Support Nightlife Workers
We are a collective of nightlife organizers, producers, entertainers, venue owners, and nonprofit community leaders providing direct gifts of aid to workers from LGBTQ nightlife groups in the SF Bay Area.
About Us
Our Purpose
Nightlife is central to the Bay Area’s queer culture. Those whose primary source of income is in nightlife are currently experiencing economic insecurity as a result of bar closures and event cancellations in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this fund is to provide financial relief to workers in the nightlife industry for as long as the current crisis continues.
Testimonials
LGBTQ Nightlife Workers Need Support
“Queer nightlife is a renowned and integral aspect of San Francisco Bay Area culture. The people who produce and staff local queer nightlife have been financially devastated by the venue closures resulting from the coronavirus crisis. The Bay Area is known worldwide as a center for amazing queer nightlife. Let’s keep that nightlife alive by lending a helping hand to those who need our help in these trying times.”
Race Bannon
Writer & Activist
“Queer nightlife has always stepped up to support our community in times of need. Now the workers who are the backbone of our nightlife industry need our support. The San Francisco Bay Area Queer Nightlife Fund offers a lifeline to these workers until they can get back to work.”
Rafael Mandelman
San Francisco District 8 Supervisor
“Queer nightlife is at the heart of our community. For generations of LGBTQ people, nightlife is how we found our community and learned that we aren’t alone. The workers who make queer nightlife run are unsung heroes…. We need to be there for them. For those of us fortunate enough to still have a paycheck, let’s chip in to help these members of our community survive. The San Francisco Bay Area Queer Nightlife Fund is an amazing way to do so.”
Scott Wiener
California State Senator
“We need to band together as a community to help support our friends who work in nightlife, now more than ever. With COVID-19 just starting to affect our City, the newly instated quarantine is going to rapidly change the lives of those who help make the magic happen, night after night. The SF Queer Nightlife Fund will secure their stability now and until this pandemic is over.”
Juanita More
Activist & Entrepeneur
“All of us who still have jobs can support those who don’t. We must all support our friends and neighbors as we face this new challenge to our community and our nation. We’ve been to this rodeo before, and we know what to do.”
Cleve Jones
Writer & Activist
“As a united San Francisco Bay Area, now is the time to band together to ensure that all of us make it through this latest challenge together. Our artists, performers, our nightlife creators, especially Queer Nightlife, are part of the heart and soul, the very fabric of San Francisco. They create the bubble that keeps us from living in a place just like the place we escaped. These visionaries and cultural pioneers must be here for when this crisis is through.”
Brian Basinger
Executive Director, The Q Foundation
The SF QNF organizers have set a goal to raise $200,000 to fund 200 grants to low- and moderate-income workers laid off from nightlife because of COVID-19.
Donate Now
Give a gift of support and provide direct relief to servers, performers, artists, and other workers who are suffering financial insecurity as a result of COVID-19.
NOTE: Donations to QNF are tax-deductible. The San Francisco Queer Nightlife fund is a Fiscally Sponsored Project of the Q Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. More Questions? Visit the Donation FAQ.
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If you’re giving a large gift of more than $2,000.00, or if you are an organization interested in giving a sponsorship or donated gift to the San Francisco Queer Nightlife Fund, please contact us.
Grant Criteria
1. Employed in Queer Nightlife
Those eligible to receive funds are those for whom nightlife employment constitutes a significant portion of their regular monthly income, and where nightlife is defined as working as:
- A service industry worker, such as a bartender or server at a nightlife establishment.
- An entertainer, such as a DJ, dancer, or drag performer who performs at nightlife events.
- An artist, such as a production, lighting designer, or event photographer.
- A vendor or contractor primarily serving the nightlife industry.
- A producer or organizer of nightlife events.
2. Financial Hardship & Need
Applicants’ annual or monthly income should be considered low- or moderate- income (LMI) for the SF Bay Area.
Only life-line expenses will be considered for a grant, such as:
- Rent
- Electricity, Gas
- Basic Telephone / Internet Service
- Food (normal basic maintenance)
- Medical, Insurance (if none other is available)
3. Application Deadlines & Limitations
QNF organizers expect a significant need for community-members affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
Applications are due May 29, 2020.
Additional application cycles may be added if further relief is required for workers to meet their life-line needs during the COVID-19 crisis and community support is available to fulfill this demand.
News & Blog
- Leather Alliance Votes to Fiscally Sponsor the SF Queer Nightlife FundThe Board of Directors for the San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance (http://leatheralliance.org/), a 501(c)3 nonprofit, has voted unanimously to fiscally sponsor the San Francisco Bay Area Queer Nightlife Fund. The SF Bay Area Leather Alliance is a 100% volunteer 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The Leather Alliance was formed in 2008. The Leather Alliance’s membership andContinue reading “Leather Alliance Votes to Fiscally Sponsor the SF Queer Nightlife Fund”
- Happy Birthday Harvey, from the Queer Nightlife FundToday, May 22nd is Harvey Milk Day. Today we celebrate what would have been Harvey’s 90th birthday. More importantly, we celebrate what Harvey stood for. We celebrate our out, proud, and inclusive queer community. We celebrate our achievements to be recognized in society. We celebrate our unity and the strength and inspiration we continue toContinue reading “Happy Birthday Harvey, from the Queer Nightlife Fund”
- QNF Grant & Fundraising Update | May 21, 2020FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMay 21, 2020 PRESS CONTACTqnf-press@lgbtq-economics.org As of today, May 21st, 2020, the San Francisco Queer Nightlife Fund has received 64 applications, requesting minimally $96,350 in funds for relief for lifeline essentials in our second-round of grant applications.