What we do.
ALMA Chicago is the Midwest's longest serving Latinx LGBTQ+ organization with a mission to expand power within Latinx, LGBTQ+, and gender-expansive communities. We build leadership capacity among Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities by developing emerging advocates, cultivating youth creativity, and ensuring historically excluded voices shape decisions that affect their lives. Our programs, rooted in culture, identity, and lived experience, equip participants with practical skills, mentorship, networks, and platforms to influence policy, community wellness, and civic life. We are fully community-funded, receiving no government dollars, and have relied on small contributions for more than three decades.
Federal retrenchment in funding for LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and youth-serving programs has cascaded across philanthropy. As major institutions pull back, community-based leadership initiatives like ours face significant strain, despite demand for these resources growing rapidly. This is the gap ALMA fills, but the scale of recent cuts threatens program continuity.
Major Impacts in Our Leadership Development Programs.
Together, these programs form one of Chicago’s only culturally grounded leadership pipelines for Latinx and LGBTQ+ youth and adults. Losing them would mean losing a generation of leaders equipped to advocate for equitable healthcare, safety, dignity, and opportunity.
ALMA Creates
Latinx & LGBTQ+ Advocacy Leadership Institute
Román Legacy Award (Scholarship)
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How Your Contribution Helps.
With philanthropic institutions scaling back and more than $20,000 in losses to our youth programs alone, individual grassroots support is now the determining factor in whether these spaces survive.
Every dollar directly sustains program access for youth and emerging leaders.
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Our Call to Action
Our Call to ActionLeadership spaces for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth should not be the first to disappear when budgets tighten. These programs are not optional, they are essential to building a future where our communities can advocate effectively, influence policy, and lead with confidence.
Stand with ALMA Chicago. Protect the next generation of Latinx and LGBTQ+ leaders. Your contribution, no matter the size, keeps these programs alive, accessible, and firmly rooted in community power.
Donate today. Ensure our leadership pathways endure.
Fundraisers
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Highlights
See all activity2FAQ
1. What is ALMA Chicago?
The Association of Latinos/as/xs Motivating Action, ALMA
Chicago, is the Midwest’s oldest Latinx LGBTQ+ organization. We
develop emerging leaders, support youth artists, and build community
power through culturally grounded advocacy, leadership, and pride
programs. We receive no government funding and rely entirely on
individual and philanthropic support.
2. Why is this campaign urgent?
Significant cuts across public and private funding streams have
reduced resources for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ programs nationwide. These cuts
have already impacted ALMA, more than $20,000 in losses to our youth
programming, putting our leadership development initiatives at risk.
3. What programs will my donation support?
Your contribution sustains Chicago’s only leadership pathways
created specifically for Latinx and LGBTQ+ youth and emerging advocates.:
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ALMA Creates – a youth arts and advocacy fellowship
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Latinx & LGBTQ+ Advocacy Leadership Institute – a leadership development cohort
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Román Legacy Award – a scholarship for emerging leaders to attend the Creating Change Conference
4. How will the funds be used?
Funds directly cover program costs such as participant stipends,
art supplies, workshop materials, transportation support, mentorship,
training days, and conference travel. Every dollar expands access for
youth and emerging leaders.
5. Why doesn’t ALMA receive government funding?
By design, ALMA operates independently of government grants.
However, when philanthropic funders shift priorities in response to
federal cuts, organizations like ours feel the downstream impact.
Maintaining independence ensures our programs remain community-led,
but it makes grassroots support essential.
6. How much does it cost to support one participant?
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$1,625 funds one youth artist in ALMA Creates
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$2,350 funds one participant in the Leadership Institute
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$2,500 funds one Román Legacy Scholar
Smaller contributions help cover materials, meals, stipends, and workshop needs.
7. Are contributions tax-deductible?
Yes. ALMA Chicago is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and all donations
are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
8. Can I make a recurring monthly donation?
Yes. Sustaining gifts are especially impactful because they help
stabilize program budgets during periods of funding volatility.
9. Besides donating, how else can I help?
Sharing the campaign, inviting your network to contribute, and
connecting us with potential sponsors or funders all strengthen ALMA’s
ability to protect and expand leadership pathways.
10. What impact will my donation have right now?
Your support directly determines whether ALMA can sustain and
grow these programs in 2025. Donor funding is the mechanism that keeps
youth spaces open, leadership cohorts running, and community voices at
the center of local and national advocacy.
