LGBTQ Businesses & Organizations in Fort Lauderdale, FL

Stonewall Legal Alliance is a student organization at the Florida International University located in Miami, FL

OUTLaw is a student organization at the University of Miami located in Coral Gables, FL

SAVE is recognized as South Florida’s longest serving organization dedicated to protecting people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) against discrimination. Since 1993, SAVE has advocated for equal rights for persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities. We accomplish this through grassroots action focused on: Political Advocacy – working to promote local, state, and federal policy change by building community consensus. Community Outreach – changing hearts and minds by educating the people of South Florida about LGBTQ issues. Candidate Endorsements – supporting political leaders committed to ending LGBTQ discrimination. SAVE’s mission is to promote, protect and defend equality for people in South Florida who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. Our vision is a community where people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer have full equality in all facets of life.

Pridelines is a grassroots 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded by gay and bisexual youth for LGBTQ youth and their allies in the wake of Anita Bryant’s “Save Our Children” campaign. Rooted in a peer-led/adult-facilitated youth group model, and with the help of Dr Marilyn Volker, Peter Meyer and other concerned adults, the group began meeting at Miami-Dade College in 1982. In 1999 the group incorporated, moved into its own space and changed its name to Pridelines Youth Services. Fundraising efforts quickly increased, Health Department contracts soon followed and programs grew contributing the growth of Pridelines Youth Services. Pridelines was one of the first community-based HIV testing sites in Miami-Dade County. More than 35 years later, Pridelines continues to provide safe space, social support, skills building, leadership development and referrals to mental health, health care and support services for LGBTQ youth and their straight allies throughout South Florida. Today, the agency has grown and matured just like our youth. In 2015, Pridelines Youth Services shortened its name to Pridelines, reflecting our desire to support the lives of all members of South Florida’s LGBTQ community. We will continue to ensure that our LGBTQ youth have the support they need, while also committing to doing so throughout their lifetime. As we grow, Pridelines will expand programs and services for adults and families to provide life-long support for our community. Our mission is to support, educate and empower South Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and community in safe and diverse spaces to promote dialogue, wellness, and to foster social change.

CenterLink was founded in 1994 as a member-based coalition to support the development of strong, sustainable LGBTQ community centers. A fundamental goal of CenterLink’s work is to strengthen, support, and connect LGBTQ community centers and to help build the capacity of these centers to address the social, cultural, health, and political advocacy needs of LGBTQ community members across the country. CenterLink plays a vital role in addressing the challenges centers face by helping them to improve their organizational and service delivery capacity, access public resources, and engage their regional communities in grassroots social justice movements. Serving over 375 LGBTQ community centers, CenterLink assists newly forming organizations and helps strengthen existing LGBTQ centers through networking opportunities for center leaders, peer-based technical assistance and training, and a variety of capacity-building services. Our efforts are based on the belief that LGBTQ community centers are primary change agents in the national movement working toward the liberation and empowerment of LGBTQ people. Serving over 2 million people annually, they are the heart and soul of the LGBTQ movement and are vital to our current well-being and dreams for the future. Whether they provide direct services, educate the public, or organize for social change, community centers work more closely with their LGBTQ constituency and engage more community leaders and decision-makers than any other LGBTQ network in the country. LGBTQ Centers serve a vital and multi-faceted role in many communities across the country. They are often the only staffed non-profit LGBTQ presence in the area and the first point of contact for people seeking information, coming out, accessing services, or organizing for social change. Over 60% of LGBTQ centers provide some direct health services (including counseling, peer-led programs, and support groups, as well as physical health and other mental health services). At the same time, LGBTQ community centers remain thinly staffed, with 16% operating with no paid staff, relying solely on volunteers, and over 36% employing five or fewer paid staff. A fundamental goal of our mission is to help build the capacity of centers to meet the social, cultural, health and political advocacy needs of LGBTQ community members across the country. CenterLink also acts as a voice for LGBTQ community centers in national grassroots organizing, coalition building and social activism in order to strengthen and build a unified center movement.

PFLAG is the first and largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents and families, and allies. With nearly 400 chapters and 250,000 members and supporters crossing multiple generations of families in major urban centers, small cities, and rural areas across America, PFLAG is committed to creating a world where diversity is celebrated and all people are respected, valued, and affirmed. PFLAG envisions a world where diversity is celebrated and all people are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Our mission is to build on a foundation of loving families united with LGBTQ+ people and allies who support one another, and to educate ourselves and our communities to speak up as advocates until all hearts and minds respect, value and affirm LGBTQ people.