What We Do:

The Center provides San Francisco with a vast array of programs and services for LGBT people, their friends and families. Our programs are unique because The Center is unique! In addition to our own programs, we collaborate with many organizations serving youth, the elderly, parents and marginalized communities by providing legal, health, social, educational and cultural services that benefit the entire lifespan of LGBT people.

We focus our programming in the following six areas:

• Economic and Workforce Development
• Arts, Culture & Social Activities
• Children, Youth & Families
• Health & Wellness
• Building Services
• Community Development

Our Mission is to:

• provide space & programs that welcome the entire LGBT community & our allies

• unite our community across lines of age, race, gender and economics

• give visibility to the history, culture and diversity of our community

• organize and plan our political and cultural future

• nurture new organizations and programs to meet emerging community needs

2005/06 IRS 990s (download. pdf file)

2004/05 IRS 990s (download .pdf file)
2003/04 IRS 990s (download .pdf file)
2002/03 IRS 990s (download .pdf file)

Who uses The Center:

We draw in thousands of newcomers and tens of thousands of longer-term Bay Area residents. The Center serves as a highly visible welcoming point of entry to the wide range of health and community services San Francisco offers for LGBT people.

• 2,200 visitors utilize The Center each week
• 76% are San Francisco residents
• We have 2,337 Members
• We house 11 nonprofit organizations

How We Do It:

Our budget for 2006/07 is $2million, and we have 20 staff members.

FY 2006/07 Expense Breakdown by Program

FY 2006/07 Income by Category

Building Features:
The physical features and technology infrastructure of The Center highlight its role as a central community resource. We are proud to feature:

• Information and Referral Desk, including an extensive online resource database
• Kidspace - our onsite Childcare Facility
• Reading Room, with hundreds of LGBT-interest books
• Cyber Center: 10 computer work stations with 17-inch monitors, a printer, 10 tables and chairs, internet access, and accessible software. The Cyber Center is staffed almost entirely by volunteers!
• Computer classroom: an instructor's computer work station, 25 student computer work stations, 4 scanners, 3 printers, software, and other equipment, including 25 tables and chairs
• General classroom: an instructor's computer work station and projection facilities, 37 desks and 4 white boards
• Community-access bulletin boards and job binders
• Art exhibition space - The Gallery 301
• Rooftop terrace with panoramic view
• 2300 sq. foot multipurpose auditorium/performance space - The Rainbow Room
• Large event room with kitchen -The Spencer Ceremonial Room
• 12 offices for nonprofit organizations and nonprofit conference room
• 10 meeting rooms for rental to community groups and businesses
• 3 Dollar Bill Café - open to the public and offering catering to Center events

The Basics About The Center:

Hours:

Monday - Friday 12:00noon - 10:00pm,

Saturday 9:00am - 10:00pm.

Sunday Closed

Admission: Free

Location: 1800 Market Street @ Octavia, San Francisco 's Castro District

For further information please call 415-865-5555 or visit www.sfcenter.org

How we got here...

The Center grew out of a long process of community engagement and planning, beginning in 1993. Our Center provided permanent homes, a familiar place, offering nurturing and exciting initiatives to bring an end to isolation for LGBT people in the Bay Area, while providing a community model to cities across the globe.

• The Center was incorporated as a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization in 1996
• In 1997 a site was selected, the land was purchased and an architectural competition was held to select the design of the building
• By October 1999, over $11 million had been raised - including pledges of $1,000 each from over 1,000 individuals - and construction began
• In March 2002, we opened the first LGBT Center built from the ground up -- a 40,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility among the largest Centers in the world

The Center plays a distinct role in strengthening individuals and institutions in our community - our goal is not to duplicate existing services, but instead to enhance them, promote them, foster connections among them and make sure people can find them.

What Center Users Are Saying:

"The Center inspires me. It's the place I belong, you belong, we all belong...how could I not be part of that?"

"Since The Center opened, I've been coming here as a hub....to find out what's going on in the community...I know I can find it here."

"I became a member and volunteer of The Center because it is important for me to be a part of the LGBT community, what better way than to volunteer. We now have a place where we can meet, use as a source of entertainment, culture and just a place to call our own. My involvement also insures that I not only represent Latinos but can get more Latinos involved."

"The Center has given me a different perspective on living gay in SF. I was disappointed with most of what I had experience as community so far in SF until I started volunteering at The Center."

“The Center has given me a different perspective on living gay in SF. I was disappointed with most of what I had experience as community so far in SF until I started volunteering at The Center.”