The Pride Center of Vermont, a community center and services provider for LGBTQ+ Vermonters, will pause its operations indefinitely beginning on Oct. 10.
The organization's board of directors shared the news in a statement on its website Thursday.
"We have been hit hard by a wave of funding losses and shifting priorities at the state and federal level," the statement read. "These changes have made it increasingly difficult for community-based nonprofits like ours to keep doing the work we love, even as more people than ever are turning to us for support."
The Pride Center runs numerous programs focused on the health, safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ people in the region, including the SafeSpace Anti-Violence Hotline, HIV testing and harm-reduction services.
Every year the center also puts on the weeklong, statewide Pride Vermont celebration and the Pride Festival and Parade in Burlington.
Board co-chair Monica Allard pointed to numerous causes for the severe funding shortfall. She said the organization has taken on more debt than it can handle over its 26 years. She also cited challenging funding conditions at both the state and federal levels, as well as increased competition for philanthropic dollars.
In May the Pride Center lost $200,000 in state-administered federal funding for its HIV programs. Allard said those grant dollars were "a huge portion of our budget, and really impacts our ability to continue offering services to the state."
The seven-member staff received a day's notice about the closure. Four staff members will have their last day on Friday, two directors will stay on for one more week, and the executive director will continue working for a few more weeks, according to Allard.
The statement ended with a plea for support — the board said it needs to raise approximately $350,000 to return to full services.
"We are really hopeful that this will be a moment that the community comes together and recognizes the importance that the staff and this organization has brought to the community," Allard said. "We really need a Pride Center."
This article has been updated.
