Jim Toy Community Center Awarded $50,000 CenterLink Capacity Building Grant

---

The Jim Toy Community Center (JTCC) has been awarded $50,000 through CenterLink’s LGBTQ Center Capacity Building Initiative, supporting a major investment in the Center’s long-term sustainability, leadership development, and community organizing capacity.

This funding comes at a pivotal moment for JTCC. After reopening its downtown space and experiencing rapid growth in programming, partnerships, and community engagement, the Center is focused on building the infrastructure needed to support that momentum, not just for today, but for the years ahead.

Over the next year, the grant will support three connected areas of growth.

First, JTCC will strengthen its internal operations and technology, improving systems for coordination, data tracking, and volunteer and donor engagement. These upgrades will help ensure the Center can operate efficiently while continuing to expand its reach.

Second, the funding will support a career and professional development initiative for LGBTQ+ job seekers, professionals, and entrepreneurs. The initiative provides mentorship, practical skill-building, financial literacy workshops, and community-based alternatives to workplace ERGs at a time when many formal DEI supports are being rolled back. The program is designed to build confidence, economic opportunity, and connection across generations and industries.

Third, the grant will help launch a new organizing hub for LGBTQ+ advocacy, anchored in JTCC’s downtown space. The Hub will bring together parents, youth, and partner organizations to coordinate training, coalition meetings, and collective action, beginning with efforts to respond to the rollback of gender-affirming care for minors in Michigan. By pairing community energy with shared tools and structure, the Organizing Hub is designed to turn moments of urgency into sustained, long-term organizing power.

“The Jim Toy Community Center is grateful to CenterLink for this investment and proud to join LGBTQ+ centers across the country in building stronger, more resilient, and more connected communities,” said Joe Halsch, JTCC executive director. “These investments will strengthen Jim Toy’s role as both a community home and a regional anchor, supporting connection inside the Center while building the capacity to advocate beyond its walls.”