The LGBT Center of Greater Reading has received a major Capacity-Building grant from CenterLink, the Community of LGBT Centers, to support the Center’s continued expansion and support to Reading’s LGBTQ+ community.
The new grant, CenterLink Capacity Building Initiative, will empower the Center to hire dedicated personnel that further develop its ability and capacity to boost services throughout the Southeastern Pennsylvania region.
Among other responsibilities, the position funded by the grant will create and coordinate the Center’s first strategic giving and endowment plan to foster sustainability for the future of the organization and the critical services it provides to the community.
It will also provide operational capabilities as the LGBT Center expands into its second location in Reading’s Centre Park neighborhood.
“Receiving this grant at this point in our organization’s growth is a true gift in every sense of the word,” said Michelle Dech, Executive Director. “The LGBT Center is in the middle of a period of exponential, explosive growth, and we want to make sure that growth is sustainable and predictable for the long- term. We are so grateful to CenterLink for the support they have given us historically, and grateful for this grant.”
“Our Center staff provides so many critical, year-round services to many in our area and our community,” said Tim Greusel, President of the LGBT Center’s Board of Directors. “The CenterLink grant will help us create the frameworks and models we need to ensure that those top-tier services are consistently and reliably funded.”
The LGBT Center’s primary location at 1501 North 13th Street houses the Center’s business operations and many of its service groups.
Its newest, secondary location will open soon at 640 Centre Ave in Reading and will provide weekly meals, laundry, emergency shelter, and expanded food pantry services in addition to the expansion of support services and community outreach events.
