These are not the easiest of days, for our community or for our organization, but we are here and here to stay.

Cataclysmic political shifts create justifiable uncertainty and fear about how changes in policy, law, funding, the judiciary, and more, as well as a horrid normalization of homophobia and transphobia from certain elected leaders, will affect our community.

The recent challenges that Mazzoni Center has been facing have also received a public airing in the press over the past couple of weeks, as a combination of financial realities and legal matters with unscrupulous parties have resulted in our having to navigate some rough financial straits and make some difficult decisions to ensure our long-term sustainability.

Moments like this can be both heart-breaking and affirming. While it may sound strange in the midst of all of this to be grateful and to say thank you, there’s perhaps no better time to do so.

The work that Mazzoni Center does – and has done for the past four-plus decades – has never been easy. We’ve faced difficult political climates.  We’ve navigated treacherous financial waters. We’ve lived through trauma and hardship. And we’ll continue on.  

Providing whole person integrated care for our LGBTQ+ community, including never turning anyone away due to lack of financial resources, isn’t a lucrative business model. It’s an expensive one.

Even when everything is clicking along like a well-oiled machine, we often lose sleep regarding our cash flow. We don’t exist to generate a profit for shareholders. Instead, every dollar we raise goes into sustaining services and expanding them whenever we can.

And, throughout everything, your continued support, trust, and confidence as our community – as patients, as advocates, as donors - has enabled our live-saving work for the past 45 years…and will enable it to continue for the next 45 years.

As we approach the holidays, we simply want to say thank you and reassure you that Mazzoni Center will continue to be here for countless holidays to come, providing compassionate care for our beautiful community that so richly deserves it.