Get Involved: Volunteer with the Institute

This Pride Month, we’re not asking for your money. We’re asking for YOU.

We seek rad folks to help us fulfill our vision of a liberated future where generations of queer and trans people live in abundance and their joy, knowledge, and experience guide our shared existence.

Submissions will be collected on a rolling, as-needed basis. We will conduct a priority review for urgent project needs starting July 15, so fill out the form at the bottom of this page before this date to be considered in our initial round of reviews!

How to help Interest form

Who we are

The Institute is a volunteer-based organization committed to educating, empowering, and connecting Midwest LGBTQ+ communities. Our team includes educators, artists, nerds, foodies, gardeners, and choir/band/theater kids all living our best lives in Michigan, Minnesota, and Chicago. Our team works entirely remote and meets regularly to strategize and execute our organizational goals and programming. Since our organization was founded in 2016, our initial goal of supporting the longevity of the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Asexual College Conference has expanded into coordinating a slate of programs and initiatives focusing on the needs, experiences, and liberation of queer and trans folks in the Midwest.

What we do

In a given year, we may offer:

The Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Asexual College Conference
A new season of our Take the Last Bite podcast
The Trans(Gender) Justice Teach-In
A queer policy series event
Recurring engagement with members of the Our Partners in Equity (OPE) donor program

How you can get involved

As our plates have gotten heavier, we’ve realized now is a great time to invite more awesome, committed folks to support these important projects. While we haven’t crafted explicit “job descriptions” for these roles, we believe these roles could be a great opportunity for:

Graduate students
Professionals looking to broaden their overall experience
Queer and trans folks interested in getting experience with a non-profit/advocacy organization
Aspiring allies who can provide uncompensated support to an LGBTQ+ organization

Queer, trans and intersex Black, Indigenous and folks of color are strongly encouraged to submit

Key areas

We have some major needs in a few specific areas. This is not an exhaustive list, and we’re interested in hearing from anyone interested in supporting the below or related projects.

Podcast Production

Maximizing audio and video content from interviews
Supporting audio editing for biweekly publishing schedule

Social Media
Content Creation and/or Management

Consistently posting to social media accounts
Developing and executing social media campaigns
Launching the Midwestie Bestie Influencer program

Communications

Preparing news and media content for newsletter and website
Drafting copy and key messaging points for marketing and social media content

Graphic Design

Creating digital and print graphics

Programmer/Web Developer

Website updates for both sgdinstitute.org and mblgtacc.org
Supporting the development and implementation of features to the Institute's flagship Laravel application

Client and User Support

Answering questions via email, social media DMs, etc.

Event Operations and Logistics

Support space rental contracts and room assignments for programs
Manage A/V equipment rentals and set up
Manage catering contracts and banquet event orders

Next steps

Tell us you're interested! Complete our brief interest form. You’ll be asked about your areas of interest, a bit about your experiences and background, and what your big ideas are around building and sustaining LGBTQ+ community. A member of our team will be in touch if we’d like to chat more about your submission. Don’t worry if you don’t hear from us right away, we’ll keep your submission on file and add you to an email list to get updates about future opportunities for engagement! Plus...

Share the form with your friends and colleagues! Know someone who would be a great fit for this opportunity, spread the word to your friends, colleagues, and ecosystem.
Connect with us on social media. Tune into our Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok to stay up-to-date on the Institute’s programs and future opportunities to get involved.

Name

Pronouns

Email Address

Tell us about your relationships with LGBTQ+ communities, the Midwest, and/or community-based spaces.

Which project area(s) would you be interested in supporting?

Select all that apply.

Podcast Production (Audio Editing)

Graphic Design

Social Media (Content Creation)

Social Media (Management)

Communications

Web Development/Programmer

Client and User Support (Answering questions via email, social media DMs, etc.)

Event Operations and Logistics

Other (please provide additional details below)

In what other way(s) would you like to support our work?

What personal, academic, and/or advocacy experience(s) prepare you to support this work?

Ex: lived experiences, current employment, area of study, deep interest, etc.

Can you share a bit about what capacity you have to provide project support and what your preferred level of involvement looks like?

OPTIONAL: Please attach or link any example(s) of work you’d like to highlight as part of your submission.

Upload files here:

Or, share a link here:

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