC drag favorites Dev Doee & Charlene Incarnate, and more.

All proceeds raised from the festival benefited our work here at Stonewall Community Foundation, along with Black Trans Liberation Kitchen and Queer Art. We can’t wait to do it again next summer!