Phoenix Pride closing community center, shifting services online
Aug 17, 2016, 10:50 AM | Updated: 11:29 am
(Facebook Photo)
PHOENIX — The Phoenix Pride LGBT Center officially closed its doors on Tuesday, the center announced on social media.
In a Facebook post, the center said it was closing down because it was not serving enough daily clients and the costs of a physical location were getting to be too much.
“Phoenix Pride’s festivals and events have continued to grow each year due to community support and engagement, but that growth alone has not been large enough to maintain and grow the Center in the way that we had hoped when we took over,” Phoenix Pride Executive Director Justin Owen said in the post.
Despite closing after just two years, the center said it would continue “empowering, educating and supporting the Arizona LGBTQ community through its annual events and fundraising efforts.”
The center will still host its job board, linkage to other agencies, an LGBTQ history project and other resources on its website.
The center’s closing will not impact any future Phoenix Pride events and said it is on track to raise about $90,000 worth of grants for LGBT community members.
“With the closing of the Center, we will be able to grow our community funding to ensure that the much needed funding is available to other local LGBTQ nonprofits and service agencies to maintain and grow their programs and services in metropolitan Phoenix,” Owen said.
Phoenix Pride could look to reopen another center at a later date.