The Bottom Line

• The 2018 biennial LGBT Community Center Survey Report provides  a detailed picture of centers’ staff and boards, program priorities,  constituencies and services, infrastructure, fundraising, budgets, and technical assistance needs. The 2018 report finds that local community centers serving LGBT people  provide vital information, education, and health services to over 45,000 people each week.
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• 2018 LGBT Community Center Survey Report Download
• 2018 LGBT Community Center Survey Report: CyberCenters Download
• 2018 LGBT Community Centers & Advocacy: InfographicDownload
• 2016 LGBT Community Center Survey Report Download
• 2016 LGBT Community Center Survey Report: CyberCenters Download
• 2014 LGBT Community Center Survey Report Download
• 2014 LGBT Community Center Survey Report: CyberCenters Download
• 2012 LGBT Community Center Survey Report Download
• 2010 LGBT Community Center Survey Report Download
• 2008 LGBT Community Center Survey Report Download

Abstract

• The LGBT Community Center Survey Report, prepared jointly by MAP and CenterLink and published  every two years, provides an overview of local lesbian, gay, bisexual,  and transgender (LGBT) community centers, including  their capacity, their programs and services, the people they serve, and  their technical assistance needs.

• This year, the report  surveyed 128 centers located in 40 states, the District of Columbia, and  Puerto Rico, and provides a crucial snapshot of the centers that  provide vital services, programs and advocacy for LGBT  people. Among the report’s key findings: 
• Participating LGBT centers serve 40,550 people in a typical week and refer nearly 5,550 individuals each week to other  agencies for services and assistance. 
• The 113 centers that reported 2017 revenue data have combined revenue of $226.7 million. Small centers  projected an 18% increase in expense budgets from 2017 to 2018, while  large centers projected a 5% increase  from 2017 to 2018.
• Nearly half  (47%) of all participating centers reported obtaining at least one  government grant (local, state, or federal) of over $10,000 in 2017.
• Participating  centers employ nearly 2,000 paid staff and engage with more than 14,000 volunteers for nearly half a million volunteer hours annually.
• Half  of LGBT community centers remain thinly staffed: 25% have no paid staff and rely solely on volunteers, and 32% have between one and five paid  staff. As expected, small centers with budgets of less than $150,000 are much more likely to have few or no paid staff; 56% of  small centers have no paid staff, while three-quarters (76%) of centers  with budgets over $150,000 have six or more paid staff. 
• More than three-quarters of  centers (78%) that engage in policy-related activities work to advance policy at the local level, 67% at the state level, and 31% at the national level.