Dear Community,
For 26 years, Pride Center of Vermont (PCVT) has had the profound honor of serving and standing alongside 2STLGBQIA+ Vermonters. We’ve been a gathering place, a resource, a shoulder to lean on, and a community built on care, connection, and pride.
It breaks our hearts to share that the Pride Center of Vermont will pause operations effective October 10, 2025, including the Trans Program, the SafeSpace Anti-Violence Hotline, and our Health & Wellness HIV testing and harm-reduction services. While we are pausing regular operations, we are exploring every opportunity to continue supporting our program participants, particularly SafeSpace survivors and Health & Wellness participants, and will be communicating with them directly to ensure continuity of support.
Like many 2STLGBQIA+ organizations across the country, we have been hit hard by a wave of funding losses and shifting priorities at the state and federal level. 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. Over the last year, we have explored opportunities for PCVT’s programs to continue; including new funding sources, changes in leadership, and restructuring programing and staffing. Despite these efforts, we’ve reached a point where we can no longer continue operations in our current form. The Board of Directors takes full responsibility for the structural and financial challenges that led us here, and this is not a reflection of the hard work, dedication, and integrity of PCVT’s staff.
This was not a decision anyone wanted to make. It comes after months of difficult conversations and a shared realization that we cannot adequately serve our community without first restructuring and assessing long-term sustainability. Any option that continues fiscal uncertainty would be disrespectful to our staff, our program participants, and our community. This pause is a step toward doing what’s responsible for our staff, partners, and community to ensure long-term, programmatic sustainability.
We as the Board also recognize that the speed and timing of this decision, including giving staff just one day’s notice of their final day, has caused real harm to our employees, program participants, and the broader 2STLGBQIA+ communities we serve. We are deeply sorry for the fear, disruption, and pain this has caused. Our community deserves better.
It would be a tragedy for the Pride Center of Vermont to close indefinitely, and we are now asking Vermonters to help our people during this time by supporting, in any way you can, the Pride Center Emergency Fund. For over 25 years, PCVT has been a vital source of connection, care, and advocacy for the 2STLGBQIA+ community. Every year, thousands of Vermonters turn to PCVT for support: whether they’re seeking HIV prevention and testing; trans and queer health and wellness resources; peer-led support groups; crisis response; or community-building events. Without new and sustained funding, we will not be able to continue the essential services that our community relies on. These programs are not optional; they are lifesaving. In order to continue operating, the Pride Center needs to raise approximately $350,000 to return to full services and support our staff. If you’ve benefited from our work, believe in our mission, or simply want to stand up for equity and community, please consider giving today.
Join us in keeping this lifeline strong. Donate now at pridecentervt.org/#donate
We know this news comes amid a hostile national landscape. Across the country, 2STLGBQIA+ organizations are facing deep funding cuts, rising hostility, and a growing demand for care. In times like these, showing up for each other is an act of resistance. That’s what we’ve always stood for, and why we’ve always been more than a building or an organization. It’s all of us: our community, our shared history, our shared struggle, and our collective resilience. That’s what we will carry forward together.
We’ll keep you updated on our website and newsletter as the work moves forward and promise to remain transparent about what comes next.
Please direct any questions to: board@pridecentervt.org
With gratitude, humility, and care,
The Board of Directors of the Pride Center of Vermont
PDF Press Release: PCVT Press Release – Operational Pause