National headlines may capture the biggest stories affecting LGBTQ+ people, but much of LGBTQ+ life happens closer to home.
It happens at school board meetings and city councils, at Pride celebrations and community centers, in local businesses and arts organizations. It’s found in the people building community, the organizations providing resources and the decisions being made every day that affect how LGBTQ+ people live.
Local LGBTQ+ journalists are often the ones telling those stories.
On Oct. 8, Qnotes will join 17 other LGBTQ+ newsrooms across the country for the third annual Local LGBTQ+ Media Giving Day, a one-day campaign supporting independent LGBTQ+ journalism.
Organized by News Is Out and the Local Media Foundation, this year’s campaign has a goal of raising $20,000 for 18 participating LGBTQ+ media outlets.
The participating outlets span communities across the country and include Qnotes, Bay Area Reporter, The Buckeye Flame, Dallas Voice, E3 Radio, The Gaily Show, Los Angeles Blade, LOOKOUT, News Is Out, OutSFL, Philadelphia Gay News, PrideSource/Between The Lines, Queer Kentucky, Seattle Gay News, Tagg Magazine, Uncloseted Media, Washington Blade and Windy City Times.
Rather than supporting a single publication, donations made through Local LGBTQ+ Media Giving Day support the participating outlets collectively, strengthening a larger network of journalists documenting LGBTQ+ communities across the country.
That work matters at a time when the local media landscape continues to change.
Independent LGBTQ+ publications don’t just report when LGBTQ+ communities become part of a national political debate. They document the people, places, organizations, celebrations, losses and everyday experiences that make up those communities.
For Qnotes, that has meant 40 years of documenting LGBTQ+ life across Charlotte and the Carolinas.
Since 1986, the publication has covered enormous changes in LGBTQ+ life while preserving pieces of the region’s history as they happened. That includes political fights and victories, but also local organizations, businesses, artists, activists, events and people whose stories may otherwise have gone undocumented.
Local LGBTQ+ Media Giving Day is an opportunity to help ensure that kind of journalism continues.
This year, donations can also have twice the impact. A $5,000 sponsor will match donations made during the campaign while matching funds remain. Additional Power Hour matches are planned throughout the day.
The campaign isn’t about who can make the largest donation.
Give $5. Give $20. Give $40 for Qnotes’ 40 years. If you can give more, please do. Each contribution helps participating LGBTQ+ newsrooms continue reporting on their communities.
Our communities need journalists who understand the places they cover, recognize the history behind today’s headlines and tell the stories that might otherwise go overlooked.
Local LGBTQ+ news starts here. Help keep it here.
Local LGBTQ+ Media Giving Day runs Oct. 8 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern. Donations support all 18 participating LGBTQ+ media outlets, including Qnotes.
Support local LGBTQ+ journalism on Local LGBTQ+ Media Giving Day: https://givebutter.com/LGBTQMediaGivingDay2026.
This story is brought to you by Rosedale Health and Wellness and Dudley’s Place.
