Delaware Valley Legacy Fund

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OVERVIEW: The Delaware Valley Legacy Fund supports the LGBTQ community of Philadelphia and surrounding areas. 

IP TAKE: This is a small fund with a big presence among LGBTQ organizations in Philadelphia, Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and New Castle County, Delaware. The fund makes modest grants where they are most needed–serving organizations that meet the needs of and provide direct services to LGBTQ people. It accepts applications once a year, with a due date in September, and welcomes questions via email. 

PROFILE: Based in Philadelphia, the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund (DVLF) was established in 1993. The fund’s mission is to “serve[...] the greater Philadelphia LGBTQ+ community through philanthropy.” A signatory of the GUCT Pledge, this funder prioritizes “organizations that are at the front lines of meeting the emerging needs of the region’s LGBTQ+ community” in the areas of “legal and civil rights, arts and culture, education and the humanities, and health and social services.” Grantmaking serves communities of Philadelphia, Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and New Castle County, Delaware. 

Grants for LGBTQ Causes

This funder does not delineate thematic categories for its grantmaking, instead working broadly to respond to the needs of LGBTQ communities in Philadelphia and the surrounding region. However, grantmaking appears to focus either on wellness and human services for LGBTQ people or projects that involve arts, culture and education. 

Grants for Public Health, Mental Health and Community Development

A majority of DVLF’s grants support organizations focused on health, mental health and community among LGBTQ people. The foundation does not name specific strategies for this giving. 

One grantee, the Dollhouse Project supports the health and safety needs of  trangender and gender nonconforming people of color “who are actively engaged in sexual work.” Another grant supported Prevention Meets Fashion, which works to “educate about the unique sexual and reproductive health needs of queer and Black communities such as the lack of sex education within these communities.” Other grantees working in these areas include the Attic Youth Center, the Uplift Center for Grieving Children and the William Way LGBTQ Community Center, all located in Philadelphia. 

Grants for Education, Arts and Culture 

A smaller subset of DVLF’s grants support organizations that support the rights, inclusion and wellbeing of LGBTQ people through arts, cultural and educational programs. The foundation does not name specific areas of focus for this grantmaking. 

Funding has supported Philadelphia Voices of Pride, a “vocal ensemble devoted to enhancing the musical, educational, and cultural life of the Philadelphia area.” Another grant supported the Education Law Center’s Inclusive Schools and Honest Education initiative, which aims to “protect [...] public schools as places where students and teachers have the freedom to think, question, and engage in honest conversations about the world around them, and where students of all gender identities and sexual orientations can thrive.” The fund has also supported Hearts on a Wire, a volunteer-led group that supports incarcerated LGBTQ people with letters, visits and a “quarterly newsletter that contains writing and artwork by Inside members.” 

DVLF also runs several scholarship programs for LGBTQ+ students from the greater Philadelphia area. 

Important Grant Details: 

This funder awards grants in amounts of up to $5,000, although larger grants are made on occasion. 

  • This funder supports a broad array of initiatives to support the LGBTQ community of the greater Philadelphia area. 

  • The fund’s grants tend to go to small- to medium-sizes organizations providing direct services to LGBTQ people in Philadelphia, Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and New Castle County, Delaware. 

  • This funder accepts applications for funding via an online application form. Applications are typically due in the middle of September. 

  • See the foundation’s Recipients and Stories pages for additional information about past giving. 

Submit questions to this funder via email at info@dvlf.org.

PEOPLE: 

Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only). 

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