Proud Gloucester LGBTQ Community Hub Startup Fund

Aim: We are setting up and opening an LGBTQ+ safe space community venue with cafe/bar and group meeting and workshop spaces.

🏳️‍🌈 Proud Gloucester: Help Us Build a Home for Our LGBTQ+ Community

Since 2015, Gloucestershire has been without a dedicated LGBTQ+ safe space — and in 2025, that absence is being felt more deeply than ever.

With increasing hostility toward trans and queer people, and many in our community facing isolation, abuse, or poor mental health, we need a place that’s truly ours: a space that’s inclusive, welcoming, and empowering every single day of the year.

We’re Proud Gloucester — a grassroots team of LGBTQ+ people and allies creating a permanent, community-led venue for the queer community right here in Gloucester.

And we need your help.

💬 What Our Community Says

When we asked LGBTQ+ people what they needed, we heard loud and clear:

“It’s important to have our own space so we don’t feel isolated — it would help with anxiety and depression.”

“A safe place that works for day, night, and events to suit the community’s needs.”

“Somewhere to just enjoy ourselves and feel safe — something we’ve never had in Gloucester.”

“A safe space to be my true self.”

💡 Our Vision

Proud Gloucester is more than just a café or bar. It’s a space built by and for the LGBTQ+ community — one that will:

• Offer meeting rooms for peer support, group therapy, and workshops
• Be a home for the range of social groups that currently exist
• Provide signposting, advice, and 1-to-1 support space
• Showcase LGBTQ+ performers, artists, and creatives
• Deliver a diverse, inclusive programme shaped by local voices
• Create paid and volunteer roles for LGBTQ+ people and our allies
• Be open 365 days a year, including Christmas Day
• Operate 7 days a week from 9am, with food, coffee, and a licensed bar (after 5pm weekdays)
• Welcome not just Gloucester — but visitors from across the Midlands and South West

👥 Who We Are

We’re a collective of LGBTQ+ organisers, community builders, campaigners, artists, and local allies. Our team includes:

• 3 directors with lived experience of marginalisation
• 5+ project volunteers supporting design, outreach, and fit-out
• 25 LGBTQ+ applicants eager to join our team
• 15+ community members offering hands-on help

This isn’t a corporate project or a commercial venue — it’s a community movement.

💰 Why We’re Crowdfunding

Although we have raised £47k in external funding (including £1k of community donations), to date we’re facing a £10k shortfall that we need your help to cover.

This crowdfunder will help us:

• Buy essential equipment and furnishings to make the venue usable
• Deliver LGBTQ+ and mental health awareness training for staff and volunteers
• Shape our community programme of activities, groups and support based on what you need
• Make Proud Gloucester a welcoming, functional home from day one

We now need your help to grab this opportunity and make this happen!

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 25th July 2025 at 11:11pm