(No) Money changes everything

by Ethan Jacobs
associate editor
Bay Windows
NEW ENGLAND'S LARGEST GLBT NEWSPAPER

To the average American the news about the U.S. economy looks bleak: the housing market is in shambles over the sub-prime mortgage crisis, gas prices across the country are reaching record highs (more than $3.50 per gallon in Massachusetts), and economists say that the economy is in a recession, despite protests to the contrary from Pres. Bush. But while LGBT folks share many of their neighbors’ concerns about what impact the faltering economy will have on their job, the value of their home or the cost of putting food on the table, a recession could have a broader effect on the LGBT community. Bay Windows spoke with the heads of non-profits serving the LGBT community and people living with HIV/AIDS who worry that a shaky economy might cause funding for their organizations to dry up, forcing them to cut back programs that typically serve the most vulnerable members of the community or scale back their advocacy work. Despite the concerns about the economy, however, some executive directors and non-profit veterans say that with proper planning and strategic fundraising plans many organizations should be able to ride out the worst of the alleged recession.

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