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Nonprofit organizations serving the state’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) communities received more than $100,000 in grants through the Equity Action Fund at the Rhode Island Foundation.
Options Magazine received $3,500 from the Rhode Island Foundation's Equity Action Fund to establish a dedicated fund to pay contributors to the annual print edition for their journalism, feature writing, creative writing, and poetry.
Guided by a volunteer advisory committee comprised of leaders in the LGBTQ+ communities, the Equity Action Fund supports projects that meet the needs of the LGBTQ+ communities in Rhode Island.
"Our editorial product will benefit greatly from our increased ability to attract both established, professional-caliber talent and up and coming young talent, and our audience will benefit from the stronger, more deeply written content we can platform when we can pay writers to tackle more complex topics of direct relevance to Rhode Island's queer communities," said Editor in Chief Zane Wolfang.
The goal is to attract top LGBTQ+ and LGBTQ+ allied writing talent in Rhode Island and neighboring states by equitably compensating them for their work. Options Magazine stands out in Rhode Island's local media landscape as the only legacy print media specifically reporting on and for the state's queer communities.
Launched in 1982, Options was published on a monthly basis for many years. Today it is available digitally via a regularly updated website and a bimonthly e-newsletter in addition to the annual print edition.
Archives of Options Magazine are maintained at Rhode Island College, Brown University, and the Providence Public Library. The RIC library currently has some old copies of Options on display in a queer publications exhibit which will be up until December.
The RI Foundation awarded funding to more than a dozen organizations in total:
Providence Gay Flag Football League
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders
Haus of Codec
Pride in Aging RI
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center,
Meals on Wheels of RI
Newport Community School
Newport Pride
Newport Sings (Quorus)
Options Magazine
Planned Parenthood of Southern New England
Project Weber/RENEW
Providence Public Library
Riverzedge Arts
Sojourner House
Stages of Freedom
The Steel Yard
Brown University
The Rhode Island Foundation also recently released a multi-year research project on the experiences of the LGBTQ+ communities in Rhode Island, which includes a set of priorities for the future. The study – featuring oral interview transcriptions and a timeline of significant LGBTQ+ milestones – is posted at rifoundation.org/lgbtqinri.
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