Creating Space, Building Futures: Keweenaw Queers’ Journey and the Power of Grassroots Organizing

When we launched our Third Sector Fights Back grant program, our goal was to support organizations that might be facing additional challenges during the current administration. And unfortunately, the ways in which nonprofits and marginalized communities have been under attack is even more dramatic than we could have imagined.

It’s a very difficult time to be working in the nonprofit sector, but the work is more important than ever given the current climate we find ourselves in. At MonkeyPod, we remain committed to supporting nonprofits through this grant program, and last week, we put out the call for our next cohort of grantees.

From April to June 2025, we're seeking applications from nonprofit organizations that address inequity in education, whether that's based on income, race, gender, disability, or any other systemic factors impacting access to education. If you or an organization you know would be a good fit for this grant, you can apply at https://monkeypod.com/third-sector-fights-back.

While we review the next batch of applications, we wanted to take a moment to spotlight the nonprofits we selected as our first grantees and showcase the awesome work they are doing to support LGBTQ+ youth in their communities. This week, we’ll be taking a look at Keweenaw Queers, a nonprofit based in the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Learn more about their work and how you can support them below.

Keweenaw Queers

Matt Radick (MR): How and why did you start Keweenaw Queers?

Emily Stanton (ES): Keweenaw Queers comes from pretty humble origins. In 2023, a group of us just wanted to have a pride celebration in our area, which is the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. There just wasn't anything in our area. So five of us decided it couldn't be that hard. And we, you know, planned it and threw the first Keweenaw Pridefest in 2023.

We expected maybe 30 to 40 people. And, 200 people showed up, which we did not expect at all. And it was very overwhelming. So, because of the success of the first Pridefest, we decided we should actually become an official org and do another one.

In 2024, we expected like 200 people. And then 500 people showed up this time. So we keep being amazed by the success because we're in such a small conservative area. It just goes to show you that the need was there.

MR: What kinds of other programming do you offer or hope to offer as you grow?

ES: My goal is to, number one, get more people to join the org so that we can have more events so we can be queer all year.

We've always done a candlelight vigil for the Trans Day of Remembrance here. And sometimes we'll do one off fundraisers, like we have an upcoming gay trivia fundraiser. It is hard to do that when we're such a small org, and Pridefest is such a big project.

For the 2025 Pridefest, the theme is community unity. So we're doing some philanthropic stuff at this event. We're doing a food drive for a local food pantry in Calumet. Very close to the venue for Pridefest is the Calumet Free Fridge, which has not only food, but also winter clothes, children's toys, toiletries, stuff like that. So we're going to do a donation drive for that at Pridefest. And we're also doing a clothing swap. The idea was to focus on trans people who don't have the kind of clothes that they wish that they had.

We’re expecting around 600 people at Pridefest this year, so we’re continuing to grow. But the primary goal is to be able to just do more events, to be #QueerAllYear.

MR: How are you hoping to use MonkeyPod to support your organization?

ES: Right now, our main focus is to use MonkeyPod to expand our email list. Before, we had only been using Gmail, and it was a very complicated way to use it. So we're really excited because MonkeyPod made the email list sign up and sign off really easy, and it will be much easier to have more professional looking emails and to keep track of the email list.

Especially with more people choosing not to use social media, we're really trying to beef up our email list because that seems to be the only way to reach people besides fliers. And we do a lot of flyering here, but yes, we're hoping to use MonkeyPod to make it easier to manage and to help that email list grow.

MR: Why is the work of Keweenaw Queers particularly important at this moment, with everything going on at the national level?

ES: It's never been easy to be a queer person and it's never especially been easy to be a trans person. And here in the U.P. in the Keweenaw, it's especially hard because the area is so small and so conservative.

But despite that, there are trans people here, there have been trans people here since the dawning of time. And it's really important that you be an out, visible queer person who's involved in the community to show people, “Hey, we're here too, and we live here too, and we're always going to be here.”

So I think it's important to just be visible because there's kids here who are queer, who are trans, and it can be so hard if you don't have an example of someone older who is queer. It’s hard to find those people, especially here because a lot of people are really private, especially if they're older and queer here. And I get it, sometimes it's a safety issue. Because being an out queer person who works at a company here, you can easily be discriminated against.

So I'm happy to be the face, to be an out queer person who is just living and being involved in the community. Through Keweenaw Queers, we’re showing people that there is a future for you, and you can be whatever you want in the Keweenaw.

MR: How can folks get involved with or support Keweenaw Queers?

ES: I'm looking for more people to, number one, join KQ, to help plan Pridefest and any other events. We want folks to join the org, get involved, and that includes volunteering, but mostly coming and helping figure out logistics. Sending emails, making calls, putting up fliers, that is what we need.

So if you’re in the area, or even in Northern Wisconsin, you can email us at keweenawqueers@gmail.com to get involved.

And we’re taking donations, so if you’d like to support our work that way, you can visit our website at https://keweenawpridefest.org/

MR: Is there anything else you want people to know?

ES: I just want to say that everyone who is involved has never done any organizing before and has never done any nonprofit work before either. And so if you’re reading this and you have an idea for an organization or see a need in your community, and you’re thinking you can’t do it, you probably can. You just learn as you do it. So my advice would be to just do it. Just start.

Third Sector Fights Back

As we mentioned, we are now accepting submissions for the next round of Third Sector Fights Back grantees. If you or an organization you know are addressing inequity in education, we’d love to support your work. You can apply by visiting https://monkeypod.com/third-sector-fights-back.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through June 2025. We will announce our next cohort of grantees and the next call for applications in the next few months.